The 2024 edition of the Faith and Politics workshop has just concluded, having taken place from August 18th to 25th. Held every two years, the event gathers about 20 young professionals in Venice, Italy, for one week of formation and sharing. Most of the participants, originating from all over Europe, are active in the field of public service, would it be in politics, in public administration or with NGOs.
The week, organised by three Jesuit social research centres (the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Dublin, Aggiornamenti Sociali in Milan, and the Jesuit European Social Centre in Brussels), aims to be more than just a moment of intellectual formation. Through a mix of conferences, testimonies, sharing groups and times of personal reflexion, the focus is on renewing the participants’ understanding of their own sense of mission, at the service of their communities and the common good.
To help the participants, a few guests and speakers are invited to share the lessons they draw from their years of public service. This year, Václav Pláteník, deputy health minister in Czech Republic, Sylvie Goulard, former French MEP, Ana Sassetti Mota, a Portuguese civil servant and Emese Kovago, who runs the Hungarian Jesuit Refugee Service, all joined the group for a day. With great openness, they shared their hopes and difficulties, their motivations, and their beliefs.
Rooted in the tradition of Ignatian spirituality, the workshop pays a particular importance on how what is learned, discussed, and shared actually impacts people at a personal level. A particular care is given to offer tools of spiritual discernment, helping to sort through one’s emotions and ideas and find deeper meaning. The relationships and human connexions built among those taking part in the workshop become an integral part of the experience.
Thanks to those connexions, the week is more than a succession of speeches and sessions. Common meals, breaks and outings for a drink or an ice-cream are just as important as the more formal aspects. Building trust and understanding, they enable new depths of exchanges and discussions. The city of Venice, with its rich and varied history, its beauty, and its cultural opportunities, is also more than a pretty background; the shared exploration of the city concurs to bring the participants closer to one another.
At the time of leaving Venice, many shared a similar sentiment: the feeling of having found a safe place where to open up and confide the difficulties of every day work, the doubts about the utility of one’s actions in the public sphere or the temptations of discouragement and disillusion. But also, and more importantly, the participants shared a sense of renewal, of a new start. There is no better outcome the workshop could aspire to.
