Plan for Continental Formation Sessions on systemic change

“During the recently concluded meeting of the Vincentian Family International Heads from 31 January to 01 February 2008, a plan was approved to hold formation sessions, in the next years (2008-2010)”CONTINENTAL FORMATION SESSIONS
FOR VINCENTIAN FAMILY ADVISORS, DIRECTORS AND LEADERS
ON SYSTEMIC CHANGE (FAMVIN-CONSYS)

Introduction

During the recently concluded meeting of the Vincentian Family International Heads from 31 January to 01 February 2008, a plan was approved to hold formation sessions, in the next years (2008-2010), for some members of the Vincentian Family who will be involved in leadership and advisory positions and who will be willing to facilitate the understanding and promotion of systemic change as a means towards sustainable development of the poor. This presentation attempts to discuss the details of this plan and includes the following headings:

1. Plan: Background and Rationale
2. Specifics of the Plan
3. Coordination
4. Time-Line and Schedule

1. PLAN: BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

To hold regional (i.e., continental) sessions for the formation of Vincentian Family advisors / directors / leaders, with a special focus and emphasis on the theme of systemic change and how this can be introduced, implemented and directed.

1.1 Historical Background

It is good to put this plan in its proper historical context. First, in July 2002 a month-long meeting was held in Paris for the benefit of the Advisors and Directors of the Vincentian Family ( ). This meeting was attended by 116 Priests, Sisters and lay people. The avowed objectives of this meeting were:
• to deepen the understanding of our Founders’ doctrine,
• to know the branches and works of the Vincentian Family and
• to discover better the role of Advisors.

It is now more than five years since that meeting and the widespread extension of the Vincentian Family throughout the five major regions or continents continue to demand more advisors and directors. It was felt that another meeting of this sort ought to be held again in the near future in order to assist those who have or shall have been given the responsibility of directing, advising, and leading the various branches of the Vincentian Family. At the same time it was suggested that this meeting be conducted, not as one international session, as in 2002, but rather on a continental basis, owing to the large number of possible participants.

Second, last year (2007) the Vincentian Family International Heads proposed as theme of the annual celebration of St. Vincent’s feast the matter of systemic change relative to our work for and with the poor. This generated enthusiastic response and the Commission on Systemic Change received numerous requests for sessions on the proper understanding and implementation of systemic change. Recently, the Commission saw the need and thus proposed also to hold these sessions by continents for the next two or three years.

With these two concerns in mind, the leaders of the major Vincentian Family branches at this year’s meeting then decided that a single session for each continent would be preferable as it would assist in expanding the number of its advisors and leaders on the international level, at the same time that it would spread the program of systemic change, hopefully to be implemented on the national and local levels. Thus, the plan for continental sessions was approved and adopted.

1.2 Advantages, Disadvantages, Features

These sessions have their share of advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages, the following may be mentioned: the formation of leaders and the presentation of systemic change would be more regionally or continentally contextualized, addressing the concerns of the local situation in a more or less direct and concrete way; more advisors and Vincentian leaders would be invited, thus multiplying their number in every continent; travel expense would not be as great since the venue for such a meeting would be nearer the residence of most participants; except for Europe, most continents will only have to deal with one or two languages, thus facilitating greater and faster comprehension; the meeting would not take so long, thus cutting down on the expenses; the participation of lay Vincentian leaders would be greatly enhanced because they do not have to be away from their work for a long period of time, etc.

There are also disadvantages: as we minimize the expense for one big intercontinental gathering, we also multiply it since we would have five (or six) and not only one meeting; the international secretariat, which would take the lead in coordinating these efforts, would have to be very busy arranging all the requisite materials; etc.

All these notwithstanding, others features of this meeting are also being suggested. One is what may be termed as “cross-pollination” by which one or two representative(s) from other regions may be invited to participate or speak at the other regional meeting. For example, a representative from Latin America may be invited to give a talk at the African meeting, an Asian representative at the North American session, etc. This would assist in raising the international consciousness of the advisors and leaders and thus facilitate our worldwide collaboration.

Another feature is that each region, while working within the stated general objectives, could determine the specific objectives they would like to achieve in its meeting, taking into consideration the level of awareness and appreciation of the Vincentian charism. In other words, it is possible, for example, that Latin America may have other specific objectives than would Africa, since the Vincentian Family in the former is much more established than it is in the latter.

2. SPECIFICS OF THE PLAN

To be more specific, we spell out the details of this plan relative to its objectives, target participants, general schedule, program-content and financing.

2.1 Objectives:

General:
1. To provide formation programs for Vincentian Family advisors, directors, guides, and leaders.
2. To introduce and/or deepen the understanding of systemic change as a way of promoting sustainable development of the poor.
3. To equip the participants with the necessary tools (knowledge, conviction, skills) in order to help them fulfil their responsibility of animation, direction, guidance and leadership within the Vincentian Family in their region.
4. To provide opportunities for inter-regional exchange of experiences and mutual formation in the effort to deepen our Vincentian spirituality.

Specific: (To be formulated by each continental group for their respective continent, keeping in mind the above general objectives and their own particular cultural context and specific needs.)

2.2 Target Participants: (see Appendix 1)

1. Directors and advisors from among the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity.
2. Members of other religious congregations / institutes / associations in the Vincentian Family who show interest.
3. Lay leaders of the Vincentian Family groups who show capabilities for leadership, animation, etc.

2.3 General Schedule:

A period of one week (7 days), five of these being full training sessions.

2.4 Program Content:

General Topics:
1. The Vincentian Family: Branches, Nature, Mission, and Spirituality
2. Systemic Change as a Method of Promoting Sustainable Development of the Poor
3. The Role of the Advisor, Guide, Director
4. Partnership and Collaboration

An example of the distribution of topics:
First day (morning): Preliminaries; the Vincentian Family: the branches, our mission, unity in diversity; time for the participants to get to know one another, to get to know you and the Vincentian Family Office, and to get to know the members of the Commission for Promoting Systemic Change.
First day (afternoon): Importance of spiritual formation for the members of the Family, its leaders, and the Advisors; the process of spiritual formation within the various branches of the Vincentian Family; the decision of the heads of the family to focus on systemic change for at the least the next two years (with the implication that formation in a systemic change mentality is as an important aspect of the spirituality of the Vincentian Family today).
Second day (morning): Systemic change as a process for promoting sustainable development; some examples of successful systemic change projects in various countries: Akamasoa, the Homeless People’s Federation of the Philippines, etc.
Second day (afternoon): Vincentian Spirituality; its foundational elements; systemic change elements in the teaching of Saint Vincent de Paul; the imperative of Partnership and Collaboration (some of the strategies for systemic change), especially today
Third day: Further examples of successful systemic change projects and the strategies that foster such change; the need to change unjust situations and unjust structures that oppress the poor and the role of systemic change in doing that; the need for projects to be self-sustaining in order to bring about long-term change.
Fourth day: Role of Advisor / Guide / Director / Coordinating Group; their role in general; their role as multiplying agents of a systemic change way of thinking (beginning with an analysis of the real-life situation of the poor, and then attempting to find, with the poor themselves, ways of helping them emerge from poverty); various practical tools: the book Seeds of Hope: Stories of Systemic Change, the tool kit, etc.
Fifth Day: Organizing sessions on the national level
2.5 Financing:

Each participant is expected to pay for the transportation and accommodation expenses. A fund can be raised to cover the expenses of some lay participants. Foundations could be approached to help fund the programs costs (speakers, coordinators, materials, etc.).

3. COORDINATION

3.1 General Over-all Coordinators:

Vincentian Family Office (Rome) with the staff of the Delegate for the Vincentian Family, and the Commission on Systemic Change.

3.2 Continental Coordinators:

A team of VF members in a given region/continent who could facilitate the preparation and conduct of the session, in coordination with the over-all coordinators. Cf. Appendix 2

Responsibilities of the Continental Coordinators:
1. To specify the objectives of the regional session.
2. To line up the topics to be taken up, the speakers and other man-power resources, etc.
3. To present a preliminary budget for the session.
4. To help, in coordination with the Over-all Coordinators, in the procurement of funds for the activity.

4. TIME-LINE AND SCHEDULE

The exact dates for the continental sessions can be worked out in a three-way dialogue among the continental coordinating committee, the Vincentian Family office, and the Commission for Promoting Systemic Change.

2008 February : Presentation of the Plan to the Vincentian Family
International Heads; Approval

2008 February-May : Announcement of Plans
Formation and Organization of Continental Coordinating Groups
Drawing-up of Continental Plans

2008 July – : Preparations by Continental Coordinating Groups
2009 June

2009 January : Immediate preparations by Continental Coordinating
Group for Latin-America

2009 February : Continental Session for Latin America (Mexico)

2009 April-May : Immediate preparations by Continental Coordinating
Group for Africa

2009 June or July* : Continental Session for Africa*

2009 September : Immediate preparations by Continental Coordinating
Group for Asia-Pacific

2009 October or : Continental Session for Asia-Pacific*
November*

: North America*

: Europe*

: Brazil?*

* These are yet to be determined and finalized.