Although not an official group of the Salesian Family, the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) refers to all the young people who currently belong to one of our entities. Any youngster involved in the Salesian Family in any way shares Don Bosco’s spirit and perpetuates his dream.
SYM comprises groups and associations which accept the Salesian spirituality and pedagogy. While remaining autonomous in organizational and operational terms, they guarantee a high quality educational presence in the new forms of socialization of young people, animating them to have a meaningful experience of Church life.
As a movement “of young people for young people,” defined by reference to a common spirituality and communication between groups that guarantees the circulation of messages and values, SYM brings together young people from every kind of background, from those who are far from the Church and for whom spirituality is barely a seed, to those who explicitly and consciously take upon themselves the Salesian proposal and apostolic commitment.
One particular purpose of the movement is to form good Christians and honest citizens, apostles of young people, according to the possibilities of each individual, at the school of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello.
SYM has the minimum basic structure to guarantee and coordinate the circulation of the values of Salesian youth spirituality. Each group in the movement is therefore urged to find the most appropriate ways of performing this coordination, bearing in mind the following criteria: incorporation into the local churches, increasing the active participation of young people, analyzing the sociopolitical and cultural environment in which they are working.
The young of the SYM in Malta, who are involved in activities and in creating experiences and initiatives, within their respective branches, are also graced with special events, such as SAME (Salesian Animators of Malta- Encounter). Here, all of the SYM is invited to come together in order to commemorate some special event and to celebrate the spirit that unites us.
