Scholas Occurrentes makes its debut in South-East Asia: the inauguration with Francis in Jakarta

On 4 September, the Pope will meet 200 Indonesian students at the ‘Grha Pemuda’ Youth House. The organisation - wanted in Argentina by Bergoglio - will launch the Scholas Citizenship programme, in collaboration with the Indonesian government and the Global 5P Movement, to train young people through its educational methodology, promoting a culture of encounter.

Rome (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis' imminent apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania - from 2 to 13 September, with stops in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore - will also be an opportunity to inaugurate the first headquarters in the region of Scholas Occurrentes, the global educational project dedicated to young people, set up in Buenos Aires in 2001 on Bergoglio's initiative and which became a foundation of pontifical right in 2013.

On Wednesday 4 September in Jakarta, the Holy Father will in fact visit the ‘Grha Pemuda’ Youth House, to personally meet 200 specially trained Indonesian students from different islands in the country, from various educational institutions and from multiple ethnic groups and religions, to emphasise the values that underpin the organisation's work, including unity in diversity and the Culture of Encounter.

Scholas will in fact launch the Scholas Citizenship programme for the first time in South-East Asia, implemented through a collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia and with the support of the Global 5P Movement (governed by five fundamental principles: Peace, Prosperity, People, Planet and Partnership).

It is outlined as an educational action whose objective is to train a group of university students and young teachers to implement this methodology later in their communities.

‘This approach aims to give meaning to young people and to respond to the current needs of Indonesian society,’ says the organisation. A fundamental purpose in a country with a high percentage of young people, which is constantly growing.

When Scholas Occurrentes was founded in Argentina at the instigation of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, it had the name ‘Escuela de Vecinos’ and ‘School Sisters’. The project involves students from public and public schools, of all religions, to educate young people in commitment to the common good.

Today it is a public international organisation, led by the Pontiff himself, which works with schools and educational communities of different religious and secular denominations to restore the educational pact. Scholas Occurrentes promotes a culture of encounter for peace through education, art and sport, with a focus on low-income communities.

Since 2013 its headquarters has been in Rome, at Palazzo San Callisto. Its network includes almost 450,000 schools and educational agencies worldwide. Its dream is to transform the world into a classroom without walls, where all children are integrated and peace is achieved.

Over the years, Schola Occurrentes has won several international awards, even reaching as far as Indonesia. In 2022, it attended the G20 Summit in Bali, where it met with world leaders in the political, educational and social spheres to present its innovative model of education.

Later invited to the Tri Hita Karana Forum, Scholas discussed with the Indonesian Minister of Education the possibility of expanding its activities in the country and strengthening ties with stakeholders in Asia.

In line with Pope Francis' mission to promote a culture of encounter and peace, Scholas representatives visited the village of Genggelang in Lombok, sharing moments with local youth and planting an olive tree as a symbol of peace.

In order to better understand the Indonesian context, Scholas finally sent a dedicated team and developed a plan to promote global citizenship among young Indonesians by offering intensive training on the Scholas methodology to selected young people at the headquarters in Granada, Spain.