Fr Benny Juliawan SJ, Social Apostolate Coordinator of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, shares a reflection on the recent Networking for Justice meeting in Loyola, Spain.
For a while now a new term has entered the Jesuit dictionary but many Jesuits may have come across it only in passing. It is GIAN, and its variety of pronunciations, and it stands for Global Ignatian Advocacy Network. This initiative brings together various Jesuit institutions and individuals that work for justice across the world. Born of the call of the 34th General Congregation to create structures of collaboration that respond to global concerns, GIAN started with a meeting in El Escorial, Spain, in November 2008. A year later, five topical networks were launched: ecology, governance of natural and mineral resources, right to education, peace and human rights, and migration.
Six years into the process, the five networks have gone through different dynamics and the one on peace and human rights is already practically dead. To take stock and learn from what happened, all the GIAN groups got together in Loyola, Spain, from November 17 to 20. In the crisp autumn air and unusual sunny days in that part of Spain, about 50 people reviewed the steps and decisions taken in the networks. Also present was the Xavier Network, which is the group of Jesuit Mission offices from Europe, North America and Australia.
The exercise of networking did bring us together and it made us aware of the shared identity and values that we live out. Jesuits and lay people in the network felt they were members of the same family, inspired by the same spiritual heritage. The network also fostered deeper fraternal relationships through repeated encounters in meetings, conferences and through the Internet. Moreover, the network enabled the sharing of information which made various apostolates in the conferences visible to all, which in turn enhanced shared awareness as a global body.
The closer relationship aside, the past six years have not been easy. Everyone initially agreed to the urgency of collaboration in the face of mounting problems that are now global in scale. This good intention, as it has now turned out, is far from enough. Networking calls for a shift in paradigm, a new set of skills and habits which are required for the collaboration to function properly. It is clear from our experiences that we often see the network as just another round of meetings without embracing the necessary commitment that comes with it. This may have come from an old way of thinking about the world and about our response to it. In this globalised world, a problem in one locality may have its origin and hence answer somewhere else, across national and cultural boundaries. It is not enough to conceive the problem from a localised point of view and GIAN is trying to foster this shift in paradigm.
Another barrier is the lack of capacity in the participating institutions. Our institutions vary in terms of size and resources. In fact many are small and cannot take additional commitments let alone those that transcend geographical localities. That is why we have found that sometimes the proposed common project was too big for some to handle, for others too practical or technical, or not particularly meaningful. For a network to function, it needs strong member institutions which are able to follow-up and drive the common agenda forward.
Another revelation in this meeting is that contrary to popular belief, the Jesuit governance structure is very decentralised, and it is often out of its depth when addressing cross-geographical concerns. Networking at the global level calls for restructuring of the governance of the Society at all levels. In its final declaration, the Networking for Justice meeting recommends the creation of inter-sectoral networks based on apostolic priorities in the provinces and conferences, and for Jesuit authorities to devote the necessary human and economic resources to support and sustain these networks.
When Ignatius Loyola sent his companions to far flung regions of the world, they embodied the spirit and energy of the Society, acting in union of hearts and minds. Networking is a new expression of the same missionary zeal to respond to the world’s concerns as one corporate body with diverse contributions.
The Networking for Justice meeting, held in Loyola, Spain, from November 16 to 20, 2015, was convened by the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology and involves those working in the Social Apostolate – the Global Ignatian Advocacy Network core groups, the Social Justice Delegates of the Jesuit Conferences, the Xavier Network. The meeting is part of a major commitment by the Society of Jesus to promote global networking as a means to promote social justice. For more information, visit www.jesuitnetworking.org/networking-for-justice.