During the week of 22-26 April, the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Fe y Alegría met for the first time on the African soil, in Nairobi, Kenya.

At the same time a workshop by the African Fe y Alegría representatives was taking place, and the Board also had the opportunity to participate in and accompany at specific times the workshop on Popular Education and Identity of Fe y Alegría in Africa.

One of the most interesting moments of institutional relations work was the meeting with Fr. José Minaku, SJ, the President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM).

On Monday, 22 April, Fr. Minaku received the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Fe y Alegría at Africama House, the JCAM Headquarters, in the Karen neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya. Also present was, Fr. Saturnin Tsayem, SJ, the coordinator of the Africa Commission, and Fr. Etienne Mborong, SJ, a member of the Africa Commission who is responsible for the JCAM education advocacy network.

The relationship with the Fe y Alegría Board and JCAM has always been excellent, initially with the former Major Superior - Fr. Fratern Masawe, SJ, a great friend of Fe y Alegría, and then in the recent past with Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ, former President of JCAM. And now with the recently appointed President of JCAM, Fr. José Minaku, SJ, who having been Provincial of the Jesuit Central Africa Province (ACE) is not new to the Movement and knows Fe y Alegría well, due to the initiatives deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola through the Movement.

In this meeting, the dialogue consisted of an overview of the challenges that JCAM is tackling as a Conference, the main characteristics of the African apostolic ecosystem, and the specific place that education occupies in this map of works and people. Fr. Tsayem, explained the current situation of the Fe y Alegría Commission in Africa and the development of the regional dynamics that Fe y Alegría has been developing on the African continent in recent years.

Some of the most interesting points of the meeting were about how to favour a greater presence of Fe y Alegría in the JCAM coordination spaces, to participate as part of the Social Apostolate Network of the Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network (JENA) under the leadership of its Director, Fr. Charles Chilufya, SJ.

Also, the convenient relationship with the education sector and the progressive interest in advocacy for the right to education that JCAM is undertaking was explored, a line of work in which Fe y Alegría is a fundamental actor and which is also led by Fr. Etienne Mborong, SJ.

The dialogue also helped to clarify the importance of Fr. Minaku's presence at the international assemblies and of the progressive need to incorporate the African perspective in the international global governance. It also became clear that while the relationship with the Jesuit Conference Presidents remains with the General Coordination and its team, the Africa Commission is called to become an important space of interaction for the dynamics concerning the Conference level.

The meeting ended with an invitation to Fr. Minaku to visit Fe y Alegría International at the March 2025 assembly in Venezuela.

Fr. Minaku in turn also extended his invitation to Fe y Alegría to dialogue with JCAM Provincials directly at one of their next Conference Plenaries.