Salesian Forum - Forum Salesiano

Italiano

Setting the Scene

In the wake of don Cafasso, Don Bosco is introduced to the prisons of Turin. That experience shocked him deeply. “I saw a large number of young people between the ages of twelve and eighteen,” he writes, “who were sympathetic, healthy, strong and of sound mind. It was heart-breaking to see them languishing here, with a complete lack of nourishment for both their bodies and their souls. I was stunned. What shocked me most was that many of them ended up back in prison in no time after being released full of good intentions.”

Don Bosco realizes that these young people cannot escape a downward spiral if no one cares about them and offers them a second chance. Together with boys he approaches on the streets and establishes where they gather, he invites them to the courtyard next to the sacristy of the church of Francis of Assisi. In addition to catechesis, he gives lessons to those interested, he provides them with something to eat and he is an animator in games and relaxation. During the week he visits them in the workplaces or in the places where they are working. The boys that Don Bosco gathers around him are considered a threat to the social order in his time and are not given the opportunity to have a second chance. Don Bosco goes against that trend. Through an integral education in the Oratorio of Valdocco, he contributes to their development and social integration.

Today's society expects people to succeed the first time. Taking another chance, trying again seems to be out of the question today. Can and may we still fail? Who gives young people a second chance? How do you reintegrate ex-detainees into society? How do you ensure that as few young people as possible leave school without a diploma? How can people get out of the poverty spiral? What is needed for refugees to develop a dignified existence in our society? With Don Bosco in mind, we want to think about feasible initiatives to give people

new opportunities.

The programme

This year’s Salesian Forum will take place from the 20th to 23th August 2024 at Bled (Slovenia). By means of study and mutual exchange - we aim to explore more deeply the theme ‘A second chance’ and its relationship with the Salesian Preventive System.

To present the different dimensions of the theme, we have invited speakers from various study centres who will deal with the topic from their respective points of view, related to their field of work:

• Wim Collin UPS - Italy

“If a ruffian like me could become good enough…”

Second chance and transformation in the education and spirituality of Don Bosco;

• Sr. Piera Ruffinatto Pontificia Facoltà di Scienze dell'Educazione ‘Auxilium’ - Italy

Maria The first community of Mornese and the "difficult cases".

Translation attempt of the Preventive System in a female context;

• Antoine Farrugia Malta

When family crumbles: a second chance for youth at risk;

• Sr. Magna Martinez Pontificia Facoltà di Scienze dell'Educazione ‘Auxilium’ - Italy

A second chance in the school context;

• Carina Baumgartner SYM - Austria & Johannes Haas Austria

Second chance: "Failing in love"

How to create an environment in which failing and falling is seen as a chance to grow?;

• David Tulimelli India

The Impact of Cross-Border Migration on European Societies:

Challenges and Opportunities.

In addition to these inputs there will be plenty of opportunities to share different perspectives in order to assimilate the theme more fully. English and Italian languages will both be used.