Two women and three men said "yes" to succeed François Prouteau at the head of Fondacio: Cécile Villegas (France), Kathleen Deckmyn (Belgium), Jérôme Tozé (Benin), Ignacio Rosselot (Chile) and Benoît Vignon (France). Their names were revealed on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, during a videoconference with all the delegates and guests at the Congress. The team of co-presidents will be presented to the delegates for a vote at the Fondacio International Congress in early May in Togo.
To fall over
Switch. This is the challenge that the five co-presidents of Fondacio wish to take on together for the term of office that will begin in May 2023, until 2028. “Switch from one culture to another, leave more room for a new generation of leaders,” explains Marc Fornari, president of the Groupe d'aide au discernement (Gad). “Be in joint responsibility, in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity… To do this, we must dare to change, with its uncertainties, its bets, its leaps into the void, but also its promises.”
Since the vote on several motions on January 19, 2023, the Gad has consulted the countries and the Fondacio Council, which have given it their lists of people to form a co-presidency team. This is not a new governance body of Fondacio, but a team at work that assumes and shares the role and responsibilities of the president. The Gad then organized meetings, both individual and collective. "The constitution of the team of co-presidents was a progressive co-construction", until the announcement, on Tuesday, of a " quintet" of co-presidents. This team will be presented to the vote of the delegates at the Fondacio International Congress, from April 29 to May 5, in Togo.
Selection criteria for co-chairs
The Gad took into account several criteria to constitute this team of co-presidents:
- Complementarity of experiences and skills;
- Diversity of cultures and ages;
- Gender balance;
- Ease and desire to work together;
- And finally, opening up to the international dimension of Fondacio.
Thus, it was Cécile Villegas (France), Kathleen Deckmyn (Belgium), Benoît Vignon (France), Jérôme Tozé (Benin) and Ignacio Rosselot (Chile) who, together, said "yes" to the co-presidency project. To be elected, this team will have to collect two-thirds of the votes of a hundred delegates from the 23 countries where Fondacio is present. A consultation will also take place for the Fondacio Council and its ratification. The president of Gad emphasizes: "We are therefore today at an important stage, but the process continues." Each co-president took the floor to introduce themselves.
Cecile Villegas
First, Cécile Villegas. This 30-year-old trained architect crossed paths with Fondacio in 2017, during a civic service in Chile: "This trip, which was supposed to be a one-year interlude, was a decisive turning point for four years. I was given free rein to set up the project that was close to my heart, I was trusted and given responsibilities. I found meaning in my work and discovered Fondacio's charisma." Cécile and her Chilean husband settled in France two years ago. She joined the Ermitage third place and became co-manager. "So I am proof that, in Fondacio, we give space to young people, regardless of their experience... I am very grateful for that."
Cécile has also been working for the globality for two years. "This allowed me to get a feel for the different realities of Fondacio in the world. Today, a new stage is opening in my adventure with Fondacio and with Christ. I have been asked to be part of this co-presidency team and I am here, in front of you, to say yes! Because when the Lord proposes such an adventure, He accompanies us and carries us. Working with Kathleen, Benoît, Jérôme and Nacho gives me a lot of momentum. Everything will not be easy: we do not know what awaits us and many things remain to be clarified. What is certain is that I am available and attentive to give Fondacio's momentum towards a world that is being torn apart, which demands that we invest our lives to make it more beautiful, even if it is only a drop in the ocean."
Kathleen Deckmyn
Kathleen Deckmyn, 62, has been a member of Fondacio in Belgium since 2014. She lived for more than twenty-five years in the Philippines, where she was responsible for development projects for a Belgian non-governmental organization (NGO). This agricultural engineer by training, specializing in soil sciences, tropical agriculture and agroecology, has been a member of the Belgian Council quartet for three years. "This experience of co-responsibility is very enriching and avoids the burden of a solo responsibility," she appreciates.
“I did not expect to be called to the Fondacio presidential team. What a surprise! My first reaction was both enthusiastic and totally terrified. I listened to the Holy Spirit. I feel the call to care for and serve the people of Fondacio, one and diverse. The spirituality of Fondacio speaks to me. It is the gift that God has given us to share his Love, especially with the most fragile. It is my foundation and my priority. Integral ecology is also anchored in me. As Pope Francis said in Laudato Si: everything is connected, everything is given and everything is fragile.”
Benoit Vignon
Benoît Vignon, 38, has been a permanent member of Fondacio for twelve years. A trained physiotherapist, he contributed to the Fondacio France Council for eight years, where he was also co-president for two years, alongside Marianne de Boisredon. He has been co-manager of the Ermitage third place for four years. He explains what drives him: "I was lucky enough to be sent by Fondacio to train in collective intelligence and organizational coaching. This opened my eyes to the challenges of how to function, how to work together while leaving room for everyone. I believe that Fondacio carries within it something of innovation for the world and for the Church."
"Fondacio has something to offer, like a path of novelties for the world and for the Church. As a charismatic community, we have to bear witness to this life in the Spirit of Christians who deeply believe that Christ is risen and that this transforms life. This is not only done through our projects, our sessions, our community life, but also through our way of being together, of governing our institutions, of seeking money... It is one of the things that inhabits me and that perhaps pushed me to dare to say yes to the call to contribute to this team, so that at the global level, we can experience this shift together."
Jerome Toze
Jérôme Tozé, 51, is a volunteer on the Fondacio Board in the term that is ending. This Beninese media professional and entrepreneur "has accumulated around twenty years of individual support", especially in youth and family pastoral work. The goal: "to raise up potential leaders in Benin and Africa who are rooted in a true, conscious relational commitment, both family and pastoral as well as civic. This has given me, in recent years, wings in my desire to move forward to take care of myself and the relationship."
"What I bring in this yes to being part of the co-presidency team is first of all the surprise of discovering this call. I realize that it is a new adventure and a leap into the void with a major change in the mode of governance. But it is not primarily my skills, my weaknesses or my limits that matter to God. It is my heart and how I come to Him. With the other members, I was joined in the momentum that there is both a historical line that can be a force for transformation and above all a vitality and a renewed energy, turned towards the mission. I am invited to contribute to making a shift for Fondacio in its entirety."
Ignacio Rosselot
Ignacio Rosselot, a 62-year-old Chilean, has been a member of Fondacio since 1980 and a permanent member since 1985. "I have had various commitments in pastoral work, evangelization and service to the most vulnerable through the practice of medicine," he says. Ignacio Rosselot participated in the creation of the Cristo Vive Foundation in Chile. He was responsible for Fondacio in that country and spent twelve years in France, during which he worked to structure and promote the social mission, was vice-president of the association in 2004 and then president from 2008. "A rich human experience, but also very hard. We had to face a crisis of governance."
Returning to Chile at the end of his term, he took over the management of the Cristo Vive Foundation, where he was executive vice-president until December 2022. As a member of the Fondacio Board, he agreed to be available for a shared presidency. “However, to be able to give a clear yes, I need to be convinced that Fondacio really wants to continue walking as a single community with global governance. Why and for what do we want to walk together in the years to come? So, in a collective project, with the four people who preceded me and with the entire community, yes, I am ready to join forces and contribute my experience and skills, to accompany new generations to open and lead new paths. Yes, I believe in Fondacio and in the hope that summons us.”
" THANKS ! "
Following these five presentations, François Prouteau, current president of Fondacio, shared his gratitude "for your testimony, for your yes to being available . I am very touched. A big thank you to Gad, who has not finished his work, but has done a good part of it. This quintet of co-presidents is joyful. It is the expression of this community that grows in its co-responsibility and that lets itself be guided by God."
Other delegates also expressed their gratitude and encouragement to the team of co-presidents. Laurence Guérid (France): “I am very touched by your five testimonies, by your experiences in or outside Fondacio, by your faith that shines through… I am delighted to see Fondacio leave for five years with a team like this. Thank you!” Ferdinand Adindjita (Togo): “It’s beautiful, it’s magnificent, we are behind you. The adventure will be beautiful, thank you! ”
Olga Lucia Benavides (Colombia) expressed her joy "to feel the diversity of the team of co-presidents who invite us to walk together. I give thanks for your availability and willingness to take this leap into the void, to enter this governance together. Indeed, we can revive new and inspiring ways of doing things." Finally, Jason Chan (Asia) highlighted a " real diversity , with younger people. It is wonderful to see that different continents are represented."
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