A few months after the call for proposals in which universities from all over the world were invited to participate in the Capacity Development Programme to institutionalise service-learning, UNISERVITATE formally announces the selected institutions.
After an intensive selection process in which proposals from the five continents were evaluated, the following institutions have joined the UNISERVITATE global network:
1. Africa: Mwenge Catholic University (Tanzania), University of Kisubi (Uganda), Université Catholique de l’Afrique Centrale (Cameroon), Loyola University (Congo). Coordinated by Tangaza University College (Nairobi, Kenya)
2. Asia & Oceania: Fu Jen Catholic University (Taiwan), Australian Catholic University (Australia), Assam Don Bosco University (India). Coordinated by De la Salle University (Manila, Philippines)
3. Central and Eastern Europe/Middle East: Ukrainian Catholic University (Ukraine), Bethlehem University (Palestine), The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland). Coordinated by Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingoldstadt (Eichstätt, Germany)
4. Western Europe North: KU Leuven Association (Belgium), Université de Namur (Belgium), Université Catholique de Lille (France). Coordinated by Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Leuven, Belgium)
5. Western Europe South: Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy) y St. Mary’s University (United Kingdom). Coordinated by Universidad de Deusto (Bilbao, Spain)
6. Latin America and the Caribbean: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá (Colombia), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (Ecuador), Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina (Argentina), Universidade Católica de Pernambuco (Brazil). Coordinated by: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile)
The universities will receive specialised training, will be able to participate in international events, will have full access to the contents of the Uniservitate platform, and will obtain grants and financial assistance for the implementation of their projects.
Likewise, the institutions that are already part of the Programme and currently lead the seven regional hubs of UNISERVITATE in the world will be responsible for coordinating, accompanying and supporting the new participants in their respective regions.
The formation of this large network of Catholic universities around the world is for UNISERVITATE an opportunity for encounter, as expressed by Pope Francis in point 198 of the Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti:
Approaching, speaking, listening, looking at, coming to know and understand one another, and to find common ground: all these things are summed up in the one word ‘dialogue’. If we want to encounter and help one another, we have to dialogue. There is no need for me to stress the benefits of dialogue. I have only to think of what our world would be like without the patient dialogue of the many generous persons who keep families and communities together. Unlike disagreement and conflict, persistent and courageous dialogue does not make headlines, but quietly helps the world to live much better than we imagine.
With these new alliances, the UNISERVITATE programme is growing and consolidating its presence in the world to train young leaders who will be agents of change towards a society that is more just, supportive and committed to its community.
