Challenges and Opportunities for Catholic Schools Globally: Insights from OIEC's World Congress

Every four years, the International Office of Catholic Education (OIEC in French) organizes its World Congress as an opportunity for participants — including school teachers and principals, to share their experiences and achievements, as well as the challenges they face. In June 2019, the Educatio Si Congress took place in New York in partnership with Fordham University. The theme of the Congress was “Educating to fraternal humanism to build a civilization of love.” The closing plenary was held at the United Nations to highlight the contribution of Catholic schools to the fourth Sustainable Education Goal (SDG4), namely ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. This symposium comprises of selected contributions made at the congress, with a focus on the opening plenary at the Church of St Paul the Apostle and the closing plenary at the United Nations. M ore than 570 delegates from 80 countries attended the World Congress of the International Office of Catholic Education (OIEC or Office International de l’Education Catholique in French) in New York in June 2019. OIEC is the international organization that represents Catholic education at the pre-primary, primary, and secondary levels with international agencies. It also provides a forum for exchange and learning between national Catholic education associations. The event takes place every four years and is a great opportunity to share insights on the challenges and opportunities faced by Catholic schools globally. The aim of this symposium in the Focus section of the Journal of Catholic Education is to share some of the 1 Fordham University 2 Office International de l’Education Catholique (OIEC) 3 Volunteer lead for the Global Catholic Education Project