FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS
By Michael McVeigh, Head of Publishing at Jesuit Communications
There’s a paradox that emerges when you’re working in media: doing the best work often means becoming invisible. People don’t think about the videographer, unless the camera is shaking and out of focus; they don’t tend to think about the editor, unless the piece is full of mistakes; they don’t think about the social media manager, unless the post completely misses the mark. It’s such a public endeavour, and yet the mark of great professionalism is to be able to fade into the background.
I was thinking about this as I joined Jesuits and other lay collaborators for a Jescom-Asia Pacific meeting in Manila in early August. While some of those gathered have ‘front facing’ roles in media, all of us have key roles behind the scenes. While our output is hopefully quite visible, the work in planning projects, in working with a team to bring them together, and in releasing them into the world, is not always obvious. Yet the success of communications very much relies on getting all those stages right.
All photos courtesy of Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP).
The gathering was an opportunity to see some of the inspiring work being done across the region. Jescom Philippines is currently working on their third feature film, following previous award-winning films on St Ignatius Loyola and on martyred Filippino priests. The Korean Jesuit communications office is producing engaging videos and music on social media, including releasing a new song ahead of next year’s World Youth Day. The Vietnamese Jesuits have regular video and social content reaching huge numbers of people. There is great work being done everywhere, usually by quite small communications teams.
Michael McVeigh (1st from left) with other representatives from JCAP.
What was perhaps most interesting, however, was the depth of planning and reflection being done to inform communications activities in each Province or Region across Asia Pacific. Each context has its own specific needs and challenges. For example, in Malaysia-Singapore, the communications office is working to engage communities across two countries, one very secular and one Muslim-dominated, with quite different audiences. Its activities have to be both targeted enough to engage specific audiences, or general enough to engage people across the entire region.
In other places, the audience itself determines the scope of the work. The Indonesian Province communications office operates in a strong Catholic community, but one which is a minority in the country. Meanwhile, the Philippines communications office has a successful music production house, serving the country’s majority Catholic population. In both cases, their efforts reflect what’s possible in those contexts.
One of the benefits of these meetings is learning about what’s working in some places, and considering how it might work in our own context. I was interested, for example, to learn about the work the Vietnamese Province communications office was doing to support families and individuals with mental health needs. It’s an area of great need here in Australia, and one where online communications might provide some support. Meanwhile, there was also great interest in Jesuit Communications Australia’s work in developing the Australian Catholics Education Hub to support the formation of lay people, as well as the valuable work of Eureka Street in offering a faith-based lens on the issues of the day. There are other places in the region where these activities are priorities that could learn from our experiences.
Communications is a vital aspect of Jesuit work, but perhaps our biggest secret is that our success relies on building relationships. We need strong networks of ‘invisible’ contributors to help realise our projects, just as we need networks of ‘invisible’ supporters to help share and amplify our work across the digital world. It also helps to connect with fellow travellers who understand our challenges, and can inspire us with new ideas. That is one of the great benefits of being part of the global Jesuit family.
