Jesuit webmasters in Dublin

“The Internet is still young, and as it matures we realise that we Jesuits need to take account of developments and make the most of the available opportunities.” So said Piaras Jackson SJ, Editor of the online prayer website Sacred Space and organiser of  the meeting of European Jesuit Webmasters held in the  Manresa Centre for Spirituality last weekend. As well as inputs from the members, a number of presentations were made: Dermot Roantree of the JCC addressed the meeting on emerging trends on the web; Antóin Ó Lachtnáin spoke about creative commons and the open network; Inyoung Cho SJ offered some insightful reflections on spirituality online; Fergus O’Donoghue SJ helped the group to consider the internet and the intellectual apostolate; and Dani Villaneuva SJ invited the group to consider how they might support Magis 2011. The annual meetings have taken place since 2005 and a number of European Provinces were represented at the event where participants spoke about the need to develop digital strategies and to have better rationales for how they engage with the possibilities the web offers. The annual gathering provides an opportunity for people to compare notes, consider collaborative projects and to review best practice on the web. The event involved participants from Belgium, Slovenia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Slovakia, the UK ,Ireland  and the United States. They enjoyed a Saturday afternoon bus tour of the Boyne Valley followed by dinner with the Irish Provincial Tom Layden SJ, on Saturday evening.