The Society of the Sacred Heart’s first written submission to the United Nations Social Development Commission focused on the dialectical methodology of Popular Education. The Medical Mission Sisters joined our UN office in making this submission, titled Children as Agents of Social Transformation for a Sustainable Future.
The submission explains that RSCJ “in Latin America have been carrying out our educational mission for over 160 years through formal education and popular education, focusing in general on those on the margins of society, those who are desperately poor and those who are excluded from participation in society. Children living in poverty have our special attention.” From this experience the Society affirms “the centrality of education in the work of sustainable development at all levels of society”. But notes that “there continue to be challenges to sustainable development and to the education of children mainly due to poverty, denial of life of dignity and the ever-increasing disparity in opportunities, wealth and power”.
In this context “the dialectic methodology of Popular Education provides an expansive, inclusive approach to the education of children with proven effectiveness across diverse settings — rural and urban settings as well as formal school settings and informal educational settings. It has helped people climb out of poverty by addressing the root causes of their misery. It is an effective way to strengthen social development.”
Read the full text of the submission here.