(ANS - Rome) – Salesian participation in Expo 2015 in Milan came about as a result of an invitation received and accepted by the Rector Major and his Council. Providentially it coincides with the Bicentenary of the Birth of Don Bosco.

Expo 2015 offers a special opportunity for the Salesian Congregation to communicate and share with a world audience the contribution it makes as an educational agency to the theme of Expo - Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.

Fr José Miguel Núñez Moreno is responsible for coordinating the Salesian participation.  Dr Carola Carazzone, former President of the Salesian NGO VIS (Volunteering for International Development) will coordinate the technical aspects. They spoke about it to the Chapter on the evening of Tuesday 8 April.

The Salesian contribution - formally signed in Milan by the Don Bosco Network and VIS on 11 October 2012 – will consist of thirty events that can be entered, in an interactive way, with the help of a digital platform. This fits in with the  participatory approach of the whole of Expo. The intention is to introduce people to educational programmes that will bring about a change of mindset.

The Salesian Congregation is actively involved in the project because a new aspect of Expo 2015 is that is open to civil society and so wants to get in touch with the most important Non Governmental Organizations in the world. For the Salesian world this is an honour, as well as an opportunity to communicate a particular educational charism that is capable of changing situations and bringing about for a more dignified way of life for the benefit of everyone.

Expo Milano 2015 is a great workshop for developing, expanding and analyzing the theme of global nutrition and its sustainability. It is organized in an innovative way, and is divided, not by nation and continent, but into five themes: the history of mankind and the history of food; abundance and deprivation - the paradox of today’s world; the future of food; sustainable food for a just world; taste is knowledge.

From these few details you can get a sense of why the Salesian Congregation wants to be involved. We have been committed traditionally, and we are involved at the present day in all five continents with projects designed to overcome the situations of malnutrition caused by poverty and unemployment. No less important today is the growing commitment to educating for the healthy use of food and the development of an ecosystem that provides proper living conditions for the human person.

Published 09/04/2014