Every year. SIGNIS screens project applications on media training, equipment and production for a subsidy from the Pontifical Society of the Propagation of Faith (PSPF). In 2020, we launched the signisprojectapplication.net online portal, successfully switching from a paper-based to a fully digital application process and making it easier for applicants from all over the world to submit their projects.
One of the recipients of PSPF’s grants was the Diocese of Iringa, in Tanzania. The Diocese, which covers an area of over 40 thousand square kilometers, applied to the funds in order to host a workshop focused on training its people to use the new communication technologies for evangelization.
The workshop for the key pastoral agents of evangelization on new communication technology aims at empowering the priests, nuns and catechists on the use of modern means of communication technology in religious instruction for primary and secondary school students. The project has been pivotal for the education of the community on the correct use of new media and for teaching the members of the clergy how to better communicate with technological tools and through the Diocese’s channels.
Before this workshop, it was extremely hard for the community to interact and use new media, because they didn’t have the tools nor the understanding to better exploit them for education and evangelization. As a matter of fact, PSPF’s funds have allowed the members of the Diocese of Iringa to get an education on the proper use of the media and thus taking a step forward in becoming an empowered society.
Thanks to the equipment implementation, the Diocese is continuing to improve its communications between believers and the pastoral agency. That is the reason why training the staff will be a continuous process and the usage of the funds will continue to be fundamental in order to take further steps towards digital literacy.
In a world with new emerging issues, it is necessary to always acquire new skills and knowledge to cope with these challenges, and thanks to PSPF’s subsidy, the Diocese of Iringa is on its way there.