11 December 2025 | Following the 2025 JENA Assembly held in Antananarivo, the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) announces an important transition in the coordination of its justice and ecology mission.

This decision emerges from prayerful discernment, shared reflection, and a renewed commitment to the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus.

Over the years, the Jesuit Ecology Network of Africa (JENA), building on the legacy of Jesuits Africa Social Centres Network (JASCNET), has played a vital role in networking social centres and strengthening advocacy for justice and ecology across the Conference. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that the social and ecological dimension of mission now permeates all Jesuit apostolates—parishes, schools, universities, formation houses, retreat centres, and social works alike. Justice, youth accompaniment, spirituality, and care for our common home are inseparable aspects of every Jesuit ministry.

In light of this development, and to better integrate the Second and Fourth Universal Apostolic Preferences into JCAM governance, the Conference will integrate the networking and advocacy functions of JENA into a unified Conference Secretariat for Justice and Ecology (JEO). For a transitional period, the name JENA will continue to be used for specific advocacy engagements and accreditations already established under that name, while operating within the framework of the Secretariat.

This unified Secretariat will coordinate justice and ecology efforts across the Conference, respecting the principle of subsidiarity and involving a wider range of apostolates. It will strengthen the integration of justice and ecology in Jesuit formation, enhance support for Province Social Delegates, and deepen collaboration with partners such as African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN), Hekima University College, in Nairobi, Kenya, Institut de Théologie de la Compagnie de Jésus (ITCJ) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities of Africa and Madagascar (AJCU-AM).

Through this transition, JCAM seeks to:

1. Align justice and ecology coordination more closely with Conference structures such as Formation, Communications, Development, African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN), and Jesuit Centre for Safeguarding in Africa (JCSA).

2. Clarify that JENA is not a social centre but a coordinating and advocacy body.

3. Reflect governance practices of the Jesuit Curia-Rome and other Conferences.

4. Affirm that the Secretary for Justice and Ecology, currently Fr. Rampe Hlobo, SJ, speaks with authority on behalf of the Conference.

5. Move from a network-based model focused mainly on social centres to a thematic approach engaging all Jesuit ministries involved in social and ecological justice.

The JCAM Secretariat for Justice and Ecology will focus on three main areas: accompanying Province Social Delegates, representing the Conference in global Jesuit advocacy networks such as Global Ignatian Advocacy Network (GIAN) and Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat (SJES), and convening thematic gatherings, seminars, and collaborations on key social and ecological issues, as resources allow.

JCAM also continues to work toward greater financial clarity and sustainability through the restructuring of its Development Office, with further communication on this process to follow.

JCAM expresses gratitude to Fr. Rampe Hlobo, SJ, for his guidance, and to the provincial delegates for their consultation and insights throughout this discernment. This transition seeks not to diminish JENA’s legacy, but to build upon it—ensuring that the Society of Jesus’ mission of justice and ecology in Africa and Madagascar continues to flourish in an integrated and renewed way.