GIVING EUROPE A SOUL

Since 2006, annual “Social Academies” have taken place under the patronage of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (now the Dicastery for Integral Human Development) with more than 300 seminarians from Eastern and Central Europe in total participating. The alumni have since taken on responsibility both in their local church realities and in the universal Church.
In 2014, i.e. 10 years ago, some of them founded a socio-charitable youth movement in Zakopane called “socioMovens. Giving Europe a Soul e.V.”, which has since involved over 1,000 young people in eight countries in Eastern and Central Europe. Under the umbrella of the foundation, which has since been established, the members of socioMovens join together to form national non-profit associations.
The 2024 congress would like to invite the alumni of the last 18 years to tell each other what their participation in the social academies has inspired them to do and how it has impacted their biographies.
Following the motto of the Social Academies “Giving Europe a soul”, the alumni are invited to join together in an international network as part of the celebration of the Kommende’s 75th anniversary. Their work is founded on the principles of Catholic social teaching and committed to their own social and ecclesial environment – synodal, dialogue-based and networked at national level with the young members of the "socioMovens" movement.
The Sozialinstitut Kommende Dortmund supports the expansion of its network and accompanies the commitment of its “ambassadors”, thus contributing to holistic human development in Eastern and Central Europe: so that Europe becomes a soul.