IV Uniservitate Global Symposium: two intense days and the Pope’s message

A new edition of the Uniservitate Global Symposium took place for two days (8 and 9 November), this time, at De La Salle University (DLSU), Manila, Philippines. Organised by Uniservitate, coordinated by Porticus and CLAYSS, in collaboration with De La Salle University, this event convened leaders, educators and researchers in service-learning in Catholic higher education. During these two days, around five hundred people from the five continents followed the sessions in person and via streaming. This year, the focus was on student leadership, community partnerships and transformative spirituality for social change.
Maria Rosa Tapia and Andres Peregalli, Uniservitate coordinator and vice-coordinator, travelled especially to Manila to welcome the attendees, participate in the Symposium and lead the Uniservitate Regional Meeting following this event. Many representatives from the different hubs of the programme also attended the meeting.
To everyone’s surprise, Pope Francis sent a personal message from the Vatican greeting the attendees, praising the organization and encouraging educators and researchers to continue working in service-learning. He highlighted that “such an integral approach to education calls for creative interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary methods to assist young people to be leaders and protagonists in building a better future for society as a whole”. The Pope’s message was read by the end of the second day, emphasizing community partnerships and spiritual reflection as service-learning tools to promote social change.
Thus, in an atmosphere of joy and exchange, the Manila symposium left open the discussion and reflection on the issues raised at the beginning.

Watch the Symposium In English or In Spanish on Youtube

For more information, visit: https://www.uniservitate.org/es/iv-simposio-global-uniservitate/