(ANS – Rome) – At the end of his five years of service as Director of the Salesian iNfo Agency (ANS), we interviewed Fr. Harris Pakkam, SDB, to hear his reflections on his experience at the heart of the Salesian communication mission, as well as his broader assessment of the current state of communication. Here are his responses.

When and how did your interest in communication begin?

My interest in communication began during my Salesian practical training period, in 1996–1997, when I had the privilege of working in the Social Communication Center of my Province. During that period, I also edited the monthly provincial newsletter, producing 12 issues.

It was my first real school of journalism: I began writing articles, understanding the value of news, and discovering the responsibility of the word. Later, after my theological studies, I deepened my knowledge of this field through specific courses and by earning a licentiate in Social Communication. From there began a journey that I still carry in my heart.

Before taking up the direction of ANS, what significant experiences did you gain in the field of communication?

Before ANS, I had the grace of living a very formative experience at the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, where I worked for four years.

In the first year, I coordinated the photographic service, coming into contact with visual communication linked to the daily life of the Holy Father. In the following three years, I worked in the theological-pastoral field, collaborating with Episcopal Conferences, communicators, ecclesial institutions, and international organizations. I was able to organize seminars, prepare content, contribute to translations, and accompany projects, also in collaboration with Vatican News, especially for Indian languages. It was a true school of the Church, communication, and universality.

Looking at the Salesian Congregation today, which aspects of communication do you consider most important to strengthen or develop?

I believe that today the Salesian Congregation must be more present, better prepared, and more incisive in the digital world. We are living through a true digital revolution, and we cannot remain on the margins: young people inhabit this world, and we must be there with them.

First of all, formation is needed: forming Salesians, educators, and young people in a conscious, critical, and positive use of the digital world. Then we must form young people capable of becoming digital missionaries, ambassadors of the Gospel and of the Salesian charism in the new courtyards of the world.

It is also important to prepare quality content: texts, images, videos, and messages capable of inspiring, educating, and transforming. Finally, we must work much more as a network, collaborating among Provinces, institutions, organizations, and ecclesial bodies. Only together can we have a greater, authentic, and lasting impact.

In these five years at the head of ANS, what were the most demanding challenges you had to face?

When I took up the direction of ANS, a great dream was entrusted to me: to make the Agency more professional, dynamic, international, and capable of serving the Congregation almost 24 hours a day.

With the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr. Gildasio Mendes, SDB, we shared the desire to relaunch ANS as an increasingly effective instrument at the service of the Congregation, the Salesian Family, and the Church.

The greatest challenge was certainly that of human resources. There were many ideas, many projects, and many needs, but there were not always sufficient personnel and resources. Communication requires competence, creativity, continuity, and teamwork. Without prepared and dedicated people, even the most beautiful dreams become difficult to realize.

And what, instead, were the greatest satisfactions?

There were many satisfactions. The first was the possibility of creating a living network within the Congregation: with the Provincials, the Social Communication Delegates, the Mission Offices, the universities, the agencies, the Salesian Family, and many people engaged in the mission.

Another great joy was coming to know the Salesian world more deeply. Through news, meetings, initiatives, and stories from many Provinces, I was able to see firsthand the beauty of Don Bosco’s charism in the world.

It also gave me much joy to launch new initiatives: articles, videos, documentaries, special projects, and new ways of telling the story of the Salesian mission. I also carry in my heart the great events of the Congregation and the Salesian Family that I was able to follow: moments of history, faith, and communion.

Above all, I am grateful to the many Social Communication Delegates who collaborated with generosity, enthusiasm, and a sense of belonging. Without them, ANS could not have carried out its mission.

What personal and professional legacy do you carry with you from this experience?

From these five years I carry with me a great human, Salesian, and professional richness. First of all, I carry gratitude: to God, to the Congregation, to the Superiors, to my confreres, to collaborators, and to all the people who have walked with me.

I also carry a deeper knowledge of the Congregation. I have seen how much good is done in the Salesian world, often in silence, with sacrifice and love for young people. This has confirmed for me that Don Bosco’s charism is alive, relevant, and fruitful.

Professionally, I have learned the value of vision, quality, teamwork, and networking. But above all, I have learned that communication is not only technique: it is relationship, trust, passion, and service to the mission.

During your mandate, the project for renewing the ANS website was launched. What communicative vision inspired it, and what objectives does it pursue?

The renewal of the ANS website was born from a clear vision: not merely to carry out a technical update, but to transform the Agency into a more modern, authoritative, and missionary digital platform.

The new site is designed to give greater value to news, images, videos, in-depth features, newsletters, and multimedia content. It is organized by themes, regions, and sectors, so as to make access to information simpler and more immediate.

The choice of a more solid and sustainable platform responded to the need to make editorial work more efficient and the service more professional. The underlying vision was this: to make ANS not only a news website, but a digital home of Salesian communication, at the service of identity, communion, and mission.

Now that you have returned to India, what are you involved in, and what new prospects are opening up for your service?

I am now returning to my Province of Chennai, to SIGA, an institution where I had already served as director before coming to Rome. For me, it is a joy to return there after almost 10 years: I experience it as a call from God to take up again the dreams and projects I had begun at that time.

SIGA is a very significant Salesian reality, with a vocational school, printing press, boarding facility for young people, youth center, and so on. It is an institution with a long history, with more than 75 years of service, especially in favor of boys from poor backgrounds, disadvantaged families, and difficult situations.

I carry with me the experience lived in Rome, and I wish to place it at the service of young people, formation, and communication. I want to continue cultivating my passion for a communication that inspires, unites, educates, and transforms.

What wish would you like to address to ANS – Agenzia iNfo Salesiana?

To ANS, I wish that it may continue to be a living, credible, and beautiful voice of the Salesian Congregation in the world.

I hope it may grow ever more in quality, timeliness, and depth, narrating not only events, but also the heart of the Salesian mission.

To the new Director, I offer my most sincere good wishes: may he live this service with passion, patience, vision, and a Salesian spirit. It is a demanding task, but also a very beautiful one, because it allows one to see firsthand the richness of the Congregation and to place it in communion with the world.

I wish ANS always to remain a home of communication, a bridge among the Provinces, a memory of the good that is being done, and an instrument at the service of Don Bosco, young people, and the Church.