UNION MONDIALE DES ANCIENS ELEVES UNION MUNDIAL DE LOS ANTIGUOS ALUMNOS WORLD UNION ALUMNI/OLD BOYS ENSEMBLE TOGETHER CONCORDES BOGOTÁ D.C. MARCH 2002 ++++++ EDITORIAL INVITATION TO THE CONGRESS Dear fellow Jesuit Alumni/ae: As the President of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni (WUJA) and according to our regulations, it gives me great pleasure to extend this invitation to you and the members of your Jesuit Alumni(ae) Association to the VI Congress of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni at Saint Xavier's College, Kolkata, India from January 21 to January 24, 2003. The Indian Federation and the organizing committee for the sixth Congress have been working hard to offer us a great meeting under the name of "Summit of Joy" and with the central theme taken from India's Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore: "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high". The Organizing committee is sparing no effort to ensure that all attending the Congress experience a warm Kolkata and Indian welcome. The WUJA 1997 Congress held in Sydney, Australia was a major break- through for our organization, since it was the first time ever that we held such an event outside Europe. We also chose to separate the role of the President from that of the organizing of the next Congress. The Kolkata Congress must be the consolidation of our World Union. We need to follow the directions taken in the resolutions of the 1997 Congress in Sydney, specially regarding the social actions taken by the different Jesuit Alumni/ae Associations worldwide. The opportunity to get together in a Congress is a perfect one to interchange information and to get new and fresh ideas that could enhance the work in our own associations and countries. In this ETC edition we have included a broad presentation of the Congress made by the organizing committee. Although there is not yet a final program, we expect to send it to you in a few months. I believe that our Congress will be more effective if we all prepare for it well. We, and the Indian Kolkata Congress' organizers will appreciate your suggestions of topics and speakers for the program. The idea is that we send you the topics and the final program soon, so you can discuss them in your own associations and/or federations and bring your thoughts and input to Kolkata. We will all be eager to learn from one another. All members of the alumni/ae associations from the world are cordially invited to this Congress. But it may be possible that due to distance not all can come. In light of the fact that this is, as the one in Sydney was, a strategic a strategic congress, it will be important that your association send al least a core delegation as representatives representatives. Probably the President, the Jesuit Counselor and at least one or two other alumni, of whom one should be a young former student. Since this small group will represent your association and report back to your members, it may well be appropriate for the association to help finance the travel expenses of those persons. In a future issue of the ETC, our Secretary Mr. Francois-Xavier Camenen will inform you all of the statutory requirements regarding application to host the next World Union Congress, proposed Constitution and By-law changes, etc. It is expected that you will also receive registration forms, more specific information about hotels and other possibilities for lodging, etc., for our Kolkata Congress by June 2002. So please start to think concretely about your plans. We very much look forward to welcoming you! We need your active participation in our World Congress. I'm certain that it will be a very memorable occasion. Thanks and I look forward to see you in Kolkata in January 2003 Fabio Tobón President WUJA +++++ FAREWELL AND WELCOME The following announcement was made in the number sixth edition of Educatio SJ in November, 2001. Father Gabriel Codina will start his new job as Secretary General of the Society of Jesus, and Father Thomas Roach is the new Secretary for education. Father Roach belongs to the Maryland province. He was a professor during 7 years in the Preparatory School of Saint Joseph in Philadelphia and Principal of the same school during four years. After that, he was the delegate of Secondary Education in the province of Maryland for six years. Then he went to the Preparatory School of Georgetown in Bethesda North Maryland, where he was for fifteen years. First as Director of the School and then as his President. During the last year Father Roach has been in Gdynia, Poland where he taught in the Secondary School of the Jesuits, and he was part of the team of the Pedro Arrupe Center and of the Jesuit International Project of leadership in Education. +++++ Message from Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach Superior General of the Society of Jesus to the Congress of the European Confederation of Jesuit Alumni(ae) Malta, 1-3 November, 2001 It is truly a pleasure to join you, by means of this video, at the European Congress of Jesuit Alumni taking place in Malta. I am especially grateful to Mr. Louis Cooreman, President of the European Confederation, who extended to me an invitation to greet you personally and send you a short message. Unfortunately, a visit already scheduled to the provinces of South America prevents me from being with you in Malta. You have wanted to make this Congress an "Ignatian encounter", in order to give a push to the realization of a very specific goal: "Working for Others" "Working for Others". This expression cannot but bring to mind the Congress of the European Confederation which took place in Valencia in 1973, when Fr. Pedro Arrupe threw out the famous expression "Men for others." Give me the permission to recall his vibrant words, in this year in which we commemorate the tenth anniversary of his death. Father Arrupe stated: "Today our prime educational objective must be to form men for others; men who live not for themselves but for the Lord and his Christ [...]; men who cannot even conceive of love of God which does not include love for the least of their neighbours; men completely convinced that love of God which does not issue in justice for men is a farce." It was at that same meeting that Fr. Arrupe posed the famous question: "Have we Jesuits educated you for justice?". In order to respond in all sincerity and humility: "No, we have not". Those words are still haunting us today. My predecessor's address was not well received by many alumni at the Valencia meeting, some of whom felt extremely hurt. I hope that the same thing will not occur with my address today! Nevertheless, from the Ignatian perspective, after almost thirty years, we still perceive the relevance of those words. Justice, solidarity, and the service of others, especially the excluded, has risen in these last years to first place and has become a burning issue, both in the Church and in the global society. One characteristic of those who seek to share lgnatian spirituality is immersion in the world and in the reality of each day, with its lights and its shadows, in order to "seek and find God in all things." The Lord challenges us, through the persons and situations that surround us, to make present the Kingdom. What is important is to discern what the Lord is asking of us and to make the correct decision. The globalised world of today, with its tremendous potentialities and its terrible threats, presents new challenges that Jesuit alumni, individually and as a group, cannot evade. Permit me to remain within the European scene, where you are immersed, and offer for your consideration three specific fields of action. - The first is the search for meaning in an environment in which the transcendent dimension seems to have vanished. Barely two years go, in its message to the citizens of Europe, the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops made a reading of the signs of the times, to highlight the many "signs of hope" which spring from the life-giving gift of the Lord. And, at the same time, it pointed out fears and signs of uncertainty which constitute challenges that all Europeans face. It is on this concrete ground that our alumni must prove their hope, and help those around to discover the profound meaning of life. The Risen Christ does exist, and you give witness to Him through an authentic Christian spirituality made incarnate day by day, with the scale of values that you communicate, and with your personal and social behaviour. - A second field of action is offered by the profound cultural mutation which Europe is experiencing, due to immigration. The period we are going through is characterized by a new phase in the process of European integration and by a powerful evolution in the multiethnic, multireligious, and multicultural sense. Depending on the way in which we place ourselves in view of this challenge, this integration will either become a richness or it will become a missed opportunity. Renewing the call of the bishops of Europe, I invite you to continue to respond with justice and with a great sense of solidarity to the growing phenomenon of migrants and refugees. As alumni, you are also qualified to create public opinion, and to exercise your influence in the levels in which policies are made and decisions taken, if you have the capacity to strike at their causes. This will be a very concrete form of "working for others" such as you propose for yourselves. - A third field of action that I permit myself to propose to you, is that of a special attention to Africa. Although strictly speaking this concern extends beyond your frontiers, for historical reasons Europe cannot rest idle before the "ocean of misfortunes" ravaging the African continent. In the most recent meeting of Jesuit Universities, last May, our universities committed themselves to providing institutional support in developing or improving the Catholic higher educational institutions in Africa. The practical ways in which alumni can, for their part, help Africa, will have to be discussed attentively. However, beyond the specific help that you can lend to concrete projects, the Jesuit alumni possess no doubt the professionalism and the capacity to effectively influence, on both the national and international planes, to change attitudes and behaviour towards Africa, certainly not very far from Malta, the place chosen for this meeting. Before these and other challenges, you are not helpless. You have received a formation and share a spiritual heritage, that of Ignatius of Loyola, which prepares you to work together, in partnership with Jesuits and others, and to face the new European and world scene. The European Confederation and the National Associations have a key role to play in this regard. More than a place where the "old boys" occasionally get together to cultivate nostalgia, the Associations should be the meeting point for the alumni to share the same vision, to feed anew at the sources of Ignatian spirituality, and to find the necessary support to make a reality your commitment to "work for others" through works of justice and compassion. This, I think, is the profound meaning of the mission which corresponds to the Jesuit Alumni Associations. Along this line, I am pleased to know that the European Confederation, in the framework of the World Union, has the concern for promoting Ignatian spiritualitv and of helping its members to integrate this dimension in their daily lives. This means not only putting into effect concrete projects to help others, but above all offering alumni the possibility of growing themselves in Ignatian spirituality. Particularly, familiarizing themselves with the Spiritual Exercises, which have not lost their effectiveness for our commitment as Christians in today's Europe. I wish you much success in this Meeting, and ask the Lord that, under the inspiration of Ignatius, you may discover new ways to work with others and for others in the building up of a more just and fraternal world. ++++++ VI WUJA CONGRESS KOLKATA -INDIA ¡WELCOME! Message by Gen. Shankar Roychowdhury (Retd.)President, VIth World Congress Organizing CommitteeThe Federation of Jesuit Alumni / ae Associations of India will hold the Sixth World Congress of Jesuit Alumni / ae at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, India from January 21 to January 24, 2003. On behalf of the Organizing Committee for the Sixth World Congress 2003 (Summit of Joy) I have the pleasure of inviting you to join us and participate in the event. The responsibility of the congress is shouldered by the three Kolkata Associations:-St. Lawrence Old Boys' Association (SLOBA) - St. Xavier's College Calcutta Alumni Association (SXCCAA) - St. Xavier's School Old Boys Association (Alumnorum Societas). The theme of the World Congress, inspired by India's Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, reads: "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high." Deliberations will focus on the responsibility of past pupils of Jesuit Schools and Colleges in the world to involve their associations and themselves individually for the betterment of society with special emphasis on human dignity. World Union of Jesuit Alumni/ae (WUJA) Objectives of the Congress Kolkata will be the first city in Asia and in fact only the second center outside Europe to host the World Congress of Jesuit Alumni/ae from January 21 to 24, 2003. This will no doubt spur the already vibrant Jesuit Alumni/ae movement in India to newer heights in 'repaying their debt to society.' Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, s.j. Superior General of the Society of Jesus, has set the tone for the upcoming World Congress in his remarks to the Council of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni/ae in Rome in January 2001 with the observation that with the World Union now really coming to life, a very important point is communication. In his words, "thanks to communication - just to know one another's experiences, just to learn from one another's adventures - the Union is discovering a new life and new interest." The sharing of experiences and initiatives, according to him, will enhance the belief of the various member associations that they can do something and contribute to keeping the Union alive and even livelier. To quote the Superior General, "the famous slogan 'Think Globally Act Locally' is applicable ... the local efforts can meet one another on the global level and can be enriched by a common vision, nourished by Jesuit Education, experienced in common. The outcome will be a more dynamic life of the Union on the different local levels." Jesuit Institutions: Worldwide and in India According to geographic regions, and including universities, secondary schools, primary schools and theologates, Jesuit institutions worldwide are as follows: Africa / Middle East 31 East Asia / Oceania 48 Europe 158 Latin America 116 North America 97 South Asia 162 - India's connection with the Jesuits is as old as St. Francis Xavier. - There are 153 High Schools, 38 Colleges & 19 other Jesuit institutions in India today. - The first Jesuit institution in Kolkata, St. Xavier's College was founded in 1860 A.D. by Belgian Jesuits. - St. Lawrence High School was founded in 1937 A.D. - St. Xavier's School and College and St. Lawrence have thriving alumni associations with many achievements. World Union of Jesuit Alumni/ae (WUJA): Background -·Founding of Society of Jesus in 1540 -·Founding of the first Jesuit College - St. Paul's at Goa (India) -·Founding of WUJA on 31st July, 1956, at Bilbao, Spain (on the occasion of the 400th death anniversary of St.Iganatius of Loyala) -·WUJA has representatives from Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, Middle East, Oceania and East Asia and South Asia -·The Sydney Congress decided to hold the 6th Congress in Kolkata, India, in January 2003 FOJAAI (Federation of Jesuit Alumni/ae Association of India) - 1st National Congress in Chennai (formerly Madras) in 1995 - 2nd National Congress in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in 1999 - 3rd National Congress in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in November 2001 World Congress: Valencia to Kolkata - 1st Congress at Bilbao, Spain in 1956 - 2nd Congress at Rome, Italy in 1967 - 3rd Congress at Versailles, February in 1986 - 4th Congress at Bilbao, Spain in 1991 - 5th Congress at Sydney, Australia in 1997 - 6th Congress to be held at Kolkata, India in 2003 Theme of World Congress The theme has been inspired by the writings of India's Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore. The theme chosen is the quest for Human Dignity as aptly expressed by Tagore, an alumnus of a Jesuit institution himself: "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high" How Kolkata became the venue The Sydney Congress in 1997 chose South Asia as the region to hold the Sixth World Congress. In response to an offer by the three Alumni Associations of Kolkata to host it jointly, it was decided to hold the Congress at Kolkata, India. With the formation of FOJAAI in 1999, the responsibility passed on to the National Federation, which in turn authorised the three Kolkata Associations to organize the 6th Congress. The three associations hosting the congress as part of FOJAAI are: - St. Xavier's School Old Boys Association - Alumnorum Societas (ALSOC) - St. Lawrence Old Boys Association (SLOBA) - St. Xavier's College Calcutta Alumni Association (SXCCAA) Host Nation: India the ideal country - Multi-religious, multi-ehnic, multi-lingual secular democracy - Land of modernity and orthodoxy - Mosaic of ancient, rich and diverse cultures... - Land of seekers of truth... men and women still searching for meaning... flocking to gurus and ashrams - Cradle of many ancient religions - Land of fascinating unity in diversity... - If unity in Diversity is Divine, this is God's own land... Host City : Kolkata the ideal destination - Founded in 1686 by Job Charnock, a British Merchant... - The city occupies a Unique Position... * First capital of the British Empire (1757)... * First Supreme Court of India (1840) * First Indian Universtity - Calcutta University (1857) - Cultural Capital of India - City of Revolutionaries +++++ Programme for the VIth World Congress January 21-24, 2003 1st Day (21-01-2003) 0900 hrs : Registration 1400-1600 hrs : World Council Meeting 1700 hrs: Inaugral Session Evening : Home Hospitality for foreign delegates (Boat trip down Ganges / tour of Kolkata etc can be arranged for those who wish to do so before the conference starts) 2nd Day (22-02-2003) Mass by Rev.Fr.Superior General Invocation (prayer) Overview of the Congress Opening Session Address by Fr Superior General - Refreshment break Strategic Session (worldwide activities) Keynote address - Lunch break Focus Session 1 - Tea break Focus Session 2 Focus Session 3 Cultural Programme 3rd Day (23-01-2003) Overview of the day Focus Session 4 - Break Separate Parallel Group on 4 topics of focus sessions - Lunch break Reporting from parallel sessions and Strategy Formation for future Regional Meetings Congress Dinner 4th Day (24-01-2003) Field Visits and meet at St Lawrence - Lunch break at St Lawrence World Council Meet / Others at exhibition Closing Plenary Session Depart in Spirituality (45 minutes meditation and relaxation session) Trade Fair: A concurrent business/trade fair would be arranged at St Xavier's primary school premises For companions of delegates: On 2nd day, Wed 22/1/2003: boat ride - On 3rd day, Thu 23/1/2002: sightseeing Optional field visit: On 5th day, Sat 25/1/2003 - field visit to Missionaries of Charity as per requests received by organisers Topics for Focus sessions - related to Human Dignity, the theme of the congress 1. Business concerns with respect to ethics and best practices, abuse of moral standards 2. Development and environment 3. Empowerment to women 4. Education / liberty through literacy Programme detailed above is tentative and is subject to change A warm welcome to all The organisers are sparing no effort in ensuring the World Congress at Kolkata in not only a successful summit but also a memorable one for all delegates. The traditional warmth of Indian hospitality beckons the distinguished Jesuit Alumni members worldwide and promises to take you through a journey of discovery, knowledge, action and fulfilment. As the Congress deliberations are underway, the Organizers are also ensuring that the time spent at Kolkata is worth every moment. During the Congress, audio-visual experience of India's culture and heritage, interaction between delegates from across India and worldwide would be facilitated. The evenings promise to be enriching as well with cultural programmes, home hospitality and city tours etc scheduled at convenient times. +++++ Registration Registration for the conference will be open soon. Registration forms would be despatched to all the WUJA member associations worldwide and will also be available through the website http://www.jawcon.org. Hospitality Various kinds of accomodation to suit individual preferences are available at Kolkata. Assistance in booking hostel accomodation, accomodation in dormitories, guest houses or hotels could be provided upon request depending on the delegates requirements. Subject to prior booking, assistance for post-conference tours to various destinations could also be provided for delegates desirous of experiencing India's rich culture and heritage. Arrangements for translation facilities for foreign delegates would also be available on request. Organising Committee Office bearers: President: Gen. Shankar Roychowdhury (Retd.) Sr Vice President : Krishna Kumar Kanoi Vice President : Sidharth Dudhoria and Subrata Das Secretary : Jeetu Rampuria Asst Secretary : Joydeep Duttagupta Treasurer : Anirban Banerjee Asst Treasurer : Bharat Baid Members from host associations: Sanjay Bajoria, Shankar Banerjee, Rajib S Beed, Zahid Gangjee, Partha Ghosh, Darshan Singh Gill, Amitava Gupta, Naresh Gupta, Shiv Kanoi, Vikas Khosla, Sudip Mukherjee, S V Raman, Arindam Rana, Asit Roy, Chandan Roychowdhury, Dipak Rudra, Rajendra Singh, Anupam Shah, Sandeep Todi, Fr. Herman Castelino (National Co-ordinator), Fr. M Fohshow (President, ALSOC), Fr. P C Matthew (President, SXCCAA), Fr. A Mitra (President, SLOBA), Fr. Bob Slattery (Delegate of Provincial of India) Members representing FOJAAI: Conrad Gonsalves, Ronald D' Costa, K V Srinivasan, Richard Lee, J Thomas Fernando WUJA representatives: Kalyan Chowdhury, M Arumai Raj Sub-committees: Four sub-committees namely, Programme, Networking, Hospitality and Finance have been formed to oversee the preparations for the World Congress. Further Information Official website: Regular updates and information about the World Congress will be available at the official website: http://www.jawcon.org Delegates can also register for the electronic news updates on the website by subscribing to the mailing list from the website. Secretariat: A dedicated secretariat has been set up to coordinate the various activities of the World Congress and to serve delegates. The Secretariat can be reached at: The Secretariat World Congress of Jesuit Alumni/ae 2003 C/o St Xavier's College Room No 5 30 Park Street Kolkata 700016 India Phone: +91 33 2805566/ Fax: +91 33 2479966 Email: secretariat@jawcon.org +++++ WORLD UNION OF JESUIT ALUMNI/AE Qualifications of WUJA Council members Position Description The following is a guide, developed by the Council of our WUJA that gives indications of the "desirable" qualifications for the Council members of the World Union. We believe it is appropriate to offer this document for reference and consultation of the different associations and federations of alumni/ae. - To be a Jesuit Alumni/ae - To be willing to serve - To "have the time and the willingness to attend the World Union businesses" - To be able to travel to attend its Council activities - To have the support of his/her own alumni/ae association and/or country federation - To be able to communicate fluently in English - To have participated actively in alumni associations for the past three years - To have access to internet and an e-mail address - Good leadership qualities - To share the Ignatian vision For the President and the other officials, the above qualifications apply. The following are also desirable: - To have good administrative, organizational background - To have shown its leadership capabilities - To have been involved, directly or indirectly, in the WUJA, a Confederation or a National Federation alumni/ae businesses - Better if he/she has his/her own financial support or the economic support from his/her national federation/association - Due to his/her personal occupation he/she is able to travel extensively - To have been selected and promoted by his/her national body Regarding the proposed "position description" of the officers and Council members, other than the ones specified in the statutes, the officers and Council members should: - Attend the meetings of the WUJA and the Council as requested - Be the main contact and the representative of the World Union with the associations and federations in its own region - To spread the resolutions and action plans of the WUJA Council among its constituency - To follow up the work of the associations and federations within his/her area and report to the WUJA - To actively participate in the WUJA businesses and to propose courses of action - To recognize that his/her participation in the WUJA Council or as an official is a responsibility more than an honor and duties most be fulfilled - To be a World Union "ambassador" - To look for ways to enhance the Union work. Look for ways to finance the Union's programs +++++ Following are edited extracts from the book "The Jesuit Ratio Studiorum -400th Anniversary Perspectives" compiled and edited by Fr Vincent J Duminuco SJ, from the papers presented by invited scholars, at the 400th Anniversary Celebration of Ratio Studiorum, held at Fordham University in 1999. The edited extracts are specifically from the paper presented by Fr Duminuco "A New Ratio for a New Millennium". The book also contains the full text of both The Characteristics of Jesuit Education (1986) and Ignatian Pedagogy: A Practical Approach (1993). Published by Fordham University Press, New York. THE JESUIT RATIO STUDIORUM 400th Anniversary Perspectives The guiding pedagogical document for Jesuit education worldwide was definitively set out in a 1599 tome entitled Ratio Atque Instituto Studiorum Societatis Jesu, "The Plan and Methodology of Jesuit Education". This plan has been praised by scholars from Francis Bacon in the seventeenth century to Harry Broudy and Paul Shore in our day. Some scholars and educators, upon learning of this tradition for the first time, have called it a "best-kept secret". And so it was timely that, at the dawn of the new millennium, an invitational 400th anniversary celebration of the Ratio Studiorum would be held at Fordham University in October 1999. A NEW RATIO FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM? Vincent J Duminuco SJ An Anniversary recaptures a past: Twenty-five years of married life, a university's centennial, a millennium of human experience. It is good to reflect on an anniversary in order to understand our roots and development, the joys and struggles that have brought us to a new plateau. This occasion also allows us both to focus on four centuries of a worldwide pedagogical tradition that has been successful in helping to form leaders in civic society, and to express thanks - to God and to the countless men and women who have contributed so many years of service in the tradition of Jesuit education. But ours is a living tradition. This anniversary is not merely a retrospective celebrating past accomplishments, "Laudatur Temporis Acti". A living tradition spurs us to look more urgently to the future. And this raises the question - Do we need a new Ratio for a new millennium? The question of a new Ratio has been raised at significant points in the past. The Ratio of 1599 rendered immediate and valuable service for its own era by successfully guiding and governing hundreds of Jesuit schools in Europe, Latin America, and Asia for more than a century and a half. Since the present Jesuit education system takes its origins from 1599, the Ratio cannot be dismissed as wholly unrelated to our more complex situation today. THE RATIO AFTER THE SUPPRESSION The Ratio of 1599 remained in effect with significant success for 174 years, until the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773. But the world changed rapidly in the brief 41 years before the Jesuit Order was restored. The rise of nation states, development of vernacular languages and distinct cultural traditions, governmental control of curricula and instruction shattered the uniformity of the European educational model, which was the norm throughout the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the newly restored Society of Jesus, Jesuits learned to their regret that to think of a uniform plan of studies was an illusion. To insure certification and approval of their education programs, Jesuit schools and universities gradually accommodated their programs to the requirements of states and ministries of education. Thus, several of the Jesuit schools, even when they retained Ratio terminology in curricula, like classes in grammar, poetry, rhetoric, and the like, in reality were distancing themselves from the definitive Ratio of 1599, while paying lip service to that norm. At the opening of the twentieth century, what still gave unity to Jesuit education was not a common document but a common spirit and worldview - that of Ignatius Loyola - and methodologies consistent with that spirit. It would take almost a century before this fact was fully recognised and formally acted upon. ENDS AND MEANS The early Jesuits were engaged in the actual labour of the classroom and so were looking for specific and useful pedagogical guidance. But they assumed a common view of the ideal human person, which set criteria for their methods. The records of the meetings of the Committee of Six that prepared the first draft of the Ratio Studiorum in 1586 state that "the spirit of Ignatius presided over the deliberations". They often consulted Ignatius's guidelines set forth in the book of the Spiritual Exercises, which was the record of Ignatius's only concrete teachings; in the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus; and in his letters. Throughout these writings we find a stress upon means as well as ends in education. His own painful educational experience had proven to Ignatius that enthusiasm was not enough for success in study. How a student was directed, the method for teaching employed, was crucial. When he set out in the Spiritual Exercises to teach others to consider fundamental questions of the human condition, he took exquisite care to provide detailed methods that Charmot has well described as radically pedagogical. Thus, a worldview and the need for concrete means to implement it were important legacies of Ignatius to Jesuit education. But today, given the impact of developments in human psychology, of mass media and their penetrating effect upon young people, of the repeated dashing of ideals seen even among the most prominent figures of the twentieth century, of a growing awareness of social justice and its demands upon us all, are the methods of yesteryear truly the most effective to bring to reality a living example of men and women after the mind of Ignatius? I believe that the Ignatian pedagogical principles of order, sequence, individualisation, and personalisation of instruction (alumnorum cura personalis); the necessity of clear goals and objectives; the paramount importance of self-activity on the part of the student's concern for the affective domain in learning - all of these are essential in creating an educational community of faith and trust in which an alternative can be lived to the cynicism and duplicity, the materialism and fatalism of many in the world around us. The question remains now whether or not these principles are effective in the attitudes and practices of our administrators and faculty members. If they are not, our students may well perceive us as talking a good game by enunciating Ignatian ideals but failing to practise them. On the other hand, we have seen that much research and writing in the field of curriculum within the last 25 years has dealt exclusively with questions of method influenced heavily by educational psychologists. And yet there is disillusionment here as well, for they seem to have generated a naïve faith on the part of many in method and technology without substantive vision unifying and impelling the whole educational process. In brief, vision without appropriate method may be perceived as sterile platitude. Method without unifying vision is frequently little more than gadgetry. I believe a synthesis of both is essential if our schools are to effectively bear the name "Jesuit" at any point in time. A NEW RATIO? It would seem that the core of the Ratio "in a new key", a Ratio for the new millennium, has been developed over the last two decades. This did not happen as a deliberate effort to revise the document of 1599. It happened rather as the product of a series of responses to the urgent need expressed by Jesuit educators, lay and religious, from all continents as they faced the challenges of a rapidly changing world where values and assumptions were turned upside down in the midst of a dramatic, worldwide paradigm shift - social, religious, cultural, political, and economic. Jesuit educators, in daily touch with young people, experienced first hand the challenges and the opportunities of such times of change. In the turbulent context of the 1960s and 1970s, the need for an integrated worldview and mode of proceeding in Jesuit education became a central concern. A CONTEMPORARY IDENTITY STATEMENT It was at a meeting of Jesuit secondary school educators in Rome, called by Father General Pedro Arrupe in 1980, that a strong need was expressed for a contemporary identity document for Jesuit education. In light of significant shifts that impacted Jesuit schools, colleges, and universities, Jesuit educators felt that the Ratio of 1599 no longer spoke adequately to the need to clarify what Jesuit education is and aims to do in such a challenging new context. In response, Fr Arrupe established the International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education. Its first task was to produce the contemporary identity statement so strongly called for by Jesuit secondary education. Upon completion of the Commission's work in 1986, our current Superior General, Fr Peter Hans Kolvenbach, made this document his own, sending The Characteristics of Jesuit Education to all Jesuit Provincials. He called for a wide distribution of this document (it has been translated into 13 different languages) to be made available to all teachers, administrators, and members of governing boards of Jesuit educational institutions, as well as to students, parents, and alumni/ae. REQUESTS FOR PRACTICAL PEDAGOGICAL METHODS But some three years after its publication, new requests began to be heard from many parts of the world. People reported genuine satisfaction with The Characteristics. They were proving to be truly helpful in clarifying the nature and mission of Jesuit schools in the final decade of the twentieth century. For this, teachers, administrators, boards were grateful. But they asked, "In order to realise the goals, to make the principles take life, how can we make the characteristics real in the daily interaction between teacher and student, so that we can move from theory into practice, from rhetoric into reality?" Once again the International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education focused its efforts to reply to this need. And it did so not by proposing a monolithic plan of studies for all, but by explicating for our times the fundamental Ignatian worldview and a methodology that was coherent with this view. IGNATIAN PEDAGOGY: A PRACTICAL APPROACH In 1993, after some four years of research, study, and consultation, the International Commission's response to those repeated requests for a practical pedagogy was the publication of Ignatian Pedagogy: A Practical Approach. From the outset this document insists upon the need for coherence between vision and method in any worthwhile pedagogy: Pedagogy is the way in which teachers accompany learners in their growth and development. Pedagogy, the art and science of teaching, cannot simply be reduced to methodology. It must include a worldview and a vision of the ideal human person to be educated. These provide the goal, the end towards which all aspects of educational tradition are directed. They also provide criteria for choices of means to be used in the process of education. The worldview and ideal of Jesuit education for our time has been expressed in The Characteristics of Jesuit Education. Ignatian Pedagogy assumes that worldview and moves one step beyond suggesting more explicit ways in which Ignatian values can be incarnated in the teaching-learning process. (Ignatian Pedagogy: A Practical Approach) Fr Arrupe summarised our educational goal as "forming men and women for others". Fr Kolvenbach has described the graduate of a Jesuit school who is hoped for: a person "well-rounded, intellectually competent, open to growth, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice in generous service to the people of God". Fr Kolvenbach also states our goal when he says that we aim to form leaders in service, "men and women of competence, conscience and compassionate commitment". IS THIS A NEW RATIO? Is this a new Ratio for a new millennium? Certainly in form and much of its context it differs from that of 1599. It does not prescribe a fixed series of subjects in curriculum; rather, it urges the use of the Ignatian paradigm by way of infusion in all curricula wherever possible. It is not a set of norms and rules - the format is descriptive and discursive, not legalistic. It focuses upon the contemporary context, not a timeless panorama. It calls for staff development programs for ongoing growth of professors as well as development of the God-given talents of each of our students. Like the Ratio Studiorum of 1599, The Characteristics of Jesuit Education and Ignatian Pedagogy have gone through numerous drafts, taking advantage of worldwide consultations. But over time only experience will reveal a possible lack of clarity, an omission, or a misplaced emphasis. Therefore, I view The Characteristics of Jesuit Education and Ignatian Pedagogy, taken together as a comprehensive document, as Father General Claudio Aquaviva presented the first draft of the Ratio: "not as definitive or final, for that would be very difficult and perhaps impossible; rather as an instrument which will help us encounter, because it gives the whole society one single perspective, a goal and a way to achieve it". Is this a new Ratio for a new millennium? I think so. Fr Vincent J Duminuco SJ, is Director of the International Jesuit Education Leadership Project, Rector of Fordham University and Delegatus Patris Generale of The World Union of Jesuit Alumni/ae. This article was edited by Robyn Treseder and is printed with kind permission of the author, Fr Vincent J Duminuco SJ. +++++ 400 YEARS OF BEST PRACTICE THE JESUIT TRADITION OF IGNATIAN PEDAGOGY The Challenge Ignatian education strives to go beyond academic excellence. It is a collaborative process between and among teachers and students which fosters personal and cooperative study, discovery and creativity, and reflection to promote life-long learning and action in service to others. Its ultimate goal is to develop men and women of competence, conscience and compassion. The Process Ignatian pedagogy is a way in which teachers accompany learners; it is a process that includes context, experience, reflection, action and evaluation. It is a continuous and repeated cycle of learning and growth Context - Teachers consider the context of students' lives: family, society, politics, economics, culture, religion and other realities which affect the learning process. Experience - Teachers foster a broad base of experience which requires application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation so that learners are attentive to the human reality that confronts them. Reflection - Teachers formulate questions and guide discussion, journal-keeping, reaction/reflection papers and other activities helping students reconsider subject matter so that they discover meaning in their experiences and learning. Action - Through experience that has been reflected upon, students make the truth their own and serve others. They become impelled to act upon their convictions for the welfare of society. Evaluation - Teachers evaluate the whole person using effective methods such as assessment, peer tutoring, mentoring, journal reflections and critical skill application. Teachers congratulate and encourage students for their progress. from International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education, Ignatian Pedagogy: A Practical Approach, 1993. +++++ AUSTRALIAN JESUIT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION REPORT February 2002. Almost 2 months into the New Year and the National Committee of the AJAA has plans that are well underway for 2002. By the time we hold our National Annual General Meeting in mid March we will already have had a Leadership Retreat Weekend for young people who have completed a Leadership Course in the last 2 years. Our new representative in South Australia Justin Hogan, is well progressed in plans for a course, to be held over the Easter period, presenting the Spiritual Exercises in a way to make them accessible and known, giving those who attend the chance to make the 'Exercises' a part of their life. Guidance and assistance will be also given to those who attend who wish to pursue further knowledge and study. It is a new and exciting project. We have a Women's Day of Recollection and a Dinner Speaker evening planned for May, another of the most successful Father & Son Weekend Retreats is already booked for September, and over the course of the year we plan to hold another two Leadership Courses. Our yearly 'Arrupe Dollar Appeal' is underway and we hope again for the ongoing generosity of our Members. These are some of the AJAA's plans for the year, and with the Lord's assistance we look forward to a fruitful 2002. Robyn Treseder Council Member - Oceania