With the support of the Brazilian Conference of Religious (CRB Nacional), the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) participated in the Third International Communication Congress, held on September 10 and 11 at Santa Marcelina College in São Paulo, Brazil.
The event, which brought together nearly 300 participants—including men and women religious, communicators, researchers, faculty members, students, and professionals from various fields—had as its theme “Innovation, Emerging Technologies, the Humanities, and Communication”, and provided a space for reflection on artificial intelligence, algorithms, digital culture, ethics, inclusion, human dignity, and the challenges that new technologies pose to communication and society.
Representing CEAMA was Fernando Rueda, Communications Coordinator, who, in addition to offering an institutional greeting, presented the experience “When the Cry Becomes Visible: Communicating So That Hope Opens Paths to Justice”, as a reflection on the role of communication in processes of defending life and accompanying communities.
Communication That Listens, Gives Visibility, and Accompanies
In his presentation, Rueda discussed the case of La Oroya, in the Peruvian Andes, where for years communities were exposed to pollution resulting from the operations of the metallurgical complex. Drawing on this experience, he highlighted the challenge of communicating realities whose impact often remains invisible.
The presentation began with a question: What happens when a community cries out for years, but no one seems to listen?
From this perspective, CEAMA’s Communications Coordinator argued that the first step in communication is not to tell a story, but to listen. To listen to communities, acknowledge their experiences, and allow their own voices and faces to take center stage in the narrative.
The case study demonstrated how communication can help transform a local reality into a broader conversation, connecting communities with other stakeholders, raising awareness, and keeping a situation in the spotlight that might otherwise be reduced to mere statistics or disappear from the public agenda.
“Communicating was not simply about publishing information about pollution. It was about building bridges: between La Oroya and the world, between the victims and those who could listen, between pain and awareness, between denunciation and hope.”
A Church That Stands with the People’s Cry
The experience also highlighted the Church’s support for the communities of La Oroya. Rueda noted that, since Pedro Barreto’s arrival as archbishop of Huancayo in 2004, a process of close accompaniment with the affected communities has developed.
The presentation emphasized understanding this accompaniment not as an action to speak on behalf of the communities, but as a way to walk alongside them, listen to them, and amplify their cry.
In this process, communication was understood as a tool to give a human face to situations of injustice and to remind us that behind the data and statistics there are people, families, and communities with specific stories.
The process in La Oroya spanned several years and was accompanied by actions from communities, advocates, organizations, and other stakeholders who helped keep the situation in the public eye. The presentation highlighted that the perseverance of those who sustained this struggle for nearly two decades is a fundamental part of this story.
Hopetelling: Communicating Hope from the Grassroots
One of the central themes of the presentation was the concept of Hopetelling, understood as a way of communicating that is not limited to presenting problems or denouncing situations of injustice, but also highlights the paths of resistance, organization, solidarity, and transformation that emerge from the communities themselves.
In this sense, hope was not presented as a denial of pain or as the promise of a happy ending. On the contrary, it was framed as a collective action built by people and communities who stand firm in the face of adversity.
The experience of La Oroya demonstrated that a story told with dignity can raise questions; questions can raise awareness; and awareness can help mobilize action.
Communication in Service of the Amazon
In relating this experience to CEAMA’s mission, Fernando Rueda noted that in the Amazon there are numerous cries that still need to be heard and made visible: communities facing pollution, violence, dispossession, and threats to their territories, as well as peoples defending their cultures, their knowledge, and their ways of life.
From this perspective, ecclesial communication is called not only to inform, but also to listen, give visibility, connect, and accompany.
CEAMA’s contribution to the Congress was thus marked by an understanding of communication as a service to people and territories, capable of placing at the center the voices of those who live these realities and, at the same time, showing the paths of hope that emerge amid difficulties.
“Communicating hope is not about inventing happy endings. It is about making visible that, even in the midst of adversity, there are people who resist, communities that organize themselves, and paths of justice that can be forged.”
CEAMA’s participation in this Congress helped strengthen spaces for dialogue and collaboration with Consecrated Religious Life in Brazil, in a context where communication faces new challenges stemming from artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, but also new possibilities for building community, defending human dignity, and making the lives of peoples and territories visible.
Communication in the Face of the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence
The Congress also addressed the transformations brought about by artificial intelligence and digital culture. Among the participants were Sr. Nina Krapić and Nataša Govekar, representatives of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, who reflected on the presence of religious communication in digital environments and on the identity of Consecrated Religious Life in the era of emerging technologies.
The various lectures and panel discussions highlighted the need to incorporate ethical and humanistic criteria into the development and use of new technologies, paying special attention to human dignity, human relationships, information, and processes of social participation.
During the closing ceremony, the National CRB announced the Fourth International Congress on Communication, scheduled for September 16 and 17, 2027, under the theme “Communication and Artificial Intelligence: Connections, Solitude, and the Future of Human Relationships.”
For CEAMA, these events represent an opportunity to continue delving deeper into a form of communication that, amid technological transformations, maintains its fundamental purpose: to serve life, the people, communion, and the Church’s mission in the Amazon.