THE KOLKATA CONGRESS (2003)

From 21 to 24 January 2003, the Federation of Jesuit Alumni Associations of India hosted the ‘Summit of Joy’, sixth Congress of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni. The Congress took place at the St. Xavier’s College of Kolkata.
Peter Hand Kolvenbach Congress Resolutions

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Congress resolutions

We the delegates to the VI World Congress of Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae, “The Summit of Joy”, gathered in Kolkata, India on January 24, 2003, do hereby resolve:

  1. To express our profound gratitude to Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, for the warmth of his presence and the inspiration of his remarks at this VI Congress of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae.  We will distribute Fr. Kolvenbach’s speech to all of our member associations so that his words may continue to encourage all Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae in moving from our “shared past” towards a “common future” of growth, action, and service.
  2. To thank in a special way, His Excellency, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India, for joining us, his fellow Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae, to inaugurate our World Congress, “The Summit of Joy”.  We applaud his selfless example of service to his country, its citizens, and indeed to men and women the world over.
  3. To congratulate the Federation of Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae Associations of India, and the Kolkata World Congress Organizing Committee on the tremendous success of this VIth World Congress of Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae.  We truly recognize that theirs has been a labor of love, and ours has been an experience of joy.
  4. To express our heartfelt gratitude to the Jesuits, faculty, staff, students, and alumni of St Xavier’s College, St Lawrence High School, and St Xavier’s Collegiate School for their warm hospitality and gracious friendship during our stay in Kolkata.
  5. To recognize Fr Vincent Duminuco, Delegate of Father General to the World Union, for his tremendous contribution to, and invaluable guidance of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae and its World Council.  He has been our brother and our guide on this wonderful journey.
  6. To applaud our retiring World Council members, José Maria Candioti, Kalyan Chowdhury, Gianpaolo Marini, Arumai Raj, and the late Pedro Reis Lima; our retiring Treasurer, Denis Larcher; and most especially our outstanding Past President, Fabio Tobón, for their vision, their commitment, and their dedicated service to the World Union of Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae.
  7. To express our gratitude to our WUJA Webmaster, Mario Soavi, for his dedication and tireless efforts to provide the World Union with an effective medium for international communication and the dissemination of information regarding the World Union’s mission and work.
  8. To fund the operation of the World Union and its services to its members, by setting its annual membership dues at the equivalent of 100 Euros for each High School/College Association and 200 Euros for each University Association.  In cases where such dues may represent a hardship on an association, we encourage it to contribute an amount that it feels in good conscience is consistent with its own resources and responsibilities.
  9. To continue to support the Pedro Arrupe Association as the social action arm of the World Union in its work with people in need, especially refugees, throughout the world.  We will work within our own association to recognize February 5, as the “Arrupe Dollar Day”, an opportunity for Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae to pray in memory of the late Father General, to promote his vision and ideals and to encourage financial support for the Pedro Arrupe World Association.
  10. To complete our work, already begun, in establishing the World Union of Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), recognized by the United Nations.
  11. To continue to promote and encourage Jesuit Alumni/Alumnae Associations throughout the world, to communicate among themselves and with the World Union.  We will continue to rely upon the World Union publication ETC and the World Union Website and will distribute our communications electronically whenever possible.
  12. To act upon Fr. Kolvenbach’s challenge by encouraging increased involvement of young alumni/alumnae in the World Union at the international level and in their own associations at the local level, so that we may benefit from their enthusiasm and energy, support them in the formative years of their families and careers, and recognize that they are the future of the WUJA.
  13. To empower the World Council to compile recommendations for strategic action on the four Congress Focus Sessions:
    • Education and Development;
    • The Role of Business and Human Development;
    • The Environment and Development; and
    • Empowerment of Women

WUJA IN A NUTSHELL

WUJA – the World Union of Jesuit Alumni – brings together former pupils or students of Jesuit schools and universities in the entire world in order to build international relationships between these people, to contribute to the mission of the Society of Jesus and to promote the universal dynamic of Jesuit education. For these purposes, WUJA organizes world meetings of Alumni around themes related to the commitment in the world and the society in the perspective of Christian and humanistic values, as practiced and promoted by the Society of Jesus in its educational work. So why not join the WUJA Community and place yourself on the front line to receive WUJA’s publications (including the electronic magazine “The Jesuit Alumnus“) and other information about events that are organized within our worldwide movement?