Speakers

Rev. Dr. James Hanvey SJ was appointed by the General of the Society of Jesus as Secretary for the Service of Faith. This is a wide-ranging role which promotes the Society’s work in theological research, dialogue with cultures, spirituality, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue among other things. Fr. Hanvey is a theologian who, before his appointment, was Master of Campion Hall, University of Oxford, and member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion in which he taught and supervised doctoral work.

Prior to this, Fr Hanvey was also Head of the department of theology at a Heythrop College, University of London, where he was founding director of The Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics, and Public Life. He has also held research chairs at Milltown College, Dublin, (Veale Chair in Ignatian Spirituality), and the Lo Schiavo Chair in Catholic Social Thought, University of San Francisco.

In addition, Fr. Hanvey has been a theological advisor to the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, and a religious advisor to the BBC.  He was also Headmaster of St Aloysius’ College HMC, Glasgow, Scotland. He has written and lectured widely in number of areas, most recently on ecology and is currently editing a book with Prof. Gavin Flood (Oxford), ‘Connecting Ecologies’ – an interdisciplinary work which seeks to bring together cultural, social, scientific and spiritual discourses.

Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ, is the president of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar.

Fr Orobator, a native of Nigeria, received his PhD from the University of Leeds in 2004 and his research focuses on theological ethics and ecclesiology of the global south. He is the author and editor of a number of books, and a theological speaker with particular expertise in African Theology. He is the author of Theology Brewed in an African Pot; Religion and Faith in Africa: Confessions of an Animist; and The Pope and the Pandemic: Lessons in Leadership in a Time of Crisis (All Orbis Books). In his book “Religion and Faith in Africa: Confessions of an Animist” (Orbis, 2018), Orobator examines the living interplay between African religion, Christianity, and Islam in Africa, and argues that the religious experience and spiritual imagination of Africa offers a genius capable of renewing the global community of believers.

Margaret was born and brought up in Sheffield, England and now lives in Scotland. She holds a BA degree in English from London University and an MA from Keele University. She has a daughter and two grand-children.

After working as a translator in Germany, she was employed as a technical author in the IT industry until 2000, when she left paid employment, to devote herself to creative writing, and accompanying others on their spiritual journey through retreats, workshops and days of reflection. She is the author of a number of books for contemporary pilgrims searching for a spiritual way, including Landmarks (titled Inner Compass in the US), Taste and See, Roots and Wings, Sacred Spaces, The Other Side of Chaos, Simple Faith and Soul Journey. Her faith journey has been very much shaped by Ignatian spirituality, and she has been trained by the Jesuits in spiritual companionship and retreat giving. She is passionate about making Christian spirituality accessible and attractive to modern pilgrims and relevant to everyday life in the 21st century.

Reverend Dr C. Joe Arun, SJ, is the Director of Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai, India, where he teaches Leadership, Strategic Management, Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Management. He has evolved innovative methods of Teaching Learning-Assessment for schools and colleges and has been awarded as one of the innovative leaders in education by India Today Group. He is a thought leader and is part of group called, Knowledge Xchnage that exchanges innovative ideas and models in education.

He holds a doctorate in Anthropology from Oxford University, United Kingdom with a thesis on Conflict Management and Identity Construction. He holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology, Management, an MBA, and Marketing and Human Resources Management. He has written many books, Constructing Identity, Interculturation of Religion, Theories of Social Change, Rustic Entrepreneurs, Business Moves, Making of Entrepreneurs, to mention a few, and he has published many scientific articles in the areas of culture, strategy and in other areas of management. He has held both academic and administrative positions in many educational institutions, and is a consultant in the area of strategy and branding to many companies and a trainer in competence building, personal growth, and communication skills.

PROF. DR. ELIAS LOPEZ SJ, PH.D., is currently the director of the program “Expert on Discerning Leadership” at the ICADE Business School and researcher-professor in the field of reconciliation at Comillas University in Madrid. He is the Ignatian leadership facilitator in the area of Identity and Mission at the same university and coordinator of the working group “Peace and Reconciliation of the International Association of Jesuit Universities”.

His studies have included Philosophy at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid), Psychology (Master) at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid), Moral Theology at Katholieke Universtiteit Leuven (Belgium),  International Diploma in Humanitarian Aid, IDHA (University of Geneva and Fordham University N.Y) and an Advanced Master in Conflicts and Sustainable Peace in Political Science at Katholieke Universtiteit Leuven (Belgium). His Doctorate in Theology is titled “Excessive Love in the Middle of the Unforgivable, Mystics-Political and Mixed Forgiveness in Conflicts and Peace” with the UNESCO Chair, Katholieke Universtiteit Leuven (Belgium).

He has worked for the last 20 years with the Jesuit Refugee Service in the heart of Africa, especially in Tanzania where he collaborated in the creation of a community radio with refugees who came from the Rwandan genocide of 94. Other countries in which he has worked  internationally they are: Ethiopia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and lately in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and Ecuador. Currently is a consultant on reconciliation and leadership in JRS Latin America and the Caribbean.

He was the Deputy International Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Rome from 2007-2011.

Dr. Jasmin Nario-Galace is the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor of the College of Education and the Department of International Studies, at College of Arts and Sciences at Miriam College. She has degrees in International Studies, Peace Studies and a doctorate in Education Psychology. She has authored or co-authored publications on peace education, conflict resolution, arms control and women, peace and security.

She is currently engaged in a number of groups both nationally and internationally: the Technical Working Group formulating the Philippine Catholic Schools Standards for Higher Education Institutions; the Board of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders based in New York; the Facilitation Team of Pax Christi-Asia-Pacific; the International Advisory Council of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA); the Steering Committee of Forum Arms Trade based in Washington, D.C and the Centre for Armed Violence Reduction based in Australia. She is also on the Committee on Education of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative.

She acted as Coordinator of the CSO Group of the Preparatory Committee that led the formulation of the UNSCR 1325 National Action Plan (NAP) in the Philippines and Co-convener of the Women Engaged in Action on 1325 (WE Act 1325), a national network of women from peace, human rights and women’s organizations that help implement the NAP on Women, Peace and Security.

Dr Jasmi is a trainer in the areas of Peace Education, Conflict Resolution, Peer Mediation, Nonviolence, International Humanitarian Law, Women, Peace and Security, Peace Advocacy, Gender and Disarmament, Humanitarian Disarmament and Educational Psychology and has given these trainings in the Philippines and abroad over the years to various groups and sectors such as educators, students, out of school youth, women, the urban poor, indigenous and faith communities, NGO workers, government workers, local government officials, the religious, young professionals and military and police officers.

Fernando M. Reimers is the Ford Foundation Professor of the Practice of International Education and Director of the Global Education Innovation Initiative and of the International Education Policy Masters Program at Harvard University. An expert in the field of Global Education, his research and teaching focus on understanding how to educate children and youth so they can thrive in the 21st century. He is a member of UNESCO’s high level commission on the Futures of Education.

He has written or edited thirty-seven books, of which the most recent include:
Leading Education Through COVID-19, Education and Climate Change: the Role of Universities, Implementing Deeper Learning and 21st Century Reforms: Building an education Renaissance after a Global Pandemic, Educating Students to Improve the World, Audacious Education Purposes. How governments transform the goals of education systems, Empowering teachers to build a better world. How six nations support teachers for 21st century education.

At the moment he is leading a large comparative study of how 25 universities around the world have partnered with elementary and secondary schools to sustain educational opportunity during the Pandemic.

With his graduate students, he has developed three curriculum resources aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are translated into multiple languages and widely used by schools and school systems around the world : Empowering Global Citizens, Empowering Students to Improve the World in Sixty Lessons and Learning to Collaborate for the Global Common Good.

More information about his work is available here:
https://fernandoreimers.gse.harvard.edu/

“We have enormous capacity to awaken hope in our world, contributing to the formation of men and women who are just, true global citizens.” Fr. General Arturo Sosa, SJ (JESEDU-Rio2017) In 2019 the Secretariat Taskforce on Global Citizenship worked collaboratively, joining the diverse voices and realities of the six geographical regions of the Global Jesuit Network of Secondary and Pre-Secondary Schools, along with those of JRS-Education and Fe y Alegría to produce a framework for Global Citizenship: An Ignatian Perspective. As a network of Jesuit schools that spans the globe, we are in a unique position to educate our students to be agents of change and promoters of justice in a world that is both interconnected and divided. We have an opportunity to collaborate as a single but powerful voice in the world. The work produced by the Taskforce on Global Citizenship is one more step on a path that was laid by Ignatius himself and walked upon by all those who have come before us. The Taskforce looks forward to sharing some key insights on educating for Global Citizenship with you all.