Beginning on July 19, 2024, the second phase of Genfest 2024, the event and the youth of the Focolare Movement, concluded its program on July 21, 2024 with the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Aparecida, in Aparecida (São Paulo), Brazil. The central event of Genfest, which for the first time had its international version on the Latin American continent, brought together about 4,000 participants from more than 50 countries and, from the beginning, was marked by contagious joy. In addition, thousands of people around the world followed part of the program via streaming.
With the theme “Together to Care,” the young people gathered at the “Father Vítor Coelho de Almeida Event Center” promoted an intense program that combined celebration, art, creativity and testimony, an expression of the conviction that building universal fraternity requires concrete initiatives to take care of life on the planet, especially in terms of caring for people in different conditions of vulnerability and nature, as Pope Francis insistently requested.
Opening Ceremony
At the inauguration, the young people were welcomed by the Archbishop of Aparecida, Msgr. Orlando Brandes; the apostolic nuncio to Brazil, Msgr. Giambattista Diquattro; the rector of the Aparecida Shrine, Father Eduardo Catalfo; and the president of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram, among the dignitaries present. Bishop Orlando Brandes read a message sent by Cardinal Piero Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, on behalf of Pope Francis. “We know how to react with a new dream of fraternity and social friendship that is not limited to words,” was the message read. In her words of greeting to the youth, Margaret Karram emphasized that “together, our dreams will come true.” Afterwards, the youth were treated to a “Latin American party” with artistic performances typical of different countries. It was an explosion of joy that involved everyone.
Day 2
A time to find directions, or more precisely, paths, for a united world. This is how the second day of the second phase of Genfest 2024 began. On the one hand, young people from around the world told how they tried to build fraternal relationships in their environments. This was the case, for example, of Adelina, from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, who had to deal with the tragedy caused by the rains that hit her city in May 2024, and Joseph, from Sierra Leone, who was separated from his family as a child and recruited by militiamen fighting the African country’s government troops with acts of violence. Artistic moments drew attention to some major issues in the world today, such as ecology and citizenship, while so-called spark changers, specialists in different areas, offered the audience some brief reflections that could bring about change in the world.
Saturday’s program also included a “preview” of Genfest Phase 3: workshops were held on different themes, always with a view to “caring” for life in its different expressions. Finally, a journey around the world with stories of personal resilience or social action, but all that had fraternity as their motivation to “embrace humanity and initiate change.” The second day’s program was concluded on the Genfest stage which saw a number of young people from Turkey, Australia, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Italy and Colombia telling how they have faced or helped others cope with grief when it seems to take away the meaning of life. The presentations, however, were not limited to personal stories. A wide variety of social initiatives were also presented on stage, such as Rimarishun, a cross-cultural project in Ecuador. Also presenting from Brazil were the Amazon Project, Quilombo Rio dos Macacos di Salvador (Afro-descendant communities) and La Casa do Menor, whose choreography received a standing ovation.
Closing Ceremony
The program for the final day of the second phase of Genfest 2024 began by looking to the past to think about the future. Some of the projects launched at the last Genfest in 2018 were recalled and have already begun to bear fruit, even in the real sense, as in the case of planting trees in areas prone to degradation. Following the example of what was done in the last Genfest in Manila, Philippines, some projects were presented to be continued after these days.
The first project will start with the third phase of Genfest. These are the “United World Communities,” which will bring together young people-including those who could not attend the event in Aparecida-in groups by areas of knowledge, from economics to work, from politics to citizenship. Young people interested in the various areas will be able to sign up for these communities based on their “passion,” as the organizers put it.
An important tool for implementing these communities is the United World Project. Launched in 2012 at Genfest in Budapest, Hungary, it is in fact a program to spread fraternity on a large scale and bring together actions in this direction, making it possible to share experiences with many young people around the world.
Another action born of this Genfest, which was more immediate, is the launch of a questionnaire to collect proposals from young people for the “ Pact for the Future,” a manifesto that will be presented at the Summit of the Future, an international summit to be organized by the UN in September 2024.
Building international communities requires dialogue. Much of the session was devoted to this theme. Rabbi Silvina Chemen and a young Muslim leader, Israa Safieddine, shared how they try to build dialogue.
Fourteen young Latin Americans from six Christian churches presented Ikuméni, a workshop of ecumenical and interreligious best practices. These are all initiatives whose ultimate goal is peacebuilding, the theme to which the entire last part of the program was devoted.
Carlos Palma from Uruguay presented the Living Peace project. A video of Chiara Lubich reminded how peace can be built today: by living mutual love.
The young Genfest participants with flags from all countries finally paraded, calling for peace in every nation. At the end, Focolare Movement President Margaret Karram called on everyone to be peacemakers, breaking down barriers that divide people and taking the initiative to forgive: “Let this Genfest be a time to say yes to peace,” she concluded.
“Peace between peoples, the care of the planet, economics and politics that put the person, justice and dignity at the centre. At the Genfest we will work, discuss and plan for this at a worldwide level”. This is what the youth of the Focolare Movement say, explaining the gathering of thousands of young people for this international event from the 12th to the 24th of July. The event “Juntos para cuidar” aims, as the title suggests, to promote care together at a worldwide level for the most vulnerable and distressed individuals and sectors of humanity, regardless of cultural, ethnic or religious differences.
In this period of change, a new cultural paradigm is needed, no longer based on the individual, but on social relationships open to all in a culture of universal fraternity. In this perspective complexities are valued rather than eliminated, in a deeper understanding of the story of humanity and its peoples.
Genfest 2024will have three phases: voluntary work, a main event, and the creation of groupings (‘communities’) according to academic or professional interest, which will remain connected and work for the furthering of a more united world in countries of origin. It aims to be an immersive experience, where the leaders and thinkers are the youth themselves. Dialogue and collaboration between generations will be the essential components for the changes to be proposed to international institutions. Some parts of the event will be streamed onthe Genfest 2024 Youtube channel.
As a conclusion, the new steps and existing or nascent projects which aim to build a more united and peaceful world will be brought together in a document to be presented to the United Nations Summit of the Future(22-23 September 2024). It will contain projects and practical ideas for a more just and fraternal world, as a contribution to the UN 2030 Agenda.
Those who cannot participate in the main event in Brazil can find an event nearer to home. There will be 44 local Genfests: in South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, The Philippines, Pakistan, Vietnam, Jordan, Egypt, Burundi, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, DRC, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Hungary, Serbia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Italy.
Juntos para cuidar: the programme
Experience – The first week of Genfest, from the 12th to the 18th of July, is an “immersive” experience of voluntary work in one of 40 projects and organisations offering opportunities in various countries of Latin America and elsewhere. These activities are the result of collaboration with UNIRedes, which brings together more than 50 organisations, projects and social movements in 12 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting transformation in various spheres (art and culture, the environment, democratic government, education, work, etc.) through the active commitment of all those involved.
Celebrate – From the 18th to the 21st of July the youth will come together for the main event at the National Shrine Arena in Aparecida. They will hear experiences and share strategies for peace and fraternity also through artistic and musical presentations. The event will be streamed to more than 120 different countries. It will be a wide-ranging festival of ideas and initiatives and inspire thousands of young people of many different cultures, ethnic groups and religions to live for a united world.
Learning and sharing – The third phase is from 21st to the 24th of July. The young people will come together in eight groupings called ‘communities’, according to their fields of interest: economics and work, interculturality and dialogue, spirituality and human rights, health and ecology, art and social commitment, education and research, communication and media, active citizenship and politics.
In these spaces the young people will learn, discuss, and formulate new ways of shared commitment to spread the culture of fraternity, through local projects in a global perspective. Returning to their countries of origin, they will work locally in their preferred sector, growing in a culture marked by fraternity and relationality.
An international team of academics, professionals, social and political activists and leaders – young and old – will assist the participants in their discussions and group work.
Among those who have confirmed their presence: Luigino Bruni, economist (Italy), Choie Funk, architect and social activist (Philippines), Jander Manauara, rapper and activist (Brazil), Carlos Palma, coordinator of Living Peace (Uruguay), Myrian Vasques, Indigenous advisor (Brazil), Silvina Chemen, director of the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue at the Rabbinic Seminary (Argentina), John Mundell, director of the Vatican Laudato Si Action Platform (USA), Nicolas Maggi Berrueta, violinist, Peace Ambassador (Uruguay), Israa Safieddine, education consultant and specialist in the teaching of Islam (USA).
“We were happy because we finally understood and Chiara Lubich confirmed it to us, that we were not made to remain closed in on ourselves, but we were called to go out into the world and meet all the children of the earth”.
Maria Chiara Biagioni, now a journalist, described it as a real mandate received directly from the founder of Focolare 40 years ago; the birth of a reality, of the Teens for Unity, which changed her life and that of many young people.
It was Easter 1984 and for the first time, the schools of formation for boys and girls of the Gen 3 Movement were underway in Castelli Romani (Rome). There were about eighty from all over Italy and a few representatives from Germany, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and the Philippines. No-one imagined being part of the beginning of a “new era”.
Chiara Lubich invited them to the Focolare Centre in Rocca di Papa (Rome) at 5 p.m. on Easter Sunday. Something amazing was waiting for them there.
Chiara had prepared a gigantic Easter egg for them. Inside, like in a series of Russian dolls, there were some envelopes and, in the end, a huge surprise: a message from her in which she announced the foundation of the Movement “Teens for Unity”.
Federica Vivian told us, “That moment was very important for me (…). Chiara Lubich sent us her gift, a long letter and I felt that it perfectly expressed what we were experiencing with our friends and with many others. We did many things to show that we believed in fraternity (…) and that seed gave rise to the desire in me to never set limits, to build bridges with everyone”.
In her message, Chiara Lubich urged the young people to live the Gospel concretely and to bring to many others that ideal they had in their hearts, with a single great purpose: to unite the world. The answers were not long in coming. The “Yes” to this mission resounded in the room and very soon many other answers arrived from all over the world.
Fiammetta Megli, a teacher, said, “I was 12 years old and when that big Easter egg was opened, I felt an immense joy, but I didn’t even realize what was really happening. I felt like I belonged to a big family. Everything I learned in those years, as a young person, not only remained, but is the basis for everything I do today, including the work I do with my students at school”.
Today, after 40 years, Teens for Unity, (the teenagers of the Focolare Movement), is present in 182 countries of the world. They speak different languages, belong to different religions or none but what unites them is that common goal: to work to achieve universal fraternity. They are engaged in the most diverse actions, at all latitudes to break down barriers and divisions, so that a united and peaceful world will soon be a reality among all the peoples of the earth.
Since that day, continued Maria Chiara Biagioni, “indifference had no place in my heart. Everything I saw around me, everything that happened in the world, belonged to me, somehow it involved me and I was committed to meeting the needs, problems and challenges that were also facing me in my life. The second thing was to believe (…) that good is stronger than evil. Believe despite everything, despite people’s tears, the bombs that continue to fall in many countries of the world, despite the many evils that we find around us (…) believe that light is stronger than the darkness, always”.
“Embracing Hope.” With this wish, about 200 people from the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and all over Europe met at the Mariapolis Center in Castel Gandolfo (Rome) from May 16 to 19.
They are the contact persons of the Umanità Nuova, movement, the social expression of the Focolare Movement, New Humanity the NGO with consultative status in the United Nations, along with representatives of disciplines that dialogue with contemporary culture, the contact persons of Ragazzi per l’unità and of AMU (Action for a United World), the NGO that deals with special projects and development.
Also in attendance was a delegation of very young high school students who are part of Living Peace International, along with young ambassadors for peace, such as Joseph,
from Sierra Leone, who narrated how at the age of six he was recruited as a child soldier and has now become a young peace leader.
For some time now, these various social expressions -each with its own characteristics and goals- have been working together to help provide concrete responses to the burning issues and expectations of the contemporary world: “Together for Humanity” is their new name. Taking up the Pope’s invitation to the Focolare Movement during a private audience on Dec. 7, 2023, which was to “be artisans of peace in a world torn apart by conflict,” they wanted to dedicate the meeting precisely to peace.
An experience of listening, communal reflection and concrete planning, carried out in the eight communities distinguished by areas and passions. A journey that will continue with the Genfest in Brazil next July, intertwine with the United Nations Summit for Future in September 2024, and with the event in Nairobi with the youth and cities of the world, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. During the meeting, those present, with the help of experts and testimonies, professors, diplomats, social and cultural actors, and organized citizens, reflected on the issue of what is peace, if it is indeed possible to achieve it and by what means.
So many touching experiences from countries in conflict. From Syria, they recounted the brutality of the war they have been experiencing since 2011, aggravated by the embargo affecting an exhausted population. AMU projects such as RESTART, which supports micro businesses with loans and personalized mentoring, have helped slow constant migration processes. Christiane, from Lebanon, despite the situation in her country, characterized by very high inflation and high emigration rates aggravated by the impacts of the war in the Middle East, did not give up: she set up with her husband a productive enterprise for family support and to also help other artisans and rural producers sell their products. The productive initiative also extended to Egypt. From Congo, the fruits of the school for training leaders for peace were presented. A graduate of this school, Joëlle, a journalist and a presidential candidate of the Republic of Congo, launched her presidential platform with the values of peace and social justice. Youths from Ukraine greeted those present with a video, and so did some youths from Bethlehem, Pakistan, Cuba, and the Philippines. The “Together for a New Africa” (T4NA) project for African youth interested in changing the continent was presented: trained hundreds of youth and involved another 9,000 youth in an experience that reached 14 African nations. The same is being done in Mexico with the National Agenda for Peace, in the United States with courageous conversations against racism.
There is a need for true peace and human rights education as well as the need to name conflicts, exploring their reasons, trying to resolve them with a community strategy that listens to diverse and plural positions which precedes and accompanies every negotiation. It has been said that peace is not only the absence of war. Not everything that is called order is peace. It is not ideological: it is not pacifism. It is the condition in which each person can think and realize his own future. But we need to learn dialogue as a methodology, with which to be willing to lose something for the greater good. This is basically the reason for which perhaps negotiations are not progressive and even international organizations do not seem to be able to handle the crisis. Dialogue, trust, local and global networks, inter-generation, community. We start from here, from these key words, encouraged also by Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán , President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement, who were present on the final day. This is the road to peace, to which we want to contribute concretely, and together.
May 1st to 7th: the return of the United World Week, a global workshop and expo of initiatives to restore peace and fraternity between people and peoples. The United World Week (UWW) returns from the 1st to the 7th of May 2024. This year it focuses its global commitment on peace, sought and built from multiple fronts: attention to the poorest and the excluded, care for the environment, formation of consciences and education towards peace. This year’s motto is “Embrace Humanity, Spark Change”; a starting point and inspiration for many initiatives taking place in various cities around the world. UWW 2024, a worldwide Genfest The UWW will start with an international opening event on the 1st of May in Loppiano (Florence-Italy), but from the outset, other cities around the world will also be involved and will continue until the 7th of May being types of “workshops” in creating synergies, sharing ideas, good practices and creativity. The UWW 2024 takes place two months prior to the Genfest, the worldwide Festival of fraternity promoted by the young people of the Focolare Movement. The Genfest will take place in July at Aparecida, Brazil and it will showcase the “local” commitment of many Focolare communities. Networking with Organisations, Movements and Institutions, the Focolare communities are engaged in local contexts to respond to the most urgent needs and challenges of a given area. The “change” that the young people of the Focolare Movement, together with their communities, want to promote is concentrated in the areas of the world that are most devastated by war, by the environmental impact and by forced migration. Who are the protagonists of the UWWThe protagonists are the young people from all over the world: there is Giacomo, Italian, who left for Kenya thanks to the MilONGa international volunteering project, where he worked in orphanages in Nairobi. Or Daphne, from India, who recounts the adventure of Reach Out, the project set up in Goregaon, a suburb of East Mumbai, by some local young people to support about 70 families in poverty. Icaro, Sam and David, on the other hand, live in Brazil, in Fortaleza, where they are volunteering in the “Uirapuru Spiritual Condominium” (CEU), a campus where 21 associations work to care for needy children, people with AIDS and drug addicts. 1st of May, the opening of the UWW These and other stories will be presented during the opening of the UWW from Loppiano with an international event that will be streamed live and translated into 5 languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English and French). It can be followed on the UWP Youtube channel or by connecting to the UWP website (unitedworldproject.org). On this occasion, the International little town of the Focolare will host three villages, each with a different theme: inner peace, peace with others, peace in the world. In these spaces, participants will be able to attend many workshops to explore the theme of peace (Economy of Peace, There is no dialogue without listening, Conflicts in our cities, Water, a source of peace?, The Living Peace International project, Peace and art: harmony between different peoples, etc.). The common thread that will ideally unite their itinerary is the discovery of the art of dialogue. If you go to the UWP website, you can also follow some of the other events and stories of the UWW, such as Peace Got Talent which will take place on the 4th of May. There is also Run4Unity, the relay race for peace and unity, promoted by thousands of teenagers all over the world (the adults are running too!). Run4Unity will be held on the 5th of May: wherever possible, the sport events will be held in places that are symbols of peace, on the border between countries or communities in conflict, or at least in places that “speak” of inclusion.
The protagonists are the young people from all over the world: there is Giacomo, Italian, who left for Kenya thanks to the MilONGa international volunteering project, where he worked in orphanages in Nairobi. Or Daphne, from India, who recounts the adventure of Reach Out, the project set up in Goregaon, a suburb of East Mumbai, by some local young people to support about 70 families in poverty. Icaro, Sam and David, on the other hand, live in Brazil, in Fortaleza, where they are volunteering in the “Uirapuru Spiritual Condominium” (CEU), a campus where 21 associations work to care for needy children, people with AIDS and drug addicts. 1st of May, the opening of the UWW These and other stories will be presented during the opening of the UWW from Loppiano with an international event that will be streamed live and translated into 5 languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English and French). It can be followed on the