austraLasia #3160
First
ever PNG-SI Don Bosco Schools Assembly
PORT MORESBY: 16 November 2012 --
The
Youth Ministry Commission, PNG-SI Delegation, headed by Fr.
Peter
Baquero, organised the first ever PNG-SI Don Bosco Schools
Assembly
from 12-16 November at Emmaus Conference Centre in East
Boroko, Port
Moresby. 20 representatives (Salesians and lay mission
partners) came
from the different Salesian Institutions in the Delegation.
Currently, there is only one tertiary institution in the
Delegation,
the Don Bosco Technological Institute in Port Moresby. It is a
Teachers
College for Technical Instructors. There are two so called
"permitted"
schools: Don Bosco Technical School in Gabutu and VunaBosco
Agro-technical Secondary School in East New Britain Province.
The rest
are so called "agency" schools: (in Papua New Guinea) Don
Bosco
Araimiri Secondary School in the Gulf Province, Don Bosco
Institute of
Technology in Kumgi, (in Solomon Islands) Don Bosco Technical
School in
Honiara, and Don Bosco Rural Training Centre in Tetere.
This Assembly is the first attempt of the Delegation to
streamline our
different institutions as part of its Institutional Self
Analysis. The
following speakers gave talks on very relevant topics:
Archbishop
Francesco Panfilo, SDB, DD, Archbishop of Rabaul who is also
the Bishop
deputed by the PNG-SI Catholic Bishops Conference's Commission
on
Education, Mr. Samson Wangihomie of the Teaching Service
Commission of
PNG, Dr. Eliakim Apelis of the Curriculum Development and
Assessment
Division of the Department of Education, and Mr. Raj Patnaik
of New
Vision.
Aside from the talks, what made this Assembly truly enriching
were the
discussions and sharing done either in small working groups or
in
plenum. It is hoped that this Assembly will spur everybody in
the
Delegation to continue making Don Bosco's spirit alive in
Melanesia.
This Assembly is also intended as part of the preparation for
the
celebration of the Bicentenary of Don Bosco's birth. This is
our
Delegation's gift to Don Bosco, to the Church and to the
Congregation,
but above all to the young in this part of the world.
