SPAIN: New campaign focuses on youth and the environment
Salesian Missions Office of Madrid launches new campaign that focuses on the environment
SPAIN
(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions Office of Madrid (“Misiones Salesianas”) has created an educational campaign as part of the “Something new is sprouting” initiative launched by the Salesian St. James the Greater Province. The new educational campaign aims to help children and youth transform the world into a more just place, starting with the care of the planet.
There is a dedicated page on the Salesian Missions Office of Madrid website that includes activities that can be implemented in educational centers as well as in non-formal educational youth centers. The activities and information are structured along the four themes of eco-social justice, responsible consumption and fair trade, water, and healthy and sustainable agri-food.
In addition, five challenges will be launched, one on every Friday starting February 19. Youth are encouraged to participate by becoming an “influencer for the Common Home” and encouraging more people to change their habits. The campaign is using the hashtag #PonteEnVerde (GoGreen) for campaign activities on social media.
The first challenge is “Fair and sustainable clothing” and encourages participants to reuse their clothes or exchange them. The second focuses on “Healthy eating” with a focus on making a new recipe using seasonal, local or about to expire products. The next challenge is “Plastic” and urges participants to clean up plastics from the environment or give these items a second life. The fourth, “Meatless,” challenges participants to prepare a recipe without meat. Finally, the last challenge is “PonteEnVerde” and asks participants to describe what other small daily actions can help to preserve the “Common Home.”
The educational campaign is in response to the call from Pope Francis in his 2020 Laudato Si, which has as its theme “Good Christians and Upright Citizens.” Pope Francis underlined the importance of education and training that will help youth shape a lifestyle and foster environmental responsibility. Further, Salesian Rector Major Father Ángel Fernández Artime noted the importance of concrete initiatives in the care of the environment. The first objective is encouraging the environmental commitment of youth.
Salesian missionaries have been working for many years to provide educational and workforce development opportunities for poor youth and women in Spain through residential, technical and vocational training programs. Although teachers are available to start providing distance learning again in the event of a new lockdown, the importance of face-to-face education is emphasized in Salesian schools.
Close to 37 percent of young Spanish workers under the age of 25 are unemployed and a growing number of them can’t afford to buy enough food to live. Poor youth with few employable skills struggle the most to find and retain stable employment. Women in Spain face inequality in the workforce. They earn up to 14 percent less than men and represent only 34.5 percent of those listed as the highest earners in Spain.
###
Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
ANS – Spain – Young people, “influencers” in favor of Common Home
Salesian Missions Madrid, Spain – Campaign website
Salesian Missions – Spain
World Bank – Spain
