Communications and Media Report

John Hyde

Senior Communications Officer

Simone Medri

Communications & Digital Manager

This year Catholic Mission continued focusing on multimedia and digital strategies to share the voice of missionaries who, despite isolation and lockdowns, are still in their communities serving those most in need.

Catholic Mission led the international #WeAreStillHere video campaign in early 2020. This global campaign featured video messages from over 30 missionaries based in more than 25 different countries speaking of hope and giving witness to their continued presence. The campaign was translated into 16 different languages and adopted by 23 Pontifical Mission Societies worldwide.

We hosted an international conference in partnership with the Pontifical Mission Societies in Rome in March 2021. Entitled Church’s Mission: Media Communication, Charity and Fundraising, the seminars featured international experts and presentations from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Social Communication, Radio Maria and Fides News Agency. The conference aimed to build a stronger international network, and the sharing of resources and expertise to support the mission areas of the world. Spanning 18 time zones, for 15 hours, over five days, more than 220 participants in 41 countries shared this fellowship, education, and connection. Catholic Mission is continuing this work leading an international team of Pontifical Mission Societies in the creation of a new communication campaign to continue to raise awareness of the global awareness of missionaries’ work. The emphasis on sharing the story of missionaries and their communities was featured prominently in the 2020 World Mission Month digital campaign. Bishop Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzalez of the Arrupe Centre in Cambodia became the face of the campaign that spoke to supporters on the religious underpinning of the work undertaken. While young people from the Arrupe centre, Dara, Toy and Chen, were able to speak on how they directly benefited from the support of Catholic Mission. Our social media strategy takes into consideration Pope Francis’ message to broaden our audience by reaching outside our circles. The utilisation of digital social media ads is one way we have broadened our audience, continuing to spread the stories of the life and work of missionaries around the world.

The adversity experienced over the last 12 months has challenged us all in a myriad of ways. Through turning these challenges into opportunities, Catholic Mission has delivered a message of hope to our local and global community.

Global Mission Campaign: #WeAreStillHere

16 Languages

25 Countries

30 Missionaries

23 PMS agencies

30 Videos