The Ursuline sisters and their lay collaborators from the Asia Pacific provinces of Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and Australia held their Education Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 2 to 6 March.
The meeting takes place every four years in one of the countries in the region. For this gathering it was decided to invite representatives from Ursuline schools across the globe. Participants came from Ursuline schools in Indonesia, Australia, Timor-Leste, Ireland, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Cambodia, India, France, Senegal and Kenya.
Sr Lee Veriga osu, from Australia, gave the opening address. Image: Supplied
The overarching theme of the conference was, “Living Angela’s Spirit: Building Bridges for the Future”, in reference to the founder of the Ursuline sisters, St Angela Merici.
Sr Lee Veriga osu, from Australia, gave the opening address. Reflecting on the conference theme, Lee reminded us that interpersonal bridges have no function if people don’t listen to each other. Hence all bridges begin in the heart long before they ever appear in the world in concrete form. She drew on many sources which emphasised and grounded the theme.
Referring to our schools, Lee noted that the bridges which matter most in the learning environments are built through attentive and deep listening and as such respect each person’s dignity and story. Relationships are foundational and key in human bridge building.
Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta, celebrated the opening mass. Image: Supplied
Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta, celebrated the opening mass of the conference. He reminded us of the long history and presence of the Ursuline sisters in Indonesia, having arrived in Batavia, now Jakarta, in 1856. The sisters began educational services and faced quite complex challenges at that time.
The conference week offered spaces for input, reflection, encounter and shared learning. It provided opportunities to strengthen relationships among educators serving in Ursuline-based schools. In group sharing processes, opportunities were given to listen attentively to one another’s experiences and to discern together how St Angela’s vision may be faithfully lived and transformed within the realities of education today. We affirmed the relevance of St Angela’s words, encouraging us to “always be attentive with great and eager hearts” to those in our care, those entrusted to us!
Attendees came from the Asia Pacific provinces of Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Australia and Ursuline schools around the world. Image: Supplied
Two keynote speakers provided input, relevant to the conference theme. Dr Wilasa Vichit-Vadakan, an Ursuline former student from Mater Dei school in Thailand, offered stimulation around the complex but all-important process of listening. While Mrs Ratih Ibrahim, a psychologist and a former student from Santa Ursula, the large Ursuline school in Jakarta, spoke about the urgency to be vigilant concerning the mental health of young people, especially our students. She reminded us that social media can be “a tool, a trap or a teacher”. Hence the need for discernment and vigilance around its uses with our young people. She noted the challenge for teachers to shift the students’ identity from being consumers of social media to being constructive creators of a technology driven future.
It would not have been a complete Indonesian experience without a batik painting workshop. Many tried their hand and produced some memorable work with designs reflecting the theme of the conference.
Batik making was one of the activities during the conference. Image: Supplied
The week-long gathering expressed the hope of Sr Moekti osu, chairperson of the organising committee, that our shared commitment to sustaining the charism of St Angela Merici (1535) would be realised and strengthened.
Sr Patty Andrew osu is the Vicar for Consecrated Life in the Diocese of Parramatta. She attended the conference.
