Energy and connection at the Third Meeting of Young People for Education

The third national meeting of Young People for Education was held in Los Negrales (Madrid, Spain) from 18 to 20 October 2024. The theme was ‘Educators for a more humane society in an age of artificial intelligence’. Its purpose was to reflect on and advance the mission to educate in a world increasingly dominated by technology. 

There were 28 participants from groups around the country in addition to team leaders and facilitators. In their opinion, the meeting was ‘full of energy, connection and depth.’  

Introduction and underlying concepts 

The first day began with a welcome and getting to know each other. They used a dynamic proposed by the Barcelona group (who could not be present) and the Alcoy group who coordinated the activity. 

‘This dynamic helped enormously to create a sense of closeness and depth. What seemed like a simple activity to break the ice, ended up being an experience of openness and spontaneity’, say the participants. 

The following day, the Burgos facilitators, Patxi Eskamendi and Mar Rubio, invited the young people to ‘focus and adjust their gaze’, with a message about the importance of being aware of what we see. 

Mercedes Blanchard, coordinator of the meeting and of Young People for Education, then gave the official opening remarks. In her speech, she listed the three underlying concepts to educational work that would be addressed during the day: 

1. A shift towards a Social-Educational paradigm of teaching and learning. 
2. The development of the individual as the central objective. 
3. The unfolding of wisdom. 

Margarita Bartolomé then presented some traits that define Poveda as an educator, and also those that his reflection and practice led him to consider as important in educators. 

In her talk, María Dolores Valencia made reference to the current conceptualisation of education and the consequent new scenarios that this creates. 

María Dolores Muzás focused on ‘The educator in a digital era’. She began with the question: What kind of educator is needed to lead students in this digital era? This question opened up a conversation that steered the topic forward. Mientras, por su parte, María Dolores Muzás se centró en “El educador en la era digital”, comenzando con una pregunta: ¿Qué educador es el que tiene que conducir al alumnado en esta era digital? Este interrogante abrió un diálogo que fue encauzando el tema.

To end the session, Maria Blanchard prepared an activity using the artificial intelligence tools Suno, Invideo and Chat GPT. 

This second day culminated with Mass prepared by the Córdoba facilitator, Aurora Sánchez, and the participants of that group. 

To end the day, they had a ‘Festival of Educators’ with videos, poems, stories and songs related to the theme of the educator. They also used artificial intelligence applications which generated a climate of inspiration and emotion. Afterwards, the work created by the four teams formed by the participants was presented and prizes were awarded. 

Further meetings 

During the last day, there was information about the presentation of Young People for Education given in Covadonga (29 September 2024) by Inmaculada Peinado and Álvaro Mestre, from the Cordoba and Alicante groups respectively. Other Mission tasks were also discussed.  They also talked about the Second Congress on ‘Humanising Education in an Age of Artificial Intelligence’ which will take place in Salamanca from 5 to 8 February 2025. 

With regard to moving forward with the year's meetings, the importance of maintaining contact between all the groups was confirmed. The attendees decided on holding an online meeting on 5 or 6 April and spoke about the possibility of other face-to-face and virtual meetings. 

En cuanto a la prospectiva sobre los encuentros del año, se confirmó la importancia de mantener el contacto de todos los grupos. Así, los asistentes determinaron un próximo encuentro online el 5 ó 6 de abril y la posibilidad de otros encuentros presenciales y virtuales.

Impressions 

Among the impressions expressed by the participants are the following: ‘I take with me peace and tranquillity knowing that I do not walk alone in my vocation but am with people with values like mine and the same faith’; ‘I take with me experiences and advice from my colleagues that is constructive and points out how to overcome some difficulties’; ‘As an educator I take with me new knowledge about the philosophy of Father Poveda and about artificial intelligence’, and many other similar statements. 

‘This Third Meeting has not only given us tools and reflections to improve as educators, but it has also left us with a strong sense of community. We leave feeling more connected, more motivated and more prepared to face the challenges of education in this new era', conclude the young people in the report of this national meeting. 

 Young People for Education.