(ANS – Venice-Mestre) – The DonBoscoLand is a webpage started about 10 years ago, created and updated each day by the Salesian Youth Movement in Triveneto. Specially aimed at the young  it speaks their language to perfection: in its graphics, colours, slang, the topics dealt with and the means made available.

Drawing on diverse experiences,  the site appears as a multi-coloured diary of the exuberant Salesian activities of the  Salesian Youth Movement in Triveneto: Vocational and Missionary Animation, Youth Ministry Congress, Youth  Fest, National Civilian Service, pastoral suggestions aimed at each and every age group, theatre work-shop activities, stagecraft – technical and artistic, the publication of the magazine “Youth for Youth”... and so many others.

The section devoted to articles and various material for formation and prayer contains many things that are in effect a useful “on-line library” both for the young and for the educators. The articles are aimed at helping the young to reflect on current affairs on  educational issues on topics connected with their own spiritual journeys. The Salesian section is particularly rich in contributions on Salesian spirituality, on Salesian saints and on the preventive system.
 
Every day the staff of DonBoscoLand make the effort to publish articles for personal or group formation, material about the world of education and of youth, with photos and videos connected with the various  initiatives of the SYM and their magazine “Youth for Youth”; they also organise “off-line” activities such as conventions, retreats, meetings …  and they promote the events organised or supported by  the SYM; it is becoming ever more relevant and also feeds into the social networks: Youtube, Twitter and Facebook.

While it is a site addressed to a very specific audience (young people between 15-28 with a Salesian background in Triveneto), the site has had over 300,000 visitors in the last year, and they all have a dream. Of these 25% return to the site a least once a week and 12% every two days.

The Donboscoland site is the result of  a form of communication with two inter-connected fundamental features: information and formation. Joined together these create a relationship between every day matters and thought, with an awareness that it is not enough to present  a calendar of events unless behind it there are real ideas,  and that ideas are not enough unless these come alive. The information is about the activities of the SYM planned and carried out not only in Triveneto. The formation is offered so as to provide young people and/or their educators  with material suited to their own needs.

At the same time the Donboscoland communication is based on two other ideas: what is happening locally and around the Province. It is necessary to have the two linked together so that the suggestions coming from the young people in each of the Salesian centres is then promoted by those who have the responsibility of making connections between the various centres in Triveneto.

“DonBoscoLand… Network for Dreaming!”  is the  motto of this site which is intended to be a presence of Don Bosco in the digital continent where the young find themselves every day. So as then to make face to face contact  …in the playground!

Published 29/02/2012