The  two-day 4th conference on Catholic education and Francophone in the Middle East opened on Friday, June 16, 2023 at Terra Sancta College, Jabal Luweibdeh, Amman.  The conference is organized by L'Œuvre d'Orient in partnership with the Secretariat General of the Catholic Schools in Jordan, and in cooperation with the French Embassy in Amman. 

At the opening session,  L'Œuvre d'Orient Director General Monsignor Pascal Gollnisch thanked the Jordanian government for providing the opportunity to hold this conference, and gave a briefing on  L'Œuvre d'Orient 's role and educational activities in the world and the  Middle East in general, as well as in Jordan in particular.

For his part, Fr. Dr. Hanna Kildani, representative of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarchal Vicariate in Amman, said in an address that education has always been an important part of the Church's mission because illiteracy hinders the development of mature and responsible thinking. He also referred  to the importance of the issues to be discussed which deal with the challenges faced by Catholic schools in the Middle East and future prospects.

 French Ambassador to Jordan Alexis Le Cour Grandmaison read out the message addressed by French President Emmanuel Macron to the conference, in which he valued holding this conference in Jordan  which maintains strong friendship relations with France, while referring to his recent visit to the Kingdom.

In his message, Macron says, "The convening of this conference in Jordan provides an opportunity for promotion and openness." He referred to the French efforts in preserving the historical, archaeological, and religious symbols in the region, stressing that the Christian schools in the region promote diversity and common living.

Noting that "the history of our relationship with the Christians of the East is inseparable from the consolidation of Francophonie in the region," he stressed in his message, "that the essential role of educational institutions is not only confined to being centers for spreading the French language, but rather in sharing with France the same comprehensive concept of knowledge which these societies want to make available for the largest possible number of people by promoting the values of tolerance, humanity, and common living."

Minister of  Culture Haifa' Najjar delivered an address in which she indicated that the Christian schools in Jordan would not have demonstrated such a distinguished performance and exceptional creativity had it not been for launching its educational message that entrenches good citizenship in the Kingdom. She noted that this good Jordanian citizenship has also been attributed to the presence of a Hashemite Jordanian leadership that believes in the importance of supporting the Christian presence not only in Jordan, but in the entire Arab world as well.

She indicated that Jordan enjoys thousands of years of civilization that extends from the historical depth in the Arab region to the first centenary of the founding of the modern Jordanian state and its successes, noting that the establishment of the Jordanian state was the vision of the Hashemites.

The minister of culture stressed that Jordan was founded on the concepts of modernity, partnership, while marking diversity and good citizenship which are values that the French state also shares. She also referred to the progress that Jordan is witnessing in the education sector and at various political, economic, social and cultural levels which is a source of pride for all Jordanians. She also lauded the Jordanian-French relations at various levels.

The first day of the conference included holding a roundtable discussion titled, "What is the social project that the Christian schools in the Middle East share with their students?" It also included an address by Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso Giovanni Pietro Dal Tozo, and a lecture by Professor of Political Science at the Hashemite University Dr. Jamal Al-Shalabi. Furthermore, a group of youths from Egypt, Jordan and Syria presented their life experiences about their education in Catholic schools.

At the outset of the conference, a documentary film was screened about "L'Œuvre d'Orient"  and the services it provides to Christians of  the Middle East in general, and the Catholic schools in particular. The film touched on the “School Support Fund” launched by French President Macron in 2020, which provides for equal funding from the French state and the “L'Œuvre d'Orient ” to support French-speaking Catholic schools in the region.