(ANS – Brasília) – On August 26 and 27, the Salesian Network of Brazil (RSB) organized the 4th ENAC – National Communication Meeting online, bringing together communicators, leaders, and representatives from the Provinces of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. Over the course of the two-day event, the meeting centered its discussions on a question that ran through all the reflections: How can we preserve human presence, personal encounter, and the Salesian charism in the face of the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence?

Day One: Communication as Presence

The opening session on Wednesday, August 26, featured addresses by Fr. Francisco Inácio, SDB, the Provincial reference person for communication, and a message from Sr. Maria Carmelita, FMA, the Provincial reference person for communication liaison, read aloud by the event’s moderator, Sr. Kelly Gaioso de Andrade. Also in attendance were Fr. Sérgio Baldin, Executive Director of RSB, and Thiago Santos, Head of Communications for the Network, who presented a historical overview of ENAC and emphasized how the gathering represents a space for collective development and the strengthening of Salesian identity in communication.

The first talk of the day, “Communication as a Sacrament of Presence: From Don Bosco’s Dream to the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” was delivered by Fr. Rafael Bejarano Rivera, General Councillor for Youth Ministry. He recalled that Salesian communication begins with the ability to recognize, listen, and welcome, rather than merely with the production of content. “No young person is merely a statistic, a profile, or an audience,” he stated. For the priest, Don Bosco’s Preventive System offers guidelines for the use of new technologies without losing sight of the centrality of the person: “Artificial intelligence can do many things, but it is we, as human beings, who must continue to define the nature of our mutual relationships.”

Next, Prof. Dr. Ricardo Mariz, an RSB adviser, gave a talk entitled “The Social Context and the Urgency of the Human Element in Communication in the Age of AI.” Rather than focusing on tools and applications, he posed a broader question: What kind of humanity do we want to build for future generations? “Digital culture consists of answering the question of what kind of humanity we want future human beings to embody,” he stated, emphasizing that technology must serve as a means, rather than an end, of communication.

Day Two: Ethics, Data, and Charism

On Thursday, August 27, the program resumed with a welcome and a moment of prayer, marking the start of the session “Contemporary Challenges of Salesian Communication.”

The first talk of the morning was given by Fr. Pedro André, Director of ANS – Agenzia iNfo Salesiana.

He recalled that educating and evangelizing are inseparable aspects of the Salesian mission and defined communication as “a charismatic dimension,” inherited from Don Bosco himself, who made use of the means available in his time to evangelize young people. With regard to artificial intelligence, he stated that it processes data and imitates human language, but has neither consciousness nor an understanding of meaning: “It knows, but it does not understand.” For this reason, he argued, the ethical responsibility for its use always lies with people and institutions, never with the machine.

In the second lecture, Sr. Susana Díaz Vidal, from the Social Communication Sector of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, based in Rome, brought an international perspective to the debate. Citing data from the Digital 2026 report, she emphasized that more than a billion people worldwide already use artificial intelligence and highlighted that Brazil ranks fourth globally among countries with the greatest enthusiasm for the use of this technology among people ages 16 and older — while among Brazilians, concern is growing regarding the use of personal data.

Contributions to the 2027 Communication Policy

At the end of the conferences, participants contributed, via a collective notice board led by Sr. Maike Loes, communications coordinator for the Province of Our Lady of Aparecida, to the drafting of the Communication and Marketing Policy for the Salesian Network in Brazil, scheduled for 2027.