|
|
- YOUNG
ALUMNAE OF THE WORLD
-
- Report of
the AMASC XII Congress
- Ana
Drisaldi
-
- As new member of the
AMASC ´s Board, I think it is very important that
all the alumnae know the young opinion about the
congress. That's why I'm writing this report, and I'm
also adding you some young opinion. Also I want to tell
you that if you have any opinion or suggestion or idea
you can e-mail me.
- Each AMASC congress
is a rich opportunity for all of us to get energy, to
learn, to share ideas, to communicate, to meet friends,
etc. This is my second congress so I really can not make
a huge comparison but in my opinion during this congress
I could see the work of the world, I could share how the
alumnae are working throughout the world, and they are
involved in the society. We are "solving" in some point
some of the society problems and we are trying to give
answers to the community. And I understand this is what
Madeleine Sophie Barat wanted of us, and what she gave us
with the values and all the spirituality that we learned
at school.
- We could touch this
reality of today with these extraordinary examples of
Cristina Castro of Colombia, Claudia Taylor of Malta,
Joanne Lee of Korea, Carol Curr of Australia. I think
this is a point of start and all of us returned to each
country with this sort of ideas but not only to talk
about that or to put the ideas in a paper, we have to
make our own project in the name of AMASC and we can also
be an example as these women are. These women turned one
dream into the reality and as Sister Helen McLaughlin
told us if we dream alone is only a dream but if we dream
together the dream could turn into the
reality.
- The opening Mass at
St. Mary's Cathedral was very important for me, I don't
know If I could transmit you my feeling there but when we
started walking all together the Cathedral was plenty of
alumnae, religious, friends, and students, all of us
members of the same Family, the FAMILY OF THE SACRED
HEART. This feeling continued because we could share some
days with the principals of the Schools of Sacred Heart
all over the world, that is very important because I'm
sure that be have to work together.
- At the young forum we
were 115 alumnae from Argentina, Australia, Austria,
Canada, England, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, USA,
We did two workshop and them we put the ideas in common.
This was an extraordinary opportunity to share ideas, to
try to get solutions to our problems, to work, to
discuss, to make suggestions, to know the point of view
of the other, to make comments. This was the enrichment
of these workshops, and we all agreed that we are women
of today, all of us in different parts of the world, we
have a lot of responsibilities in the community, as a
mother, as a friend as a member of a company, as a member
of an ONG, etc. We can dial with a lot of problems and we
have to be instrument, we have to work for the
reconciliation of the world of today. As Madeleine Sophie
Barat said an alumnae can not save only
herself.
- This is what I could
tell you about the young alumnae of the Sacre Heart, here
we are, we want to be more in the daily work of each
national association and in the next congress in New
Orleans; that's why we are asking you to help us trying
to inform and involve the young alumnae into AMASC. As a
member of AMASC I´m trying to get new activities for
us like an AMASC chat in the MSN, an on line volunteer
(this is a project that I have with Claudia Taylor), I
would also try to inform you about what we are doing. I
want to know your opinion, suggestion, ideas, experience,
etc, please write me and tell me all.
- I want that each
member of our family know this gift that Madeleine Sophie
left us.
- Ana Drisaldi
- Some opinions of
some of the young alumnae that were in Sydney:
- Alessia Clemente -
Italy
- Stephanie Orel -
Austria
- Please if you were
there and you want to put your opinion, please send it to
me: adrisaldi@fibertel.com.ar
- Alessia Clemente -
Italy
- Here I am at the end
of the World Youth Forum of AMASC. I know that I came
back home renewed in the Spirit and in the ideas, ready
to share together with the Italian Ancient Alumnaes a
project of quality, able to reestablish the dream of a
group of young people engaged in the constant education
of the next, along the principles that Sophie Barat left
us in order to give them as a present to everybody,
without distinction of race and colour, with gratuity and
generosity.
- I summed up many
adresses of young coming from all around the world...it
will be easier to keep in contact, especially through
internet, and to continue exchange our ideas, and it will
be easy to understand that for young distances never
exist, but that of the heart, which can be overcome
through the power of the reconciliation. It will be
interesting to find always new proposals inside
ourselves, ideas and suggestions to be shared with the
entire world, hoping that the power of communication will
help us in the transmission of true reasons of the common
living, true acception of diversity and wil help us to
promote the absolute importance of the human being and of
his foundamental Rights.
- We can become adult
people, who fight unjustice especially agains the babies,
who help us to discover God, beyond them.
- We can become people,
who promote the Christian Culture in daily
life.
- Concluding, we ask
for the help to the "present adults", because we need to
create that continuity between a present that already
exsists, and a future that is going to grow in the mutual
understanding of giving values to "the presents
times".
- Alessia Clemente
- Stephanie Orel -
Austria
- For me, Stephanie
Orel, it was a big honour to represent the youth of
Austria on this incredibly interesting and colourful
World Congress. I have to say it was colourful in all
sorts of different ways, there were all kinds of
different skin colours, nationalities, personalities and
ages. Concerning the ages it has to be said that the
youth could have been more present on this Congress, but
it is not astonishing that not so many young ones where
present regarding the costs of flight, hotel and Congress
fees. Well we students are well known for not been the
richest beings on this planet so unless we get sponsored
by our parents or someone else, we have to stay at home
and await the reports of the others.
- But it has to be said
as well that altogether we where around 50 real young
congress participants from all over the world and a lot
of "late young ones" (between the age of 30
&endash;40).
- We European young
alumnae came the agreement that we could do so much more
(especially we Austrian ones) to connect to the
international network of the Sacred Heart. Therefore
after our homecoming we decided to set up a real Austrian
Young-Alumnae Association where we are planning to do all
kinds of different actions in the near
future.
- Coming back to the
congress I think that everybody (no matter what age) has
been inspired by the incredible variety of congress
programme offered to the participants. One of the first
overwhelming impressions that we got was the opening mass
on Sunday the 14th of April in St. Mary's Cathedral with
the Flag procession in Olympian Style, 29 flags
representing the 29 countries participating in this
Congress. That was the solemn beginning of a very intense
week that included the following programme points and
much more: workshops, discussion-groups, speeches
concerning the most current world issues (globalisation
and human rights, reconciliation with refugees, Missions
and Values of the Sacred Heart, Women working on
different social projects all around the
world…..etc.) 600 people where put into the big
Congress room the hall of St. Ignatius College. (A boys
school, which I thought was a very positive move towards
the collaboration of genders, letting a nearly all women
Congress take place in a boys college, I can say that in
Austria we have got boys now for a while already and I
think that this was a great decision, because being used
to the company of boys means being more able to adapt to
modern society, because we do not live as separated
anymore as people did a hundred years ago).
- There was a strange
and inexplicable bonds between all these people, most of
them met each other first time on this congress but no
one felt shy walking up to someone else (a complete
stranger) saying. " Hello how are you I am XY, from XY
&endash; country and where are you from, and so on
…." That must have been the international spirit of
the Sacred Heart that connected us all with each
other.
- Besides very serious
discussions and talks we also had enough possibility for
great fun and less world shaking talk. The home
hospitality dinner (where some organisation genius
managed to get all these 600 congress participants
divided into 10 er groups into Sacred-Heart family for a
delicious and absolutely gorgeous home dinner), or the
big Gala Diner where we not only got delicious food but
also a very interesting cultural programme with an
Aboriginal dance group and a Kids choir.
- At that point it has
to be said as well that we young ones had our own private
evening amusement hours as well. At some point we decided
that we all had great, interesting, serious and spiritual
conversations and that we all enjoyed that, but that we
have to party as well. (As we young ones love to do it)
And so a very international group of young girls
(Japanese, English, Australian, Italian, South-American,
North &endash; American, Argentinian,
Austrian,…etc.) was checking out Sydney's nightlife
and had great fun with that.
- I just have to say
one more thing: This Congress was one of the most
interesting experiences in my life and I think everybody
got so much personal to learn and take home from there,
that it was altogether a great success (personal and
official):
|
