ORT SA in Houghton assists in coordinating students’ travel to Panama
Through travel coordination by ORT SA in Houghton, students from South Africa and worldwide travelled to Panama for a four-day youth programme.
Students from South Africa and worldwide travelled to Panama to participate in the Scholas World Youth event.
Head of Communications and Marketing at ORT SA in Houghton, Jeanette Smith, said the event is in partnership with ORT, one of the largest educational networks in the world, and the Pope’s Scholas organisation.
The event aims to create future leaders, promoting understanding, tolerance, and cultural exchange as part of a joint initiative with Pope Francis. This event continues the ORT network’s collaboration with the Pope’s Scholas Occurrentes Foundation.
ORT SA assisted in coordinating the students’ travel from South Africa on October 24 and wished the students exciting adventures, and to remember that, ‘not all classrooms have four walls’.
Smith shared that Pope Francis has made education and youth a fixture of his work. Scholas is a joint project between his foundation and World ORT, and until the pandemic met annually as an inter-religious, inter-cultural conference for young people.
Amelie Esquenazi, World ORT Networking coordinator for Latin America, remarked, “one of ORT’s key values is Tikkun Olam (heal the world) – we also strive for a better world, peace, and care for the planet. We encourage our students to be global citizens and leaders of the future with a conscience – and Scholas is the perfect partner for this task.”
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A program will take place at a community centre in Panama City, with visits to local attractions, including trips to the Panama Canal and Monkey Island. After the four-day program, the students will work remotely together for a year before presenting projects in their home countries.
Smith said previous Scholas meetings have occurred in Jerusalem, the Vatican, Argentina, and Mexico. The meeting proposes that the youngsters, with their creative capacity, discover through art, play, and thought spaces.
Details: ORT SA
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