Pope Francis will inaugurate the first regional headquarters of Scholas Occurrentes in Southeast Asia during his visit to Indonesia from Sept. 3 to 6.
The global educational project, which started in 2001 under his leadership as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, focuses on engaging youth in education, art, and sports.
On September 4, Pope Francis will visit the “Grha Pemuda” Youth House in Jakarta, where he will meet 200 Indonesian students from various islands, schools, and religions, according to a report by AsiaNews.
The visit will highlight the values of unity in diversity and the Culture of Encounter, key principles of Scholas Occurrentes.
Scholas Occurrentes will also launch the Scholas Citizenship program in Southeast Asia. This initiative is in partnership with Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and the Global 5P Movement.
The program will train university students and young teachers in the Scholas methodology, which they will implement in their communities.
Scholas Occurrentes said that the approach seeks to address the needs of Indonesian society, where the youth population is growing rapidly.
Scholas Occurrentes started as a project in Buenos Aires to bring together students from public and private schools, regardless of religious background, to work for the common good.
The organization, which became a pontifical foundation in 2013, now partners with nearly 450,000 schools and educational institutions worldwide.
In 2022, Scholas Occurrentes participated in the G20 Summit in Bali, where it presented its educational model to global leaders.
The organization also visited Genggelang village in Lombok, engaging with local youth and planting an olive tree as a symbol of peace. These activities laid the groundwork for the new regional headquarters in Southeast Asia.
