austraLasia #2533
Region tries new approach
HYDERABAD: 1st November 2009 -- As the two EAO representatives (Fr P. Tukan from ITM and Fr R. Figuracion from FIS) could tell you, the South Asia Region, effectively all of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in this instance since FIS was involved, has completed a six day meeting series on Social Communications. The '6 day' approach is something new and a bit special, but it is worth now looking at why it was done this way and what its results were.
South Asia is no less complex a region than, say, EAO. Those who think India speaks just or mainly English and Hindi are simply not well-informed! The meeting represented native speakers of at least Telegu, Malayalam, Tamil, Sinhalese, Konkani, Kanada, Khasi in addition to Hindi and English and one or two other languages that do not come to mind. The meeting used English as the lingua franca. Salesian South Asia has an umbrella Communications structure called BOSCOM, but a considerable variety of activities come under that - almost too many, in a way, for that body to successfully coordinate. So the meeting in Hyderabad brought three (effectively four) of these groups together. Delegates met for two days, Centres for formation to communication - but they see themselves also or even mainly as publishers and producers, hence the fourth category, for another two days, and Salesian Bulletin editors for the final two days. Some stayed for the entire period, thus providing a valuable link factor. Many came for at least two of the groups either because they were wearing two hats, or they were simply interested (or having to travel three days by train to get there and three days back again meant a 'forced' attendance at everything!)
This approach meant that Fr Filiberto, on his first visit to the Region, had a chance to dwell, absorb, listen to a broad range of interests, concerns, solutions, meet practically everyone in key roles in the communications sector in Salesian South Asia. This alone was invaluable. The other valuable outcome was something that was only 'revealed' on the final day when Salesian Bulletin Editors worked out their deliberations. The fact was that the deliberations (a mere handful, say 4 at the most) of the first group, the delegates, found echoes and further detail in both the following sets of deliberations. This was not a forced result, in that there was no real effort to say that this had to be the case - it just happened that way, but it happened because essentially the concerns of Salesian communicators are similar across the board but take on different hues according to the role a person is playing. A delegate sees things one way, a formator another way and an editor yet another! This aspect of the 6 days might be a valuable lesson for the SC Department in the future and for other departments for that matter.
Another revelation - the so-called 'Centres for Formation to Social Communication' came to the meeting seeing themselves in practical terms as producers, enterprises, publishers, responding not only to a Christian audience but admitting that their greatest user-base was probably non-Christian. But they went away from the meeting aware, if not convinced, that they are in almost every case conducting formal and informal courses that can have no other label than 'formation to communication', and that many of their concerns (like finding new and creative authors, writers, for instance) involve formation issues. This realisation opened up a whole new field of thinking and action for them.
Six days is a long haul, but it was not a talk-fest, nor a 'Roma locuta causa soluta', here-it-is-now-just-do-it thumping of tables. Six days allows reflection, gives reign to imagination and favours considered solutions, in this case all arrived at by the participants themselves, maybe with a little gudiance along the way!
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Title: australasia 2346
Subject and key words:
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2346
Region tries new approach
HYDERABAD: 1st November 2009 -- As the two EAO representatives (Fr P. Tukan from ITM and Fr R. Figuracion from FIS) could tell you, the South Asia Region, effectively all of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in this instance since FIS was involved, has completed a six day meeting series on Social Communications. The '6 day' approach is something new and a bit special, but it is worth now looking at why it was done this way and what its results were.
South Asia is no less complex a region than, say, EAO. Those who think India speaks just or mainly English and Hindi are simply not well-informed! The meeting represented native speakers of at least Telegu, Malayalam, Tamil, Sinhalese, Konkani, Kanada, Khasi in addition to Hindi and English and one or two other languages that do not come to mind. The meeting used English as the lingua franca. Salesian South Asia has an umbrella Communications structure called BOSCOM, but a considerable variety of activities come under that - almost too many, in a way, for that body to successfully coordinate. So the meeting in Hyderabad brought three (effectively four) of these groups together. Delegates met for two days, Centres for formation to communication - but they see themselves also or even mainly as publishers and producers, hence the fourth category, for another two days, and Salesian Bulletin editors for the final two days. Some stayed for the entire period, thus providing a valuable link factor. Many came for at least two of the groups either because they were wearing two hats, or they were simply interested (or having to travel three days by train to get there and three days back again meant a 'forced' attendance at everything!)
This approach meant that Fr Filiberto, on his first visit to the Region, had a chance to dwell, absorb, listen to a broad range of interests, concerns, solutions, meet practically everyone in key roles in the communications sector in Salesian South Asia. This alone was invaluable. The other valuable outcome was something that was only 'revealed' on the final day when Salesian Bulletin Editors worked out their deliberations. The fact was that the deliberations (a mere handful, say 4 at the most) of the first group, the delegates, found echoes and further detail in both the following sets of deliberations. This was not a forced result, in that there was no real effort to say that this had to be the case - it just happened that way, but it happened because essentially the concerns of Salesian communicators are similar across the board but take on different hues according to the role a person is playing. A delegate sees things one way, a formator another way and an editor yet another! This aspect of the 6 days might be a valuable lesson for the SC Department in the future and for other departments for that matter.
Another revelation - the so-called 'Centres for Formation to Social Communication' came to the meeting seeing themselves in practical terms as producers, enterprises, publishers, responding not only to a Christian audience but admitting that their greatest user-base was probably non-Christian. But they went away from the meeting aware, if not convinced, that they are in almost every case conducting formal and informal courses that can have no other label than 'formation to communication', and that many of their concerns (like finding new and creative authors, writers, for instance) involve formation issues. This realisation opened up a whole new field of thinking and action for them.
Six days is a long haul, but it was not a talk-fest, nor a 'Roma locuta causa soluta', here-it-is-now-just-do-it thumping of tables. Six days allows reflection, gives reign to imagination and favours considered solutions, in this case all arrived at by the participants themselves, maybe with a little gudiance along the way!
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Title: australasia 2346
Subject and key words:
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2346
