Events

During the 2022 SIGNIS World Congress, which was held in Seoul, Korea under the theme of "Peace in the Digital World", there was a dedicated space for young people to share their experiences with the media. The International Youth Forum featured a presentation by Stanley Hector, an independent filmmaker from India, who discussed the importance of moral principles in professional undertakings. In his speech, Mr. Hector began stressed the importance of the compatibility and understanding of a project within its team members: “a team can only perform well when there is trust and unity binding them together at the primary level. This is achieved by promoting the right work culture and fair moral practices”.  The filmmaker relies on four principles in his career: honesty, humility, hard work, and forgiveness. According to him, these principles have helped him build long-term relationships with his team members and inspire them to follow these principles in their own professional lives. Regarding honesty, Stanley acknowledged that it is probably the easiest principle to break, as it is sometimes easier to be dishonest: “being dishonest may provide short-term advantages, but ultimately corrupts one's morals and makes them feel untrue to themselves”. When talking about humility, Mr. Hector considers it a useful tool for networking, as it allows others to approach you freely and discuss their thoughts or ideas. He learned this from the trainers of SIGNIS CommLab programs, where there was no typical separation between students and teachers, and this helped the students feel free to express their opinion without feeling judged or lessened.   As he approached the theme of hard work, the film-maker affirmed that there is no shortcut to it: “trying and failing and trying again is essentially what led every great discovery and therefore every successful individual”, he affirms. Finally, Stanley Hector emphasized the importance of forgiveness, splitting it into two separate actions: forgiving others when they make a mistake and forgiving oneself when a mistake is made knowingly or unknowingly. He believes that the act of forgiveness not only impacts the forgiven but also elevates the character of the one who forgives. In conclusion, Stanley believes that these principles should be cultivated and practiced among all team members, regardless of hierarchy, to ensure a solid foundation upon which projects and tasks can be built. According to him, a culture of following these principles will ultimately reinforce the idea of evangelization by transforming the lives of users beyond religious parameters.

Young leaders from SIGNIS Talent+ in collaboration with the TMB Lab community conducted a training experience in communication, art, creativity, and spirituality on the outskirts of Coimbra, Portugal, days before the start of World Youth Day, Lisbon 2023. At least 27 young people from Ukraine, Zimbabwe, Paraguay, Burundi, Portugal, Poland, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Argentina, the United States, and Hungary took part in this experience, which integrated reflections and workshops related to communication, creativity, dance, architecture, visual arts, and film. Solange Didiego, Sandra Estrada Real, and Luis Enrique Delgado from SIGNIS Talent+ led this week-long experience, marked by creative exploration and fraternity. This experience was framed within a deepening of Magis, the gathering organized by the Society of Jesus that brings together young people from around the world. The participants, ranging in age from 18 to 35 years old, mostly with connections to art and communication, also learned about SIGNIS and the opportunities for involvement in our global network of communicators.  Among the fruits of this experience were the creation of storyboards, performances, and illustrations related to self-awareness and Ignatian spirituality, in an attempt to infuse artistic creativity with transcendent meaning.  The entire process was guided by the renowned priest Michael Rossmann SJ.