During the International Congress of Fe y Alegría Africa that took place just a few weeks ago, there was also an important moment which was the handing over of the General Coordinator of the International Federation Fe y Alegría. The previous Coordinator, Ignacio Suñol SJ led the federation during six years, establishing the strategic priorities 2016-2020. Here you can take a look at some of the highlights of the speech of the new Coordinator, Carlos Fritzen SJ:

“How do I feel to receive the federative mission to serve in Fe y Alegría? 

(..) I begin happily and with hope, with all of you, and in the history of the 60 years of Fe y Alegría. With the children, youth, and adults that participate in the mission of Fe y Alegría, all of us who work serving; educators, teachers, school and national directors,  administration personnel, technicians, chaperons, service representatives etc… We will walk together identifying ourselves and fully committed to the Fe y Alegría mission and this way, with God’s grace and everyone’s cooperation, we will push forward this great work that is part of the important universal mission of the Society of Jesus in the world. We must particularly center our mission on impoverished and excluded contexts. The history and experience of popular education and social promotion of Fe y Alegría is well known and loved in 3 continents and more than 20 countries. It has been and continues to be a relevant and appropriate work of transformation of people, social realities and contexts. In general, we want to transform the realities of inequality and injustice that threaten life, dignity and everyone’s rights.

The way to continue building as the International Federation of Fe y Alegría has, on the one hand, we must stay close to our mission of believing and fighting for the transformation that we want and, on the other hand, we have to start implementing the Plan of Federative Priorities that has recently been approved and contains 4 lines of action that are a priority.

1 – Popular education is our path. 

2 – We guide our work towards the frontiers of exclusion. 

3 – Sustainability is our commitment with the people that rely on us. 

4 – Our public action advocates for processes of cultural, social and political transformation (…)

The leadership of Vélaz made it possible to put together a lot of committed people that have a huge range of abilities, fostering and respecting the wealth of diversity; in a collective action of commitment and social transformation that he liked to consider as the most effective revolution.

Let us hope that we are capable of deepening the accumulated legacy that Father Vélaz left us in so many countries over more than 60 years. Let us hope that we learn how to get together networking, always aware of the new frontiers, the most impoverished and excluded. Even if we have to reinvent and/or recreate Fe y Alegría, consistently with the proposal and, at the same time, relevant to the diversity of cultural, religious etc… contexts.”