107 The ideas presented here do not mean that all provinces have to set up all the structures described. There is no need for discouragement for a province that cannot move ahead in some of the areas suggested here…it doesn’t mean to do nothing. Each province chooses what is possible amongst the ideas offered, according to resources and practical means.
Information Desk
108 One of the first provincial offices useful for the life and activity of the province, but also helpful beyond the Salesian community could be a Salesian Information Desk. This can be organised simply.
It responds to initial questions about the life and activity of Salesians in the Province, the nation, the region or the world. It should therefore have basic information at hand:
number of confreres (in total and per province),
number of communities (in total and per province),
missionary presence (how many confreres in the missions, how many mission areas etc.),
new presences,
how the various works are grouped (with information about education, evangelisation, development),
particular activities (street children, refugees, etc.),
experiments that are in place
and whatever else helps to present the Congregation objectively.
109 This office or desk can be further enhanced through essential reference to the Salesian Family:
groups,
what they are doing,
particular projects
And yet further enhancement through reference to the Salesian Movement:
nature of,
who belongs, the life of,
organisation.
It is in the interests of the Province Delegate for social communication to already have ready immediately usable data in the case where information has to be quickly provided.
Public relations office
110 Aetatis Novae speaks about public relations thus (n. 31):
“Public relations require active communication on the Church’s part, through both secular and religious media. Involving readiness to communicate Gospel values and to publicise the ministries and programmes of the Church, it requires that the Church do all in its power to ensure that its own true image reflects Christ.".
A pastoral plan for social communication should seek:
to set up public relations offices with sufficient human and material resources
to make effective communication between Church and community possible
111 The Province Delegate for Social Communication should consider the need to be active in communications; not merely waiting for others to ask for information but offering what we think should be known about Salesian life and activity; a balance between visibility and over-exposure.
Not to be visible means not being known.
To be over-exposed creates indifference.
The need to have contacts with the other province delegates working in the same Country and Region.
112 The main tasks of this office could be:
to be in contact with those responsible for social communication:
to present Congregational policy regarding the various problems or topics being debated and faced in public;.
to respond to questions arising from daily life, or from particular high profile events regarding educational aspects or referring to young people;
to prepare for Congregational event so they do not remain at simply the level of external celebration.
to be a place of technical support or reflection at times when the Congregation is expressing its values.
to prepare official communiqués to be sent to whoever needs to be informed:
to point out the truth of the facts involved;
to offer a key to reading situations which give rise to questions or problems;
to guide public opinion.
to be present in an accredited, official way on behalf of the institution, at meetings and conventions, round-table conferences and debates for all who work in the field.
A formal statement of one of the above items usually comes as a press release. The SC Delegate, in consultation with the Provincial or person(s) delegated by him for this purpose, will see to the preparation and release of such statements.
113 Specifically in reference to possible recipients.
In today’s context, for an institution like the Salesians inserted actively into the life of people from so many and different nations around the world (first, second, third or fourth world), it would be useful to have a structure that can help:
present the objective reality of the Congregation,
amongst other institutions, civil and religious;
social communications media often looking for news, positive or negative, about or involving the Congregation in different Countries,
by becoming an official spokesperson for the institution to the wider public, and
a recognised filter for news transmitted beyond the institution.
to build an appropriate image of the Salesian community in the world, in view of a better penetration of the social and ecclesial fabric, and
for a more visible and transparent dialogue with those parts of the public interested in Salesian experience.
in knowing, more completely, the reactions around the world to the many Salesian initiatives:
in education,
in ministry,
in being a collator and collector of news coming to the institution from outside.
114 The service to be given demands that the one in charge of this sector be officially known and officially appointed by the Provincial and his Council as a reference person.
Office for promoting the Salesian image
115 Several elements of this have already been presented in earlier paragraphs. The promotions office belongs in spheres of everyday life and offers original and appropriate viewpoints concerning the institution it represents and promotes.
This is the most important, and often the most difficult task. Often times it is hidden. But to promote the image of a person and an institution we need to:
capture the image,
manage it and
explain its meaning in terms of quality and quantity through media and press in order to arouse sympathy, attention, agreement for the person or institution, choices made, interventions, values.
From one point of view of communication this is called making news. We need to understand this well in order not to be presenting images without content!
The times and modalities of image-making are dictated by real circumstances in the life of people and the Congregation. We need to be attentive to and adapt to different local situations. The image of the Congregation can and should develop where it is a case of:
The life of the young,
The life of ordinary people – cultural renewal,
The rights of those without a voice,
Press review office
116 A press review office could sound like a secondary task. However, it is the prior condition and context for the two previous tasks of image and public relations. The service is about:
gathering together whatever forms part of public opinion
positive or negative, in the media regarding aspects of Salesian life and activity;
archiving what interests or challenges the Congregation in different spheres of life and Salesian mission;
updating constantly the data to hand on to those responsible for life and development in the Congregation, concerning reaction from the mass media.
117 The daily work of gathering this sort of information, for an institution as widely spread and as large as the Salesian Congregation, cannot be left solely to the Centre in Rome. Individual Provinces are directly concerned. The Province Delegate should also have an eye to this area. What is of general interest, the Province Delegate sends on to ANS.
118 The House Chronicle: art 178 of the Regulations indicates that it is the duty of the Rector who should 'compile or see to the compiling of the house chronicle'. That having been said, it is an item of communication which also deserves the attention of the Province Delegate – perhaps in terms of some helpful recommendations for compiling the chronicle in communities. These recommendations could include comments along the following lines:
chronicle writing as a form should correspond with the classic 5 questions – who, what, when, where, how, and occasionally why!
include what is valuable in terms of the history of the community. It is more than a list of who went out or who came in.
the style should be narrative.
context and atmosphere are important for chronicle writing, so it may be necessary to make reference to national, state, ecclesial, parochial... circumstances.
people's names are to be quoted precisely for later identification.
value judgements should be left out ('Scripta manent'!).
an entire range of other material forms part of the chronicle: photos, programmes, invitations, CD and other digital material....
it is best to date all items for the sake of posterity.
an appendix can contain the community timetables.
119 Mortuary letters: the letter emanating from the community (normally) where a confrere has died, is an important act of communication and one which the Delegate for social communication is in a position to advice communities on in general terms. The advice given would be along the following lines:
the style of presentation: needs to be legible, and have a certain elegance
for archiving purposes and wider (Congregational) use it should keep to the dimensions in general use (AGC: 15x21cm)
a certain balance to be kept from one letter to the other; the province could advise a certain length, for example.
reminder to Rectors of their duty to produce such a letter.
as the letter may be the only record of personal data on a confreres, this data should be as complete as possible.
avoid too much emphasis on the final illness: this letter is more a statement about the life of the confrere.
focus on what has been distinctive about the life of this confrere in the Congregation.
if quoting directly, then due thought needs to be given to placing the quote in context.
before publication the letter should be read and commented on by several others to ensure that it has been well put together.
120 The archives: chief responsibility for archives at Province level is given to the Provincial Secretary (R. 159), and the article quoted above for the chronicle at local level also includes reference to the house archives. There is, additionally, a more general comment on archives in R 62. The Elementi Giuridici e Prassi Amministrativa nel Governo dell'Ispettoria, last published in 2004, and certainly available also in English and Spanish, is a basic reference also for the SC Delegate, at least for his general awareness of the issue. It contains information on ways to preserve documentation and to set up filing and categorisation.
121 In these days of rapid development in digital technology, some thought should also be given to conservation of digital materials: 'text' in its most general understanding (includes photographic, audio etc.) is in danger of being lost if it only exists in digital form. It may in many instances be converted to hard copy, but choices can also be made to ensure adequate backup of digital material especially if there is no hard copy available or desirable.
122 The Delegate for social communication has a role to play, along with his teams, in advising the provincial and local communities of issues pertaining to protocol and procedure for due secrecy of digital material. Many sensitive documents these days lie on hard disks in provincial offices and the like. It is possible, using free software (one example amongst others is TrueCrypt) to easily create encrypted material and virtual disks which can only be traced by the individuals who hold the username and password.
123 A style manual: while various examples of style manuals exist in the communications world generally, it could be appropriate for a Province to have a style manual which brings together many of the issues contained in this handbook and presents them in terms of a style manual for use in the province – points made above concerning the mortuary letter, are one example. At the General House, there are several examples of this kind of manual – a Vademecum used by members of the General Council and a Style Manual as such in preparation though not, at this point, finally approved. Guides of this kind might include reference to publishing in the Province (also drawing on documentation from the General Councillor for social communication on this matter, cf. AGC 390), adoption and use of a province logo, conventions in use for published materials or for internet materials.
124 Open source, the Free Software Movement (FOSS): One area which has enough global impetus to warrant being monitored and considered both theoretically and practically at all levels of the Congregation, is that of Open Source software and the Free and Open Source Software Movement (FOSS when combined). The Pontifical Council for Social Communication's 2002 'Ethics in Internet' instruction spoke of the fact that 'the Internet requires international cooperation in setting standards and establishing mechanisms to promote and protect [the common good]....Determined action in the private and public sectors is needed to close and eventually eliminate the digital divide'. Fr Pascual Chávez, in his Letter in AGC 390 spoke directly of the matter, commenting that 'Open Source is a way of moving towards the democratisation of information and culture'.
The issue is a prime one for consideration at Province level by an advisory group if not by the Commission itself. It becomes increasingly difficult, especially in some poorer nations and provinces, to sustain proprietary software, and there are ethical issues to consider as well. FOSS deserves consideration as an alternative for reasons pertaining to: legality (avoiding piracy), cost effectiveness, independence from 'lock-in' to a single system, the collaborative and community culture it subscribes to, its flexibility.
125 Educational and institutional challenges: Fr Pascual Chávez, in his AGC 390 Letter on Social Communications, lists a range of present day challenges to education under the headings 'A culture of...', then a range of challenges to the Congregation – its communication of the charism, the challenges of technology, of use of time, of media, of formation. These too are issues to be taken up at Province and local level for reflection and, where needed, action.