Missioners discuss challenges of education

The event was part of a series of four seminars sponsored by Istituzioni Universitarie Salesiane (IUS), the Salesian Higher Education Network.

Kolkata:  Experts at an inter-continental seminar on education discussed ways to build a better society as they deliberated on issues of social inclusion in different cultures.

The Feb. 14-17 seminar in Darjeeling brought together scholars, academicians and educationists from India and abroad to discuss the challenges and responses from different cultural contexts.

The seminar discussed the question of social inclusion from the diverse regional, linguistic, religious and cultural perspectives to understand how society can be better organized.

The event was part of a series of four seminars sponsored by Istituzioni Universitarie Salesiane (IUS), the Salesian Higher Education Network. It is a Salesian attempt to bring together specialists in education to deliberate on the issues of education in different cultural contexts.

Salesian Br. Mario Olmos, IUS General Coordinator based in Rome, in his presidential address elucidated on the positive role of education in building peace in Guatemala and El Salvador.

Emeritus Professor T.K. Oommen of Jawaharlal Nehru University in his keynote address deliberated on the various levels of social exclusion. He argued that diversity should to be promoted and said diversity and inequality are issues to be addressed in education, he said.

Papers presented discussed themes such as social inclusion and exclusion among various tribal people, role institutions toward social inclusion and the impact of social exclusion, diversity in education and challenges of diversity.

Aditya Mukherjee of Centre for Historical Studies from New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University emphasized the need for a universal, inclusive and secular education.

Salesian educationists like Father George Thadathil, Dr. Carlos Nanni from Rome and Salesian Father Juan Sabino from Spain led the different sessions.

The IUS is an Association of Don Bosco Universities and Colleges across the world, comprising of 11 Universities and 65 Colleges spread across 15 countries.

The seminar was third in the series. The first was held in Madrid, Spain in February 2013 and the second was in Sao Paulo, Brazil in September 2013. The last one is scheduled for November this year in Venice, Italy.

Press release