(ANS - Santa Cruz)- The Tenth Continental Meeting of Planning and Development Offices (PDO) opened in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on Monday 29 September and ended on 3 October. It was attended by delegates from the Provinces and Vice Provinces of the Netherlands, Bogotá-Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Central America and Haiti. Altogether there were more than 50 participants, including Salesians, Salesian Sisters and lay people.

The purpose of the meeting was to stimulate dialogue between the various PDOs regarding the areas of intervention under the programme entitled "Preparation for employment through vocational training aimed at young people in vulnerable situations."

The opening session was attended by Fr Timothy Ploch, Councillor for the Inter-American region, who brought greetings from the Rector Major, and by the Provincial of Bolivia, Fr Javier Ortiz.

On Monday and Tuesday the topic addressed was the PDO and financial sustainability - Corporate Social Responsibility. It was introduced by Doctor Mauricio Fernández, Salesian Past Pupil, an expert in the area. In his presentation, Dr Fernández stressed that the sustainability of a business or company should have three pillars: economic, environmental and social.

The third day was dedicated to the sharing of best practices in the field and included a tour of the facilities of the "Proyecto Don Bosco" for street children.

Over the last two days, finally, the work focused on the sharing of experiences through the Job Placement Offices working in various Salesian locations.

Further information is available on the website:

http://www.opdencuentro.sdb.bo

Published 08/10/2014