Vincentian Information and Formation

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This page is meant to serve as a resource for participants in a workshop at Convent Station New Jersey for leaders and communications personnel of the Sisters of Charity Federation held Wednesday March 11, 2009.

Contents

Perspectives on the workshop

Attendes

Attendees of this workshop represent varying facets and phases in the process of communicating our charism.

  • "Public Relations"
  • Formation (and discernment of) vocation
  • Technological underpinnings for using the internet in public relations and formation

As a result attendees bring a rich cross section of concerns and interests in the over-all project of communicating the charism.

Public relations people provide the public face of our various Congregations. Using a variety of media they chronicle the day-to-day activities. Their emphasis will often be on communicating information news and using the interet to reach a wider audience.
Formation people tend to more concerned with the deeper dimensions of passing on the charism to those who hopefully carry on the work of our various institutions as our numbers diminish or looking for new members, lay and vowed, who will carry the torch in coming decades. Their primary concern will be how can the internet be used in forming and mentoring people in the charism. Their concerns go a step further in seeking way to share and deepen perspectives that transform the lives of those being formed.
Technology people are those to whom the above people turn for the backgrouond work of using the internet in the service of information and formation. These people will be more concerned about the nuts and bolts of using the internet.

One of the advantages of this mix at the workshop is that each group can come to appreciate better the over-all process of communicating the charism.

Communication and formation go hand in hand, both are served by technology.

From the preliminary questionnaire sent to leadership it seems most attendees will be coming from the perspective of formation with a strong interest in how VinFormation can be used and adapted for their own purposes.

During the course of the day we hope to address this wide variety of concern either directly in our presentation or indirectly via handouts or links to further resource material.

Today is not about information, it’s about empowerment. Providing you with the tools to help you fulfill the critical needs in your mission through the use of technology. You will see some of the ways we think might be helpful-- but during the course of this day we hope you can identify what would be most empowering for you, and next steps to make that a reality. We intend this not as a one-stop workshop, but the beginning of an ongoing process.

Also, it will be important to remember that what follows is a "work in progress". How well it progresses will in large measure depend on how well it sserves you and how you contribute your ideas and material.

Presenters

It is our hope that at various points in this workshop you may experience some of the following...

"I didn't know that!"
"I wish we could do something like that!"
"What are next steps?"

FAMVIN.ORG

The following material is intended as a context for the day.

See also Famvin.org

FAMVIN.ORG speaks to the concerns of providing both

  • news and information about how the charism is being lived today
  • resources for those seeking a deeper grounding in living the charism (the Vincnetian Encyclopedia and Vinformation)

It also has the potential for being a tool of collaboration in various form of ministry and collective advocacy on behalf of those we serve.

Purpose of FAMVIN.ORG

The purpose of famvin.org is to use the internet to foster better service of those served by the Vincentian Charism through

  • knowledge of one another - our similarities of purpose and the complimentarity of our differences of approach, in the words of Fr. Robert Maloney, CM a former Superior General, a "kind of daily newspaer for the entire Vincentian Family".
  • fostering collaboration for more effective ministry, formation and advocacy

Collaboration presupposes knowledge.

Early in his life Vincent realized that service called for efficient utililization of resources and cooperation.

We each believe in the value of our charism and the unique way we have been reflecting the charism perspective. Ultimately the issue each of us faces is how do we encourage others to walk in our footsteps.

In the age of the internet each of us is seeking how to harness its power so we might continue to serve and serve most effectively. To this end each of us uses email and has established websites.

The issue addressed by famvin.org is that so often the various groups that today carry the spirit of Vincent, Louise and Elzabeth seem to work in "silos", to a large extent unaware of what the other hand is doing.

The charism is richer than any one of our manifestations of it. The advantage of famvin lies in its current size and depth.

Relationship of FAMVIN to websites of individual branches

The aim of famvin.org is not to replace the individual websites of our various congregations but rather to mutually reinforce our efforts.

We all seek visibility and richer content for our sites.

Famvin.org can be a valuable resource for developing material and enriching the content of our sites.

An analogy to consider is that famvin.org is like the anchor store in a large mall that draws visitors not only to itself but to all the individual stores in the mall. "Location, location, location is the watch word in real estates whether real or virtual.

At present each month the English language version of famvin.org is visited by people from more than 160 countries. And then there are the less well-developed versions in Spanish, Italian, Polish and French.

For a variety of technical reasons famvin.org entries bubble up to the top of search results for things related to our charism.

A prime ranking in Google search results is worth more than many expensive mass mailings.

Components of famvin.org

200px-Famvin-index-logo.jpg

At present famvin.org has three major elements.

  • News blog (WordPress)
  • Encyclopedia (WikiMedia - Wikipedia)
  • VinFormation


Link to Powerpoint exploring the facets below

News blog

Famvin-en-screenshot.jpg

The news blog is the equivalent of an online newspaper for the Vincentian Family.

  • Featured Article - a more significant piece of news that remains at the top of the page generally for a week at a time.
  • Recent articles - News items are added at a rate of approcimately 2 per day.
  • Daily Reflections - These reflections are taken from the writings of various key figure in the Vincentian Family.
  • Featured Videos - Vincentian oriented videos are appearing almost daily on YouTube and other social networking sites.

Continuing further down the page...

  • Subscribe - Links to receive information from the site in email or other ways.
  • Older posts - A drop down menu of the archives listed by month.
  • Visitor locations - A click on this link leads to a larger graphic which show where the visitors to famvin come from and their approximate numbers.
  • Learn more - This section contains links to VINCENTIANA, the official international journal of the Congregation of the Miss and could just as easily link to yours; the Vincentian Encyclopedia (moree this later); the International Vincentian Formation Center in Paris (and could include a link to the international Vincentian Integration experiece of the Daughters of Charity

Even further down the page...

  • Tags - These allow one to search according to various topic listed in the "cloud".
  • Recent Comments - This contains a listing of comments made by viewers about various articles and can serve as the beginning of further dialogue.

Finally continuing scrolling down the page

  • Vincentian Family events - This links to a Google calendar focuses on current Vincentian Family Events. It is interactive so it can be added to by registered members of teh site. It can also be expanded to view upcoming events. (This could be something you could use to both publixize your events and check out whether a major events conflicts with someone elses major event.)
  • Headlines from CMGLOBAL reflects the fact that up until this point the Congregation of the Mission has been the sole financial support of this site.

Encyclopedia

Famvin-wiki-screenshot.jpg

The Vincentian Encyclopedia, modeled after Wikipedia and using the same open source software, is intended to serve as a kind of reference library for material of more than passing interest for the more than 2 million people walking in the footsteps of Vincent, Louise, Frederick and Elizabeth.

Highlights

  • Currently it comprises more than 1,000 articles about us and our charism
  • It is definitely a "work in progress" but already has attracted significant notice from search engines like Google when it comes to searching for information related to our charism.
  • By reason of its size one of the key features is a very powerful site-specific search engine. Entering a word or series of words in the search box to the top left of every page is the magic key to finding materials. Just below the search box is a link to "Categories" which amount to pre-configured searches for material related to a specific category.
  • There is a growing gallery of images which can be freely downloaded and used. Visit http://famvin.org/wiki/Special:Newimages to explore these images in groups of 48 at a time.
  • There are Spanish, French, German and Polish versions of the Vincentian Encyclopedia in varying stages of development.
  • In passing it might be important to note the original Wikipedia can be another source of spreading word about our charism. It is well worth our while to searchin wikipedia articles related to us to see what is being said and also to contribute articles.

We could spend a full day exploring its depth and learning how to contribute material. In this workshop we can only touch on the basic elements and pont to appropriate tutorials.

Of interest to participants of the workshop are articles in the following categories:

VinFormation

Vinformation-snapshot.jpg

VinFormation represents the latest project of famvin.

VinFormation is rooted in the belief that adult formation online is different from methods commonly used for traditional students in secondary education settings as well methods used in a classroom situation.


Mission of Vinformation - Equipping Vincentians with the tools of technology for service and systemic change by

1. Showcasing the advantages of technology for formation through;

Sharing the variety of best practices available;
Increasing awareness of learning-style diversity;
Demystifying terminology and concepts surrounding technology.

2. Supporting the adoption of technological innovations for formation through;

Researching emerging technologies;
Assessing the effectiveness of innovations for particular audiences and levels of formation;
Developing games, simulations and other interactive media; and
Offering models/templates adaptable for various audiences.

3. Fostering collaboration for formation through;

Increasing communication necessary for collaboration;
Enlisting and supporting the expertise of charism specialists who develop and present content; and
Compiling a data bank of resources.

Current Elements of VinFormation

  • Shared stories
  • Puzzles
  • History - (note how these time lines can be integrated with the Vincentian Encyclopedia or with material from your sites.)
  • Systemic Change
  • Games
  • Podcasts - See how dePaul University uses its personnel to educate about how mission impacts them

Other features

  • Quotes
  • Spiritual Advisors
  • Daily Reflection
  • Do you speak Vincentian
  • First time visitors
  • Guest book

Tentative flow of the day

9:00 a.m.

  • Opening Prayer (Bruce)
Based on a YouTube video (which could serve as an examp0le of what can be done with your foundresses)
  • Welcome (Monica)
What we have heard from you...
  • Overview of Day (John)
    • What we this workshop can and can't do.
    • Three things we hope to hear from you at the end of the day..
  1. "I didn't know that!"
  2. "I wish we could do that!"
  3. "What are the next steps...
  • It is about...Imagining Possibilities and Empowerment

9:15 a.m. FamVin as context (John)

  • Overview of FamVin
    • News (blog)
    • Reference (wiki
    • Formation
  • Note the continuum from information through formation. (Monica will say more 9:40)

9:40 a.m. VinFormation (Monica)

  • Explain how the continuum of communication from information through formation are important to the Vincentian Family.
  • Review Mission Statement of VinFormation.
  • Explain handouts and worksheets.
  • Q&A?


10:00 a.m. Spirituality & Ministry - Online course, Mentoring (Bruce)

  • From head to heart...
  • Resource: "Starting Point for Vincentian Formation One of the finest popular presentations of Vincentian Formation.
  • Case study of concern about water
    • Information oriented presentations already available
    • Moving toward formation oriented materials
  • Equipment
  • More in depth presentation at 2PM
  • Q&A

10:45 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. Systemic Change (John)

  • Presentations related to Systemic Change
  • Hobson’s Choice - Experience the frustration of not having any "real" choices.
  • "Mirror of Justice" Model - Watching experts in dialogue
  • Q&A

11:45 a.m. Shared Stories (Monica)

  • Explore the importance of stories in forming our Vincentian cultural identity.
  • More on the mechanics of sharing our stories in the 3:30 PM session
  • Resource: Sharing our storiesOne of the finest popular presentations of Vincentian Formation.


12:00 p.m. Recap of the Morning (John, Monica, Bruce)

  • What have you heard?
  • What applications do you envision?
  • Who is your target audience?
  • What questions do you have?

12:20 p.m. Depart for Lunch

1:30 p.m. Games (Monica)

  • Briefly play Jeopardy Game
  • Talk about games and their value for formation.
  • Briefly mention other games.
  • Q&A

2:00 p.m.

  • Possible breakout sessions
    • Online Mentoring (Bruce)
      • What opportunities there are for mentors and mentees.
      • Methods
      • Training
      • Equipment
      • Q&A
    • How do I...?"""

2:40 p.m. Break

2:50 p.m. Other possibilities

  • Timelines (John)
  • Do you speak Vincentian?
  • FaceBook
  • YouTube
  • Virtual Tour
  • Q&A

3:30 p.m. Podcasting (Bruce)

  • Simple and complex.
  • Flip Video and Advocacy
  • Equipment - barebones
  • Q&A

3:50 p.m. Q&A over the Workshop (Monica, John & Bruce)

  • Discussion of next steps

4:15 p.m. Leave for Liturgy

4:30 p.m. Mass


About the presenters

John Freund, CM is a refugee from some 35 years of teaching theology in two seminaries and St. John's University, New York. He began a "Second Life" career about 1993 when instinctively he saw the possibilities of Internet as a means of fulfilling Frederick Ozanam's vision "to embrace the whole globe in a band of charity". Since 1998 he has been full time working at developing the use of the internet in the service of our charism. He has presented workshops all over the United Statesas well as Canada, France. In November he will do a presentation that will focus on famvin and systemic change resources at the meeting of the Vincentian Family in Asia at its Bangkok meeting.

Monica Watson, when not engaged in her hobby of painting, has spent some 20 years working in corporate and military settings around the world developing training materials and online resources for continuing education. In recent years she became "hooked" as a member and then president of the local Vincent de Paul Society in Belmar, South Jersey. Monica is the technical genius behind the various facets of VinFormation.

Bruce Krause, CM, when he was not mastering par on the golf course, has spent many years as a pastor of various parishes in the south. For some 10 years he has been engaged in the spiritual formation of members of the Vincent de Paul Society in the Atlanta region and then the Eastern region. His latest passion is pioneering the use of the Internet as a tool in mentoring those who seek deeper formation in the Vincentian charism. He is currently serving as a campus minister at Niagara University and in a leadership position for mission effectiveness.

Beth Nicol in her day job keeps the library site for the Auburn University Digital Library functioning and lead researcher on some significant government sponsored inter-library digital preservation projects and an internationally known "early adopter" in the use of the Greenstone software used by many UN NGO's. During the rest of her waking hours she is a mother of three, parish music minister and keeper of the technology behind famvin.org. Not only does she keep up the infrastructure of the more than 20 component sites of famvin.org but she does so making use on non-proprietary or "open source" software. She well deserves the title of the "Queen of free" software for famvin.org.

Further Resources

Vincentian Encyclopedia

(not-for-profit organizations, non-governmental organizations/NGOs, civil society and public sector/government agencies, departments and initiatives)"

- Work of the People - http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/ - Busted Halo model of a calendar - http://www.bustedhalo.com/features/fast-pray-give/

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