Members of the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) formation cluster in the collegiate level participated in the 5th Jesuit Schools Formator’s Colloquium in the Sacred Heart Retreat House and Seminar Center in Novaliches, Quezon City on 30th June to 4th July 2013. Initiated by the Jesuit Higher Education Council (JHEC) five years ago, the colloquium has since become a yearly event regularly attended by members of the formation cluster of the different Ateneos in the Philippines. Representing ADDU were Mr. Elvi C. Tamayo, director of the Ignatian Spirituality and Formation Office (ISFO), Mr. William “Butch” Ramirez, coordinator of Athletics, Ms. Edna Carvajal, director of the Guidance Center, Ms. Theresa S. Eliab, director of the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), Mr. Philip Santos, director of the Campus Ministry Office (CaMin), Ms. Lilibeth Leh-Arcena, director of the Arrupe Office of Social Formation and National Service Training Program (NSTP), Ms. Agnes Sagaral, coordinator of Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) of NSTP, and Ms. Rose Gaid, coordinator of the First Year Development Program (FYDP).
As a yearly gathering of administrators comprising the formation team of the different Ateneos in the Philippines, this year’s colloquium offered some of the following objectives: It “revisit(ed) the essence and fruits of Fr. Arrupe’s call for ‘men and women for others’” as well as “reaffirm(ed) the relevance of such call and reflect on its challenges today in the context of formation of faith for all (our) stakeholders.” And insofar as the Ateneo educational apostolate pertains to the formation of the youth in and among Jesuit colleges and universities in the Philippines, the colloquium hoped “to draw inspiration on creative ways of approaching formation of (our) Filipino youth utilizing social media as a potent resource for evangelization.” Moreover, as partners in the work of formation of young people in various social contexts, the colloquium endeavoured to “practice collaboration within and among clusters in the sharing of best practices and challenges in formation.”
This annual colloquium, now on its fifth year, is significant because it celebrates the forty (40) years of forming men and women for others, an offshoot of the directive coming from the late Jesuit Superior General, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, when he initiated a tall order of reorienting the primary apostolic focus of Jesuit institutions around the world to form young people in the service of the faith and the promotion of justice. For this reason, the colloquium provided for an opportunity to remind those present of Fr. Arrupe’s challenge in a talk given by Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) President, Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin, SJ. This was seconded by another important input on Jesuit education in the context of the local church, presented by Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU) President, Fr. Karel San Juan, SJ. And ADMU being the sponsor of this year’s colloquium, it also provided a sharing of the insights gathered from the Ateneo College Student Survey (TACS-4) given by Dr. Liane Pena Alampay of the ADMU Department of Psychology. This was complemented by a presentation on the social media and evangelization by Fr. Stephen Cuyos, MSC.
In observance of its 6th year, Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan) will host the colloquium in 2014. (by M. Isabel S. Actub, Arrupe Communications & Advocacy)