The celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome (1957-2007) will include a meeting of teachers of the Universities of Europe, promoted by the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) in collaboration with European institutions and the Italian government. It will be held in Rome from 21 to 24 June 2007, on “A new humanism for Europe. The role of the universities”. “In continuity with the process begun with the Jubilee of Universities – explain its promoters -, European university teachers are invited to meet together to share and plan lines of research to respond to the hopes of European society and of the new generations”. Born from the heart of the Church, universities in Europe are preparing to conclude the Bologna process “which will give rise – continue the organizers – to the European common space of higher education, which is called to promote the proper education of the future ruling class and formulate appropriate cultural strategies to guide the social processes of the continent”. The theme of the “new humanism”, capable of fostering a synthesis of knowledge, will be sub-divided into four large thematic areas: “the human person, society, the view of the sciences, creativity and memory”. A series of 45 seminars are planned during the meeting; they will be held in all the seats of the integrated Roman university system. According to the organizers, “the Church in Europe wishes to be the promoter of a new phase in university life by fostering the meeting between university teachers from all the countries of the continent with various cultural and spiritual sensibilities, and by offering the gift of the Gospel that is able to illuminate them and support their commitment. Teachers, in fact, are “called to bear witness to and to enact the intellectual charity that is the soul of a society that wishes to build the future with confidence and hope”. For further information: www.university2000.org.
