Marcellin was always concerned about the care of the brothers and knew how to “look beyond”. From there, the Provincial, Br. Máximo Blanco opened the meeting of directors and coordinators of works and projects by stressing the importance of care with two premises that are already included in the Rule of Life of the Marist Brothers but that can be applied to all: “pay attention to your own ongoing formation and to the care of yourself as a person” and “take care of each other and become wonderful companions on the journey”.
A care that is in our essence and reaches all the way to the Strategic Plan in whose development it has been concretized as: Caring is presence and closeness to those around us with sensitivity and empathy. Caring is listening and accompanying processes and people, taking care to know their needs and recognize their strengths. Caring is respecting and sharing Marist values.
Caring was one of the keys to this meeting of directors and coordinators held in Tui, where various topics that affect the life of the schools and social works were discussed, from the development of the inclusive culture to the process of digitalization, passing through the recognition plan or the possibilities of promoting volunteering in our environments. There was time for the exchange of experiences, the necessary analysis of the economic situation and for Biblomar, whose leaders presented their proposals for improvement to serve both schools and families.
In the area of social works, these days were used to follow up on the topics that are being worked on this year and to continue advancing in the design of the Social Works Management Model. Special mention should be made of the online meeting held with Alejandro Matías, Director of the Marcellin Champagnat Foundation, in order to learn about the reality of the social works and projects of Maristas Mediterránea, as a source of inspiration for the opening of new social works in our province.
These two days have also been useful for the coordination of the colleges, both in terms of strategic planning and in matters of ordinary functioning, as well as for the preparation of the next meetings of management teams and educational teams.
Finally, it should be noted that we had the presence of Alejandro Cebrián, General Director of EDELVIVES Spain, and Rosa Luengo, Director of Publishing, who presented the new products of the publishing house, the commitment to digitalization and explained the process followed in the last academic year with the LOMLOE. In addition, Cebrián navigated from artificial intelligence to the classroom showing the various lines in which EDELVIVES makes a value proposition with publications, projects, learning environments…. “We work in a network in many areas, because simplicity costs”.
Two days of work in which we were able to meet and share life, those of us who today lead the Marist mission in Compostela, making Champagnat’s dream come true.
