Doing, giving and seeking the “more” in MAGIS

More than 200 young pilgrims from provinces and regions within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) have just spent a week learning what it means to be Magis. MAGIS is a Jesuit-organised international meeting of young people from all over the world held in conjunction with World Youth Day. The MAGIS programme helps to prepare them for the experience of World Youth Day by offering them an opportunity to share in a unique experience on three distinct levels: individual growth, relationships with God and others, and intercultural dialogue.

Learning from Indigenous Peoples about the sacredness and sustainability of nature

The ecological crisis, the globalised call for environmental stewardship promulgated in Laudato si’ and the 2015 UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris have brought the concept of “sustainability of life” to the fore. These have raised the need for critical reflection on sustainability in the light of the innovative praxis of local communities, particularly the indigenous peoples.

Ignatian Spirituality: the core of Jesuit school leadership

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The third run of the Workshop on Ignatian School Leadership (WISL) brought together 38 school leaders from Jesuit-run schools in four provinces and regions within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP). Coming from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Micronesia, and the Philippines, the participants ranged from administrators of a wide range of experience to teachers identified as having leadership potential.

Renewing life and mission in ecology

It meant three days with no Internet connection or cellular phone signal, but 35 people from 10 countries within the Jesuit Conference Asia Pacific (JCAP) happily gathered in a rural part of the Philippines for an ecology workshop in early June. They worked together, shared experiences, and developed 60 joint actions for strengthening networks, collaboration and communication as communities of practice.

A renewed vitality and commitment

Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, opened the 50th Anniversary Mid-Year Celebration of the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) on June 18 with affirming words recognizing EAPI’s significant role in the growth of the Church across Asia.  The Cardinal, an EAPI alumnus himself, shared his testimony on the transforming impact of the institute in the lives of the participants and the life of the Church.   

Islamic principles for sustainability and the environment

The environmental problems we face today are complex and the Church’s concern is shared by other faiths. In Islam, for example, we can find some principles of environmental ethics that deal with nature and creation. These principles are: tawhîd (God’s unity), âyat (sign of God’s presence), mîzân (balance), khalifat (God’s vicegerent) and amânat (trust).

Shaping Ignatian leaders in education

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The education secretaries within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) met from May 30 to June 2 in Siem Reap, Cambodia to discuss, among many things, possible projects for collaboration. Guiding the discussion around how members of the Asia Pacific network of Jesuit schools can assist and support each other’s projects was the new JCAP Coordinator for Basic and Secondary Education, Fr Johnny Go SJ, who took over the role from Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ recently.

Equipping Jesuit and lay collaborators to become better leaders

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What kind of leader do we need to continue our service of faith and the promotion of justice? First, one who understands context in leadership and next, one who is able to move forward on mission development. Which is why this was the focus of the second module of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific’s Leadership Development Programme held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from May 15 to 21. The first module held last December focussed on the importance of context in leadership.

Between commodity and dignity

Tokyo is gearing up for the 2020 Olympics. While athletes are training hard, the Japanese government is working equally hard to get the facilities ready in time.  To do so, it has recently relaxed immigration procedures to allow more foreign workers to work on the construction of new olympic venues. It has also introduced new regulations for foreign domestic helpers from the Philippines and Vietnam, easing the situation in the previously restricted sector.  With this, sources say that this service industry will be worth 600 billion yen (US$5.45 billion) in the near future.