Lasallian Indigenous Education Workshop: an opportunity to walk together in diversity

“When education is built in community, learning transcends borders”. This was the experience of the 35 Lasallians who participated in the Lasallian Indigenous Education Workshop at Universidad La Salle Oaxaca from 5 to 10 February, “a gathering to listen, reflect and walk together in diversity”.

Among the participants, who came from a dozen countries – Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the United States, the Philippines, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru – were Brother Armin Luistro, Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Brother Rafael Cerón, General Councillor, and the Visitors of the Districts of Mexico North and Antilles – Mexico South, Brothers Carlos Castañeda and Francisco Flores, respectively. 

In his address, Brother Armin emphasised the need to “pay attention to the knowledge and wisdom of indigenous peoples”, because “they deserve to be heard and invite us to leave our comfort zone to walk with them, as learning companions, responding in a special way to the needs of young people”. This was precisely one of the central points of his Pastoral Letter 2024/2025 to the Lasallian Family, on the need to renew the Lasallian Mission with the teachings of indigenous peoples.

“There are two attitudes that are important for Lasallians at this time: the ability to adapt to the realities of different countries, cultures and eras, as well as to respond to the needs of children and young people through Christian education”, added Dr. Luis Ignacio Salgado Fernández, President of Universidad La Salle Oaxaca, during the opening of the meeting, conceived as a space to share experiences and practices and to promote the development of initiatives that respond to the realities of indigenous communities.

The exchange of knowledge, values and ancestral wisdom was one of the priorities of the workshop, based on the recognition that “indigenous cultures remind us that all is connected: the Earth, the word, memory and the future”, and “teach us that to educate without listening is to forget the essential”.

In this sense, in addition to the exchange of experiences, testimonies and knowledge, the workshop also provided opportunities for celebration and fraternity, based on the recognition of the spiritual and cultural values of local and global indigenous communities.

“More than a workshop, this meeting has been a dialogue between diverse people, knowledge and contexts, reaffirming the Lasallian commitment to a more just, more humane and socially meaningful education”, said the hosts from La Salle Oaxaca University.

* Article produced in collaboration with Universidad La Salle Oaxaca. Photos: Universidad La Salle Oaxaca.