The Institute of Anthropology (IADC), in association with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) launched an e-Learning educational unit for religious women.  

Developed by an interdisciplinary team of international experts, this variation of the e-Learning educational program equips religious women with basics about safeguarding and prevention in the context of their lives and work.

The purpose of the e-Learning educational units for religious women, which is also useful for institutions, is not to explain safeguarding as an abstract issue but rather include it as a core element in their religious formation.  

Below you may find the intervention of Sr. Patricia Murray, IBVM, UISG Executive Secretary, at the press conference launching the e-learning unit on 24 May 2024.

“I'm very pleased to welcome you here today and those joining us online on behalf of the international Union of Superiors General but also the Conrad Hilton Foundation and The Institute of Anthropology, which is committed to raising awareness about human dignity
and to promoting education and interdisciplinary research on human dignity. 
 

I think it's fair to say that the promotion of human dignity is at the heart of this collaborative partnership between our three organizations. The members of UISG number over 1,900 Superiors General and they in turn represent over 630,000 sisters worldwide and since 2016 the UISG has focused on helping congregations to create a culture of care in every community and in every Ministry.

This approach is based on recognizing the innate dignity of every human person and the need to promote and recognize this dignity in a multiplicity of contexts in which sisters live.

Minister Pope Francis regularly reminds us that human beings are creatures of this world enjoying a right to life and happiness and endowed with unique dignity and he emphasizes that recognizing human dignity is central to building a society in which we all are brothers and sisters.
 

No one is to be excluded and each one is to be cared for. We as sisters recognize past failures and in doing so that makes us even more committed to making human dignity and care the central pillars of our lives and Ministries.

UISG has offered online and in-person formation for many years, however this new e-learning initiative offers as you will learn new possibilities to extend the scope and the reach of the formation which is urgently needed. 

We want to thank Father Hans and his colleagues at the Institute of Anthropology for this 
important new development, which I believe will enhance the knowledge and skills of sisters and their collaborators worldwide and make them a powerful force for good, in creating a society where the care well-being and safeguarding of each person is at the center.

Without the support of the Conrad and Hilton Foundation it would not have been possible to create such possibilities. With sister Jane, we use leadership of the catholic sisters initiative at the foundation enhancing the role and influence of catholic sisters has been a priority.

I believe that the fruits of this e-learning platform will be many well-formed religious women who by networking together and sharing best practice will create spaces for healing for empowerment and for wholeness.

We encourage leaders in religious congregations to make use of this new learning opportunity so that we as sisters across the world may play our part in enhancing and pro and protecting the dignity of people especially those who are vulnerable and at risk and my prayer is that the God of all life will help us to bear witness to the it of all whom he has created regardless of stage of life or wealth or ability or color or creed.
We know that every person is fully equal in God's loving eyes and this is our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”

Discover the e-learning unit: https://iadc.unigre.it/academics/blended-learning.html