In the last week of September, a joint meeting took place in the Generalate, attended by Brother Superior and his Council, the heads of the General Services of the Generalate and the Standing Committee for the Lasallian Educational Mission. The theme of the meeting was "The identity of the individual and the factors which contribute to its development".

This session - the first of a series of annual autumn meetings - was intended to help the heads of services and commissions to develop a common understanding of a topic which affects all of us at our own level of concern and responsibility.

Our reflection on this topic was stimulated by input from Brothers Robert Comte, Aidan Kilty, Miguel Campos and Valère Adonsou, who spoke of the problems involved in building up a personal identity in the context of present-day society; of the formation of young Brothers, the formation of young adults in the Americas, and finally, of formation in the African context.

The principal speaker at the meeting was Fr Alain Thomasset, an expert on the philosopher Paul Ricoeur and lecturer at the Centre Sèvres in Paris who, in addition to following our discussions, commenting on what was said and directing our thinking, gave two erudite and stimulating talks on narrative and Christian identity.
Input was provided also by Brothers Alberto Prada, Juan Pablo Martin, Nicolas Capelle and Victor Franco on personal vocational programmes, community programmes, educational establishment mission statements, the formation of lay people.

In the meantime, The MEL Standing Committee met to assess what had been achieved and to plan our future activities at Regional and District level.

We were happy to note that some countries were already organising forums on the Lasallian educational mission, the rights of the child and the educational service of the poor.The information gathered will be analysed and communicated to the rest of the Institute. It will serve also as input for the international assembly to be held in 2006. Specific questions for discussion by regional assemblies will soon be available.

Most Districts have now sent in the names of the persons responsible for pastoral ministry, educational mission, justice and peace, missionary cooperation and the rights of the child. This international network will make it easier to assess current situations, share experiences, and discern current educational and pastoral trends.

Much has been achieved in the last 20 years. Given that we shall soon be celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Conduct of Schools, we think it is a good opportunity to launch a worldwide educational survey concentrating on anthropological and philosophical aspects, with a view to formulating an authentic and suitable Lasallian response to the present-day social context. An excellent presentation by Joan Landeros helped us to realise that there was immense potential in the worldwide network of Lasallian universities. Moreover, these universities will be a great asset when it comes to analysing the data gathered from the four corners of the Institute.

A plan of action was adopted to gather and analyse information about all that has been done and written in the last 10 years regarding educational mission statements, educational and pastoral work, and evangelisation.

As you can see, it was a very busy week for the Standing Committee for the Lasallian Educational Mission