Educating in the 21st century: Gonzaga Campus meets Fr. Johnny Go SJ

How can we educate today, in a world that changes so rapidly? How can we build schools capable of accompanying young people in an authentic, profound, and truly transformative way? These are some of the questions at the heart of the upcoming event to be held on June 16th, 2025, at the Gonzaga Campus in Palermo, featuring Fr. Johnny Go SJ, professor at the Loyola School of Theology in Manila and one of the world’s leading experts in Ignatian pedagogy.

During the meeting, which is open to the public, the book “Learning by Refraction: A Practitioner’s Guide to 21st-Century Ignatian Pedagogy” will be presented. Already translated into several languages, the volume has become an international reference point for those engaged in Ignatian education.

At the core of Fr. Johnny Go’s method is the concept of “refraction”: not simply a transmission or repetition of content, but a deep, personal, and reflective process that allows students to rework what they learn and transform it into lived experience.

The event offers an opportunity for dialogue among teachers, educators, trainers, parents, and anyone wishing to reflect on the meaning of education today — keeping the Ignatian tradition alive while updating educational language to meet the challenges of our time. The goal is not merely to transmit knowledge, but to form people capable of discernment, aware, free, and responsible, ready to read the complexity of reality with an open and discerning gaze.

Now more than ever, education is called to foster critical thinking, social and spiritual awareness, and the ability to read the signs of the times. The Learning by Refraction approach offers a concrete tool to accompany this educational transition, providing strategies and insights to build schools and learning communities that are truly transformative.