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On 6th and 7th November, the VI Uniservitate Global Symposium was held in a hybrid format at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (Germany), streaming on YouTube worldwide. More than 500 participants from 55 countries took part in this meeting, which brought together leaders from Catholic universities and international academic networks to discuss the theme: “Service-Learning in a Fragile World: Universities nourishing Peace and Hope.”
It was organized by Uniservitate —a global network promoted by CLAYSS with the support of Porticus— and the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, which coordinates the Uniservitate hub for Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Over two days, panels and discussion forums underlined how the service-learning approach helps to address the current challenges facing humanity with hope.
The Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, participated with a video message in which he stated that service-learning fully embodies the calling to educate for service and through service because “serving is not an appendage of the educational process, but its beating heart.”
María Rosa Tapia, Coordinator of Uniservitate, attended the event in Eichstätt, alongside Andrés Peregalli, vice-coordinador, and Candelaria Ferrara, coordinator of regional hubs. Whereas CLAYSS founder and director Nieves Tapia and Richard Broose (Porticus) participated virtually, other specialists and leaders from the academic and educational sphere met in person, including the coordinator of the Global Compact on Education, Father Ezio Bono, the university rector, Gabriele Gien, and the vice-rector, Klaus Stüwe.
The rector of the Catholic University of Ukraine, Taras Dobko; Father Delmar Cardoso, from the Catholic University of Pernambuco (Brazil); Brother Alejandro González Cerna, from Bethlehem University (Palestine); Professor Martin Bahati, from Loyola University (Congo); and Miao-Ju Chwo, director of the Service-Learning Centre at Fu Jen Catholic University (Taiwan), presented the background and experiences of each institution to an expectant and attentive audience.
The students also had their space with Alžbeta Brozmanová Gregorová, professor at Matej Bel University in Slovakia, presenting their conclusions from the Youth Symposium held days earlier.
A meeting with rectors and authorities from 40 member institutions of Uniservitate was celebrated as part of the Symposium.
It was a great meeting, which is now available on our YouTube channel:
English: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJgzp92T-kkZtq1dEMP3XWuxodrLBDm0&si=tIKT8CUrUtrtKn1j
In Spanish:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJgzp92T-klKjkQjCzRNf02PnQlFaBcZ&si=nH9X7BPGXVC7v_CR
Full article: https://www.uniservitate.org/2024/11/20/change-from-the-heart-focus-of-the-v-global-symposium-uniservitate/