Introduction

On 15 May 1950 Pope Pius XII declared Saint John Baptist de La Salle “Universal Patron of all Educators”.

On 15 May 2025, the 75th anniversary of this important event for the Lasallian Family and for the world of education, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is launching the contest “Being an Educator Today”, with the aim of making the inspirational legacy of Saint John Baptist de La Salle visible to teachers around the world.

Winners of the “Being an Educator Today” Contest

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of St. John Baptist de La Salle as Universal Patron of Educators which took place last 15 May, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools launched in October 2024 the “Being an Educator Today” Contest with the purpose of “making visible the inspiring legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle for educators worldwide”.

We are pleased to congratulate the winners of the Contest:

Category A

First place: Not awarded.
Second place: Not awarded.

Category B

First place: “La mujer nunca deja de educar” (“Women never stop educating”) – Génesis Anahi Núñez Minchala | Ecuador (Norandino District) | La Salle Conocoto.

Second place: “Le livre de lumière” (“The Book of Light”) – Project by Majed Alam with the support of teachers Ms. Cédra Abi Karam and Ms. Marie Kehdy, and a team of students from the S2S class | Lebanon (Proche Orient District) | Collège Saint Pierre Baskinta.

Category C

First place: “Sara” – by Edison Tamayo Castaño | Colombia (Norandino District) | La Salle Envigado.

Second place: “Octopus” – by Emon Frédéric | France (District of France and French-Speaking Europe) | La Salle Notre Dame de la Gare.

Contest’s rules

The “Being an Educator Today” contest is aimed at all Lasallian students and teachers around the world.

Participants should be inspired by the Declaration on the Lasallian Educational Mission: Challenges, Convictions and Hopes (Generalate, 2020) to conduct documentary research as the basis for the creation of a photographic or short video proposal that represents what it means “Being an Educator Today”. 

The award-winning works will be displayed at the Generalate and on the website of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (www.lasalle.org), as well as on the official social networks on Facebook and Instagram.

The award-winning works will be part of a digital publication commemorating the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of Saint John Baptist de La Salle as Universal Patron of all Educators.

The “Being an Educator Today” contest is open to Lasallian students and educators worldwide, who may participate in one of the following categories:

  • Category A: 8 to 10 years old.
  • Category B: 11 to 17 years old.
  • Category C: from 18 years of age.

The “Being an Educator Today” contest is divided into two categories.

  • Photography: colour or black and white.
  • Short video: free audio-visual technique.

  • To participate in the “Being an Educator Today” contest, you must fill in the registration form, which includes the details of the author, the title of the work and a brief description of the documentary research carried out (no more than 50 words). 
  • The registration form must be sent, together with the finished work, to the following e-mail address: concorso75@lasalle.org. 
  • The file of the work must be sent in high resolution, taking into account the following requirements:
    – For photography: JPEG or TIFF format; high quality with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi; minimum format A4 (297 mm x 210 mm).
    – For video: mp4 format; minimum resolution full HD or higher, in 16:9 horizontal format from 1920×1080 or 9:16 vertical from 1080×1920. Maximum length: 5 minutes, including opening and closing credits. All audio-visual techniques are allowed.
  • If the file is larger than 25MB, it should be sent via WeTransfer, which is available free of charge at https://wetransfer.com. 
  • Each work must be original (created by the author) and unpublished (it must not have been published before). Adaptations of other works will not be considered. Images, music or copyrighted resources may not be used.
  • In the case of photos or videos where people or third parties (especially minors) appear, the author must have permission to use the image. 
  • Works must be submitted exclusively in digital format via email to concorso75@lasalle.org by 30 April 2025. 
  • The names of the winners of the contest will be published in June 2025 via the website https://www.lasalle.org/en/being-an-educator-today-contest/. 

The Jury that will choose the winners of the contest (first, second and third place for each category and modality) is composed of:

  • Br. Chris Patiño, FSC, Member of the General Council. 
  • Ms. Coreen Paul, President of CIAMEL. 
  • Br. David García, FSC, Organisational Coordinator of the Institute.
  • Dr. Josep Ferrando, Director of the School of Architecture, Campus La Salle Barcelona. 
  • Ms. Giulia Giannarini, Visual Arts Coordinator at the Office of Information and Communication of the Generalate. 

In each of the categories, the authors of the two top positions will be awarded a commemorative medal for the 75th Anniversary of the Proclamation of St. John Baptist de La Salle as Universal Patron of all Teachers, in addition to a donation to the school or Lasallian educational institution to which he or she belongs, equivalent to:

  • 500 euros for first position.
  • 250 euros for second position.

The authors of the award-winning works must grant the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools the right to the free use of their work without limitation of time, place or medium to promote its activities and communications.

S

Founder