by Joeyanna D’Souza FSP
Mumbai, Nov. 12. 2019: About 55 participants of 19 Catholic Schools and Institutions of the Archdiocese of Bombay were represented at the Symposium organized for Principals and Teachers at the Pauline Multipurpose Hall of the Daughters of St Paul, Bandra, Mumbai from 9th November, from 9:30 am to 1 :30 pm. They witnessed an intellectual and experience-based sharing on a combination of two relevant topics :World Communication Day 2019 Theme, - From Social Network communities to the human community and Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education, the June, 2019, Document issued by the Vatican Dicastery for Education (CCE) which was directed to the educators of younger generations.
The Guest of Honour was Fr George Athaide, the Ex- Secretary General of the ABE. Fr Athaide, reminded us that the essence of education in Catholic Institutions is Christian education rooted in Faith, and that while we give importance to the equality of sexes we should not forget the uniqueness of being male and female. Incidentally, Fr George Athaide has also written the Foreword to one of Pauline Publications’ latest titles, “Light from Many Lamps, Stories of Value to Live By ”, by Sr Clare Ukken FSP.
The first speaker of the day, Dr Shaison Ouseph, International Award Winner, Social Researcher and Documentary Producer, enlightened the audience on the topic, Media Influence on Students and Teachers on the Issues on Human Sexuality Most Debated Today and shook the audience with his out-of-the-box questions and proposals, like, making courses on sexuality ‘a must’ in schools in an ambience which is free and devoid of fear and shame. He discussed how the media have an impact because the media keep sexual behaviour on public, and personal agendas and media portrayals reinforce a relatively consistent set of sexual and relationship norms, rarely depicting sexually responsible models. Sr Nisha Joseph, Director of Ish Creations (Centre for Dialogue and Culture) and Documentary Producer, Indore who spoke on Media Influence on Gender Divide and Related Issues, made us aware from her personal experience and work with the various marginalized members of society that gender divide is a creation of the human mind for convenience and domination, and not willed by God. Fr Joshan Rodrigues, Expert in Social and Institutional Communications and Managing Director of The Examiner, the Bombay Archdiocesan Weekly, gave us a crisp but thorough pointers on Leading Students from Virtual Communities by Proportionate Use of the Media reminding us to be alert and flexible to the Apps Generation but also help them to bridge the gap between virtual life and human relationships. The Moderator was the renowned, Dr Pascoal Carvalho, Member of the Pontifical Academy of Life, and he did justice to his role in summarizing the topics and smoothly leading the Panel Discussion with relevant interventions and a well collated conclusion.
The group discussion which followed gave the participants the chance for a free expression of ideas, issues and concerns within the ambit of the topic, in an informal way. The Principals and teachers resolved to take seriously the need for organizing courses in their schools on understanding sex and sexuality in a holistic manner, and not just leaving students to unreliable media sources especially the Internet. Since there was a sharing in the groups, there were no questions from the floor directly to the speakers, but the speakers added from their expertise to supplement what was missing, in order to close the discussions in a complete and substantial manner. In their feedback the Principals and teachers and Speakers said they were really appreciative of the fact that we could take up a Symposium on such delicate topics and congratulated the Organizing team for the same.
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