From July 5th to 7th, the 8th International Symposium on Migration and Religion<\/strong><\/span> was held in S\u00e3o Paulo<\/strong><\/span>, promoted by the Graduate Studies Programme in Religious Studies and the Graduate Studies Programme in Social Sciences of PUC-SP, by Miss\u00e3o Paz- CEM (Migration Studies Center \u2013 S\u00e3o Paulo) and SIMI. Each year, the event brings together researchers and academics from different thematic backgrounds <\/strong><\/span>to contribute to the elaboration of the topic of migration and to possibly subsidize individuals and institutions working in welcoming migrants.<\/p>\n This year’s theme was Migration, Identity, and Generational Challenges<\/em><\/strong><\/span>. Over the various editions, the international dimension of the topics discussed, the involvement of speakers, and the multidisciplinary approach to the study of human mobility have made the Symposium increasingly a reference for universities and ecclesial communities in Latin America, as well as for the numerous organizations working in the field of human mobility<\/strong><\/span>. Among the participants of this edition were Fr. Fabio Baggio from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Fr. Aldo Skoda, director of SIMI.<\/p>\n Fr. Skoda<\/strong><\/span> participated in the opening conference with a presentation on Multicultural Natives: Challenges and Opportunities of a Bridge Generation<\/em><\/strong><\/span>. Specifically, Fr. Skoda focused on the children of migrant people<\/strong><\/span> as “a possibility on one hand to confirm the relative stability of the presence of migrants in a society, and on the other hand, the opportunity to reflect on the dynamics of integration.”<\/p>\n Moreover, Fr. Skoda stated, “the social and pastoral analysis of the inclusion of these people represents a current challenge not only for public institutions but also for the Church. The complexity and intertwining of stories, sensitivities, cultures, languages, traditions, values, different communicative codes require a specific competence, a completely new approach, and continuous attention<\/strong><\/span> to the person situated in a particular culture and context.”<\/p>\n “The children of migrants are the litmus test of society and of the Church on the authenticity of values, relationships, motivations, abilities, and intentions to build a cohesive community<\/strong><\/span> where differences are neither instruments of claims nor exclusion, but the means of authentic reception and communion with the other.” It is therefore fundamental to build a path of accompaniment attentive to their particular experiences and thus create “pedagogically and socially significant contexts where life is lived as a process of continuous maturation<\/strong><\/span>” and where conflicts are addressed and transformed “in the logic of collaboration, donation, and solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n