The Centro La Salle Arlep in Madrid welcomed Lasallian communicators from the Office of Information and Communication of the Generalate and members of the Communication network of La Salle Spain and Portugal, who shared formation spaces and exchange of experiences on 2, 3 and 4 April 2025.
The initiative, which came up a few months ago, has entailed an enriching experience both professionally and personally.
These days were used for presentations by each of the teams, with the compilation of proposals, ongoing developments, future challenges and lines of collaboration. The organisation and tasks of the Institute, the District in relation to the Sectors and, in particular, the two La Salle University campuses (Madrid and Barcelona) were discussed in depth.
Also present was Javier Valiente, head of Institutional Communication at the Salesians, who spoke on “crisis and communication in the field of religious entities”. Likewise, Josep María Ribes, Head of the Observatory of Artificial Intelligence of La Salle Campus Barcelona, in his presentation opened the window to a changing world full of challenges and opportunities, which from the point of view of communication is the present.
The meeting also included visits to the La Salle Madrid Campus and the La Salle Maravillas school, also in Madrid, to learn about the realities of communication in the university and school environments, respectively.
Finally, after dealing with “Communication in the light of the magisterium of Pope Francis”, through a conference given by the Director of the Institute’s Office of Information and Communication, Óscar Elizalde, the meeting closed with a look at what La Salle can grow in the field of communication, starting from global and local perspectives, simultaneously.
As a summary, Silvia Pompa, Head of Communications for La Salle Spain and Portugal, observed that “the meeting allowed us to get to know each other and to define strategies for collaboration and to take advantage of synergies that could benefit the development of this area at the global level of La Salle in the world, and at the local level within the La Salle Arlep District”.
For his part, Brother Julio González, Auxiliary Visitor and head of the La Salle network in Spain and Portugal, valued positively the visit of the team from the Institute’s Office of Information and Communication “because it allowed us to strengthen personal links with people who facilitate communication worldwide”.
“We had the opportunity to feel like a family, expressing universality, but focusing on knowledge and closeness. We had the opportunity to work together and share criteria and projects on this common path. As Oscar reminded us, paraphrasing Pope Francis, it was an occasion to express that our whole (the Institute) is more than the sum of its parts”, concluded Brother Julio.
