Hundreds of Notre Dame students, faculty, staff, and partners around the world participated in a Global Day of Action, a coordinated effort to spotlight sustainability. The event, hosted on October 6, celebrated the feast of St. Francis and called on the worldwide community to care for our common home.
“The cultural change we need is huge,” says Fr. Bob Dowd, C.S.C., vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives. “We cannot afford to let the scope of the problem prevent us from taking action. It's not too late for each of us to make a difference.”
As part of the event, participants were asked to host special gatherings and events in their communities and share photos and videos using #FrancisFest.
Staff at the Global Gateways and Centers helped facilitate special events and gatherings with study abroad students, which included a canal cleanup in Dublin, a nature walk in Galway, a feast service in Mumbai, and a special gathering in Rome where students read passages from Laudato Si. Students in Puebla produced their own video, featuring their events from throughout the week.
“It was a great opportunity for our students and staff to take part in the Global Day of Action,” says Eimear Clowry Delaney, assistant director at the Dublin Global Gateway. “As a university, it's imperative that we work with our students to confront this crisis and insist on bold action to address the climate emergency.
A Global Day of Action was a special event hosted as part of the Notre Dame Forum. Members of the Notre Dame community around the globe were asked to respond to Laudato Si's call to care for our common home with local action. The event was sponsored by Notre Dame International, Office of Sustainability, Sustainability Minor, Campus Ministry, and Center for Social Concerns. For a list of other NDI Forum events, click here.
Originally published by at international.nd.edu on October 08, 2021.