CONECTA reminded us that the greatest questions arise from encounter. When communion is possible, change has already begun...
by Sara María Álvarez Moisés
From July 18th to 20th, the final session of the second edition of CONECTA took place in Barcelona, the transformative experience that for three months brought together people from diverse backgrounds to dialogue, question, and, above all, build communion. In collaboration with the Institute for Socratic Dialogue and with the generous support of Porticus Iberia, this project was promoted from the very heart of the Economy of Communion, whose charisma creates spaces where differences become bridges and where fraternity becomes possible beyond any position or role in society.
During the virtual sessions, many participants shared how this experience allowed them to ask profound questions they had never asked before:
«I came with questions and I answered them; Now I'm leaving with other questions, perhaps bigger ones».
Another person summed up their experience this way:
«The entire project was an opportunity to stop and listen to myself, listen to others, and listen to myself in others».
The final session, held in person and facilitated using the Socratic dialogue methodology, was particularly revealing. Far from labels or hierarchies, the participants met by starting from the essential. In that atmosphere of freedom and listening, experiences of trust and self-discovery blossomed; reflecting the safe atmosphere that was created, one participant confided:
«Usually I struggle to speak in front of a group because I feel small, but here I found trust».
«CONECTA gave me back my sense of identity and was a starting point for what is to come».
The richness of the meeting was also manifested in mutual recognition and a renewed understanding of the other:
«I take away a deeper understanding of the other; I realize that the challenges are the same for everyone, and I have discovered the practical usefulness of philosophy».
This testimony sums up the spirit of what we experienced: the value of CONECTA lies not in offering definitive answers, but in opening processes that transform perspectives and awaken a genuine desire for change.
With this second edition, the CONECTA project, as it was conceived, comes to an end. But its spirit remains alive. From the Economy of Communion, we recognize that experiences like this are only possible when they begin with a logic of fraternity, reciprocity, and generosity: values that are at the heart of our economic and cultural proposal.
We especially thank Porticus Iberia for making this challenge possible and the Institute for Socratic Dialogue for accompanying us on this journey.
As a living expression of the charism that inspires us, the EoC organized an informal meeting in Barcelona on Monday, July 21. It was a spontaneous yet profoundly meaningful moment, with several people from both groups expressing a desire to continue meeting and build something new together. In the EoC, we know that communion doesn't end with projects, because it is woven into relationships that last over time..
We are convinced that this process doesn't end there. In CONECTA, we have sown a restlessness, a desire to transform bonds and experience the economy as a space of communion. Today, more than ever, we believe that a different economy is not only possible, but necessary. And to build it, we need more spaces like this, where communion ceases to be an abstract ideal and becomes a concrete and transformative experience.