Next Thursday, October 15, Pope Francis will once again address the issue of education in a video message, in which he will relaunch the proposal for the Global Education Pact based on the assumption that "education is an act of hope." The video of the Pope will be broadcast during an act at the Pontifical Lateran University, promoted by the Congregation for Catholic Education, which will be presented by Alessandro Gisotti, vice editorial director of the Holy See's Dicastery for Communication.
Vatican City
On Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. (local Rome time), Pope Francis will once again address the issue of education, which is central to his teaching and in his dialogue with the world. He will do so with a video message, along with a summary of everything that has been proposed on the subject during his pontificate: because, as Francis repeated several times, "educating is an act of hope."
Join the Global Compact on Education
At the end of the Message, Pope Francis will propose to all people of good will to join the Global Pact on Education, a pact to generate change on a planetary scale, so that education creates fraternity, peace and justice. An even more urgent need in this time marked by the pandemic.
The Pope's video message will be broadcast during an act at the Pontifical Lateran University, promoted by the Congregation for Catholic Education, dedicated specifically to the academic world, which can be followed through the Vatican News portal and its YouTube channel (the transmission will have simultaneous translation into English, French, Spanish and Portuguese), as well as through Vatican Media distribution channels.
Young people: recipients of the Pope's message
The words of the Holy Father will be commented, remotely, by the Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay - through a video message - and, at the Pontifical Athenaeum, by the heads of the Congregation for Catholic Education: Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi and Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani. Together with them, the rectors of the Lateran University, Prof. Vincenzo Buonomo, and of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Franco Anelli, and the sociologist Silvia Cataldi, professor at the "La Sapienza" University of Rome, will speak.
The Pope's video message will also be commented on by young students, the first recipients of the Holy Father's message. Likewise, the act will be presented and moderated by Alessandro Gisotti, vice editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See.
The meeting on October 15
The meeting on October 15 will take up the appeal made by the Holy Father on September 12, 2019: "It is necessary to join efforts and create an educational alliance - he said - for this reason I want to meet you in Rome", then reiterating the invitation to ambassadors from around the world, gathered on the occasion of the speech before the Diplomatic Corps (January 9, 2020).
educational experiences
The Covid-19 pandemic, as we know, forced the cancellation of the event in the Vatican, but without interrupting the planning of the project. Thus, the Education Village, in which the best international educational experiences were presented, was transformed into a virtual space: in these months, in fact, there have been more than 70 educational experiences in the world and of various kinds inspired by the themes of the Pact: dignity and human rights, peace and citizenship, integral ecology, fraternity and development.
The experiences have been selected by the Alta Escuela Educar en el encuentro y la solidaridad (EIS), of the LUMSA University of Rome, which will present them during a forthcoming conference, sharing them as well. on the event website.
How to participate in the event
On the preparatory path, 8 face-to-face international seminars have also been held and, as of March, numerous appointments in the "distance" modality, to which the event on October 15 is now added.
Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must submit an application, exclusively through the online accreditation system of the Holy See Press Office, to the address: press.vatican.va/accreditations.
In accordance with current health regulations, access is conditional on verification of body temperature, hand hygiene and the use of a mask. Places will be guaranteed until availability is exhausted