Symposium on service-learning in Catholic education to open in Rome
By Sebastián Sansón Ferrari and Joseph Tulloch
From 7-8 November 2024, speakers from all over the world will gather at Rome’s LUMSA University to reflect on the future of Catholic higher education.
The 5th ‘Uniservitate’ Global Symposium will bring together young people, rectors, academics and experts to discuss service learning – an approach that combines academic study with community service – and its role in Catholic universities.
Ahead of the conference, Vatican News spoke to María Rosa Tapia, coordinator of the ‘Uniservitate’ programme.
Tapia
The symposium, Tapia said, is bringing together students, researchers, and university staff from five different continents, and therefore offers an opportunity to learn about service learning in many different contexts.
Tapia highlighted in particular the institutions carrying out service-learning in “very challenging” settings such as Ukraine and Palestine, saying that the conference would offer universities “all around the world” a chance to learn from their experiences.
Another feature of the symposium, Tapia noted, would be its bringing together of researchers working on the role of spirituality in service learning. They have already begun this research, she said, funded by small grants from Uniservitate.
Service learning is “really growing” in the Catholic context, stressed Tapia, because “it’s a way to put into practice what Pope Francis invited us to do – to not only gather academic knowledge, but … put knowledge at the service of others.”
Tapia concluded by noting that the Symposium will be livestreamed on Uniservitate’s website, and inviting all those who are interested to follow along – and see that “it is possible to learn well and serve well at the same time”.
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