The beautiful city of Melbourne was a very apt site for a gathering of the Education Delegates of JCAP held on 1-2 October at the Provincial House of the Australian Province. Such was the intensity of the discussions that even the sunny Melbourne weather could not distract the group from their important task of planning for our future in education in Asia Pacific.

Facilitated by Barbara Watkins from Jesuit Education Australia, the meeting intended to start the process of crafting a strategic plan for JCAP education. Fr Jose Mesa, SJ, Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education of the Society, was on hand to help contextualise our planning by reminding all that we have to be both aware of the global mission of the Society for Education while responding to the needs of our local situation.

The meeting was convened by Fr Leonardus Winandoko SJ, Secretary for Basic Education for JCAP and attended by the Education Delegates of nine JCAP units which run basic education institutions. The discernment and discussions were, as many of the delegates noticed, spirit-filled and very hopeful. We focused on the possible pathways that we, as educators, can journey on together. In particular, we identified areas of formation, networking, and collaboration as spaces for further growth and development. While the strategic plan remains a work in progress, the two intense days of discussion and prayer proved instrumental in forming a solid foundation for the strategies to come, allowing us to respond well to our diverse contexts while being one with the global Jesuit mission of education. [JCAP Education]