Jesuit European and Near East Higher Education Meeting takes place at Centre Sèvres, Paris

Are the challenges of our institutions and societies distinct one from the other depending on our context? Or are there common sets of challenges that we all need to face together?

These two statements are non-mutually exclusive, so an affirmative answer could be given to both questions. However, the balance between them in different times in history is relevant. In the last century, the first statement (independent challenges depending on the context) had by far much more weight and thus it took more space in our minds and on the time we dedicated to address these local challenges, as individuals and as institutions. In this 21^st century, the global challenges have gained far more importance and this calls us to review the way we do things. Traditional ways of governing our institutions seem to become each year more and more obsolete.

An excellent metaphor for this is presented in a documentary called “In the Same Boat” released in February 2016. In this documentary the experts interviewed share the idea that every human being is currently travelling in the same boat and that we need to coordinate ourselves better to redirect it to go wherever we consider it needs to go. Imagine if someone wants to row in one direction and the other person on another direction. Neither one nor the other will ever reach their destination. We need to understand this dynamic and most importantly we need to agree on where we want to go, the final destination.

This was one of the key underlying messages during the recent Jesuit European and Near East Higher Education meeting that took place at Centre Sèvres, Paris from the 9^th to the 12^th of July 2017. The participants of this meeting were Rectors, deans and people involved in the intellectual apostolate coming from institutions with and ignatian background.

There were many highlights from the meeting, starting with the excellent inputs of Madame Sylvie Goulard (Member of the European Parliament) and Sébastien Maillard (from the Croix and the Institute Jacques Delors). These two experts gave an interesting look at the current context we are living in and the challenges we face and what Jesuit institutions can do to address these challenges. This is a very ignatian approach, starting by looking at the reality.

Participants also had the opportunity to hear Father Michael Garanzini SJ (Secretary for Higher Education of the Society of Jesus), Father Friedrich Bechina (undersecretary for the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education), Susana di Trolio the Executive Secretary of AUSJAL and Jaime Oraa the president of UNIJES. These four people were responding and giving information to participants about the previous call from Father General to the Universities and Faculties of the Society of Jesus in Europe and the Near East.

Father General sent a video to the participants asking them to consider new ways of collaboration and to do that he asked them to reflect on a possible structure for the Higher Education institutions in Europe and the Near East. We are talking about institutional conversion, words used by Father General in his first letter to the whole Society, to reviewing our modes of organization and to examine our institutions. He also reminds us the words of GC36, the governance of the Society is personal, spiritual, and apostolic (GC36 D2,1)

From here the participants started working. Many good ideas came to light, which included the risks, and challenges, and benefits that a new structure and way of collaboration might entail. At the end, the participants decided to name a Steering Committee to look into it with more detail and to take into consideration all that was said during the meeting and come with a more concrete proposal in the Worldwide Meeting in Deusto 2018.

The cherry on top of the cake was the presentation of the HEST programme by its coordinator José Carlos Romero. This links to our initial point made earlier about being on the same boat. The Higher Education for Social Transformation Programme tries to put institutions in touch and encourage them to work together to reflect on the shared challenges of our societies and to offer sound research and creative ideas to promote changes that will make ours a better world for those who suffer the most.

The journey is long but in this meeting good progress was made and the reached agreements will allow our Ignatian boat to reach a safe harbour, our next stop towards our common mission.