Turin (Italy). On 3 February 2024, Turin, Valdocco hosted the Conference organized by CIOFS-School Piedmonte and Val d’Aosta, a formation day for teachers, educators, and staff working in the 14 educational Institutes of every order and rank of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Mary Help of Christians Province (IPI), with about 5,000 students in total throughout Piedmont.
In the opening plenary at the Great Theater in Valdocco, the Provincial, Sister Emma Bergandi, greeted the more than 400 participants, underlining how the title of the event – “Together we cultivate dreams, we open horizons” – both with their articulation on research and innovation, the goal of Salesian education.
This was followed by the introductory talk by Sister Enrica Ottone, Professor of the Pontifical Faculty of Education Sciences “Auxilium” who developed the theme, “Charism and innovation: charismatic challenges in the Salesian school today.” The morning continued with in-depth study by student age groups.
After the lunch break, the afternoon was dedicated to educational workshops in smaller groups distinguished by school orders, on emotion management, language development, and relationship with families for kindergartens; on emotionality, soft skills, learning unit, and support for difficulties for primary schools; on creativity, inclusion, reading and writing workshops, educational podcasting for first level secondary schools; on tools, teaching strategies, and artificial intelligence for second level secondary schools.
The Conference was an important formation event in support of teachers, who were able to meet to share ideas and experiences, under the guidance of expert pedagogists and authors of publications of publishing houses and educational research.
