Salesian NGOs Gather in Samoens, France

Salesian NGOs from around the World Gather in Samoëns

(ANS – Samoëns, France – June 22, 2026) – Representatives of foundations, mission offices, and Salesian NGOs from around the world gathered from June 16 to 18 at the I Becchi holiday village in Samoëns, in the Haute-Savoie department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France. Brought together within the Don Bosco Network, they shared impressions, ideas, reflections, and best practices to collaborate ever more effectively and continue to support the Salesian mission globally.

The Don Bosco Network organizes exchange events, working groups, and 2 general assemblies thruout the year. While most of these global meetings take place via video-conference, once a year all its members gather in one place: this year, province of France- South Belgium (FRB) was chosen as the venue to welcome everyone to the heart of the I Becchi holiday village in Samoëns, which belongs to the AEC-Vacances Salesian association.

The event was attended by representatives from Salesian Missions (USA), Via Don Bosco (Belgium), Misiones Salesianas (Spain), Don Bosco Mondo (Germany), VIS – International Volunteers for Development (Italy), Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit (Switzerland), Bosconet (India), Savio (Slovakia), Don Bosco Aid (Ireland), Don Bosco Mission (Austria), Foundation Don Bosco (France), Don Bosco Foundation (Malta), Salezjanski Osrodek Misyjny (Poland,) and Salesian Missions-Australia.

Projects and missionary outreach

These independent NGOs thus act as a link among themselves and the Salesian Congregation, in particular with the Missions Department, represented at the meeting by Fr. Eric Mairura. All these organizations work closely with the local Salesian authorities, from whom they receive funding for their projects. How? In each Salesian circumscription, a planning and development office and a structure for mission animation are responsible for developing and ensuring the sustainability – particularly the financial sustainability – of Don Bosco’s educational mission at a local level.

Furthermore, in order to ensure transparency and ethical standards in the use of donations collected by these NGOs, the Don Bosco Network has developed tools such as a database of supported projects, as well as guides and manuals on the sound management of a supported project, from the initial stages thru to the post-project phase.

Learning

At the meeting in Samoëns, members had invited representatives from the Don Bosco Tech programs of Africa, India, ASEAN, and Europe, which develop and promote quality formation thru learning in their respective areas of focus. These large-scale organizations operate in the spirit of St. John Bosco – who sought to provide every young person with formation and a trade to foster his dignity and holistic development – and their programs are in many cases funded thru support from these NGOs and major industrial groups.

Emergency aid

The Don Bosco Network is also able to mobilize substantial resources at very short notice for its emergency programs: earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, etc. The large sums raised in this way pass thru the Congregation’s central offices in Rome, which thus ensures the proper and ethical use of the donations.

Finally, during the meeting in Samoëns, all those present had the opportunity to be re-energized in the truest Salesian spirit, at the foot of the Savoie mountains of St. Francis de Sales, and in the company of numerous local Salesians, including the FRB provincial, Fr. Xavier Ernst, and the provincial treasurer, Bro. Sebastien Robert, SDB.

Salesian Missions in New Rochelle was represented by Fr. Mike Conway, director, and Fr. Krzys Nizniak, assistant director.

Source: Don Bosco Aujourd’hui