UNFOLD NEST: A Journey through Life

BHUBANESHWAR, India — Early this year, nine Catholic young media professionals from six countries met together to participate in the first SIGNIS International Fellowship Program on Compassion and Social Communication at the Xavier University Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. The three-month intensive, interdisciplinary and interfaith course is designed to explore and discuss pressing issues and concerns that affect all forms of life on Earth; and look for sustainable solutions and to take an urgent and unified global action to modern time problems and challenges.

While the program is academic in nature, it is also inspired by the second Encyclical of Pope Francis Laudato Si’. It invites participants of this program to go beyond theories, facts and data to find alternative and effective ways to promote stewardship for our common home, to fulfill our moral responsibility to care for creation and to nurture compassion and the common good in the world through dialogue. It encourages participants to rethink and re-evaluate how scarce and limited resources are consumed which leads to irresponsible development and environmental degradation. It also underscores the irrepressible dignity of human life, the respect and protection of human rights and every life on Earth.

Challenged by the global pandemic while in India, fellows with diverse cultural affiliations and vast experiences in the field of communication continued to exchange thoughts and ideas to bring a modern tool to life — Unfold Nest, an interactive, multi-narrative, transmedia flip book which is drawn from various texts, references and materials aims to lead every reader to the protection and preservation of nature, to change old lifestyles, and to make a difference in the world for the good of all.

Unfold Nest is a collective project for communication built together by nine participants who hail from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, India, Philippines and Togo — a timely attempt to create awareness and promote the care for our common home and “a journey in search of ourselves, faith and the cosmos.” The collective effort of the group helped to position the e-book as an adventurous journey of an individual or community through a narrative of choosing one’s own path.

The International Academic Certificate Program on Compassion and Social Communication commenced January and concluded May this year. This fellowship is offered and developed by SIGNIS in partnership with the Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies (XCHCS), Xavier University Bhubaneswar (XUB). XCHCS works closely with the Xavier School of Communication, Xavier School of Rural Management and the Xavier School of Sustainability at XUB, and a number of public intellectuals from outside the university. (Perry Paul Lamanilao)

Sources:
[1] O’Kane, Lydia. “Laudato si’ inspires new communication project.” Vatican News. Published on May 20, 2020. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2020-05/laudato-si-inspires-new-communication-project.html.
[2] Carbonell, Xavier. “Unfold Nest: A SIGNIS Project to Communicate Compassion.” SIGNIS. Published on May 22, 2020. http://www.signis.net/news/events/22-05-2020/unfold-nest-a-signis-project-to-communicate-compassion.
[3] Atchikiti, Isaac. “Laudato sì programme challenged me to rethink my lifestyle.” Vatican News – English Africa Service – Vatican City. Published on May 24, 2020. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/africa/news/2020-05/laudato-si-programme-challenged-me-to-rethink-my-lifestyle.html.
[4] Lamanilao, Perry Paul. “Gandhi and our quest for justice and freedom.” SIGNIS. Published on February 11, 2020. http://www.signis.net/news/events/11-02-2020/signis-in-india-feature-storygandhi-and-our-quest-for-justice-and-freedom.
[5] Dhanraj, Sumit. “SIGNIS holds International Certification Programme in XUB.” SIGNIS Asia. Published on June 12, 2020. http://www.signisasia.net/signis-holds-international-certification-programme-in-xub/.
[6] Unfold Nest. SIGNIS-XUB. Free access and download here: https://www.flipsnack.com/KikeDelgado/unfold-nest/full-view.html.