The Secretariat of Irreplaceable Ministry of the Pious Schools, in collaboration with the Cristóbal Colón University, successfully completed a course on the GLOBAL EDUCATIONAL COMPACT (GEP), held from September 2023 to May 2024. The course had the following objectives:
- To acquire a vision of the meaning and implications that the PEG has in the educational project.
- To offer tools to promote the PEG in each place.
- To share reflections and significant educational experiences
To generate a network of Piarist work around the PEG.
Three educators from each school proposed the course so that the reflection would have a subsequent impact on the school’s dynamics. After an introduction to the PEG (theme 1), we developed the seven commitments proposed by Pope Francis in his message of October 15, 2020 (2-8) to finish with two themes of implementing the PEG in schools. We organized ten online classes of 1.5 to 2 hours, each led by teachers, most of them Piarists.
Introductory topic
- Origin and meaning of the PEG. Javier Alonso
Commitments of the PEG
- Putting the person at the center. Marcelo Benítez
- To listen to the younger generations. Juan Jaime Escobar
- Promote women. Sister Carmen Pineda. Calasancia
- To make the family responsible. Sergio Conci
- We should educate ourselves to welcome, opening ourselves to the most vulnerable and marginalized. Carolina Paredes
- Renew the economy and politics. Juan Pablo Anduquia
- Caring for the standard home. Juan Carlos Gómez
Application
- The PEG in the school model. Full-time school
- The PEG in the territory
Initially, 117 teachers registered, but 86 successfully completed the course by presenting their final work and activities. Teachers from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile participated.
The students were asked to design a plan to introduce some of the PEG commitments in the schools. In the end, 28 carefully elaborated works aligned with the PEG were presented.
We transcribe some testimonials from the course.
We are very grateful to the whole team that has organized the Global Education Pact Ambassadors course, both teachers and tutors, for the successful realization that took place fortnightly, online, since September 2023 and culminated with the excellent presentation of 28 projects to be implemented in the Piarist Presences of America. The course has committed us to the PEG from the Piarist identity, in an atmosphere of human recognition, friendship, and fraternal listening characterized the meetings.
Karina Miliante. School of Piarist Educators of the Province of Central America and the Caribbean.
I could highlight several aspects of the course:
- The opportunity to get to know realities in different contexts makes us truly feel the shared vocation and charism.
- The speakers’ different nuances gave precise clarifications on the elements of the PEG.
- This is an opportunity to review our efforts in each work, to reflect on what we are doing, and to identify areas for improvement.
- The possibility of documenting concrete actions that make our commitment to the PEG visible and coherent with the Pious School in Full Time.
Eucardo Pérez. Rector Calasanz Buenavista (Bogotá)
For me, the PEG course has meant the opportunity to discover many possibilities for working on a daily basis. It has made me aware that this world needs us and that we can contribute from our reality, sowing seeds in children and young people that will gradually bear fruit. It has also been extraordinary to meet Piarist educators from other parts of the world, and it is comforting to know that on this path, we go together. Thank you very much for this opportunity!
Veronica Cruz. Carlos Gracida, A.C. Oaxaca, Mexico
Participating in the Global Education Pact Ambassadors course has been a transformative experience because it allowed me to expand my knowledge about the importance of inclusive and sustainable education. It also allowed me to connect with other committed fellow Piarist teachers worldwide, sharing ideas and strategies to address global educational challenges. Through interactive workshops and enriching discussions, I gained a broader and more supportive vision of my role in promoting positive change in caring for our typical home and including all members of my educational community in the 7 PEG commitments. In short, this experience reinforced my commitment to Piarist education as a fundamental tool for building a more just and equitable future for all. Thank you.
Norma Reyes Kasusky. Cristobal Colon. Veracruz
Participating in this course has been very rewarding. What I most appreciate about this experience is linking with other Piarist teachers from different presences with the same objective: to implement the PEG in each house. This allowed me to be part of a more comprehensive work network, share significant experiences and reflections from each reality, and visualize the impact of the PEG in the educational project. At the end of this journey, it motivates me to continue working as a cooperator for the children and young people at Calasanz, putting them at the center and strengthening the link with the families, which are the commitments most mentioned by all the participating Piarist presences. Now that we know the scope of the PEG, it is up to us to infect other “fires” for more ambassadors of this proposal of Pope Francis.
Micaela Soledad Gisbert, Pious Schools of Córdoba-Argentina.
