Mar 28, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide
“Hi to all! We want to let you know how special this year is for the young people of our country. We are sharing wonderful moments in preparation for our long-awaited Genfest. Last September we agreed to set our sights on a unity that would gradually envelope all of us, our friends and also our great Focolare family. And we see it happening. To raise funds for the journey – which is very costly – and also to have opportunities to spend some time living together and starting already to build some “local bridges” (in accordance with the title of this year’s Genfest), we’ve come up with a schedule of many activities, some of which have already taken place and others that are still being prepared. “Unight”: An evening with a hundred youths at a pub in Beirut, including a presentation on the Genfest event. “Unight Your Talents Show”: A talent show with songs, dances, musical numbers, theatre, storytelling and creative performances. There were 550 of us on March 3, 2012 for a two hour show in a large hall at the university. Fundraising: We began a taxi service for accompanying people to the airport and other places. We also began a babysitting service. We set up a refreshment stand at the Mariapolis Centre. We make and sell jewelry and special occasion cards. These are not only opportunities to raise funds for the trip to Budapest, but also occasions to know one another better and to “build bridges.” “Unite in Depth“: March 23-March 25. Three days of preparing for the Genfest through deepening and strengthening our faith. Eighty young people have already signed up, including 20 from Syria.» We have encountered many difficulties along the way: The young people from Lebanon are in suspense becuase the airline from whom they purchased tickets for their flights to Budapest has gone out of business. Together with them we continue to believe that with the help of everyone and with the help of God, a way will be found to overcome even this obstacle.
Mar 9, 2012 | Non categorizzato
For some time the date has been fixed: 31 August-2 September. The countdown on the site www.genfest.org reminds us that between now and then there are 25 weeks, 1 day, and… hours, minutes, seconds rush by. The programme is taking shape, and on planet earth (aka, in various parts of the globe) people are getting ready to arrive in Budapest. Here are a few examples of what has been going on lately.
Radio Warsaw
Two hours of broadcasting dedicated to young people, during which the Y4UW from Poland have spoken on one of the main national radio stations of their experiences and their invitation to all the young people of Poland to be united in walking together towards Budapest. They write: ‘It was our first chance of announcing the Genfest and enthusing the hearts of many young people!’
Café in Milan
In Italy, ‘Coffee Bridge’ is the initiative launched by Y4UW in Lombardy. Having got good price from a wholesaler and put the Genfest logo on bags of coffee, they have begun selling them. The aim of the initiative: to promote the ideals of Y4UW and to gather funds for the journey to Budapest. Email address: coffee@genfest.tk
Partying in Nazareth
40 young people from various regions have started up a day for teaching songs, playing games and … having great fun. It was impossible not possible to talk about the Genfest and give everyone an invitation, which was immediately accepted, to be ‘bridge builders’. The next appointment is in April for another weekend together.
Show in Indonesia
In Yogjakarta, the Y4UW of the second city, of Java organized a concert for 500 people to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the largest Catholic publisher of the archipelago. ‘It was a fantastic chance to present ourselves and to tell of our commitment to build a more united world,’ they write, ‘by living the present moment, loving our neighbours and so overcoming every difficult moment.’
Chinese meal
From Macao they tell us: ‘We invited our friends to eat a “hotpot”.’ They presented their experiences and then spoke about the Genfest and ‘as a sign of gratitude to those who’d come, we gave a small present to each person with best wishes for a “prosperous Chinese New Year”!’
Experiences, activities, things of interest… and a new video on the history of Genfest are available of the sites of Genfest and of Youth for a United World.
(link: http://www.genfest.org/program)
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Feb 4, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“The Genfest’s main message will be: Unity. This is why we chose the title, “Let’s bridge,” recounts 23 year old, Philippino, Ark Tabin. The construction of a bridge is to be used as a metaphor for the construction of authentic relationships which is the main theme of the program that will take place in the Sport Arena of Budapest (with a seating capacity of 12,500) and on the bridges that cross the Danube River, from 31 August to 2 September 2012. Orgainizing the event is already an experience of unity which is based on the constant effort to welcome and listen to the other. This leads to true dialogue and deep relationships. A new phase of this experience will unfold this 11 and 12 February with seventy youths who will gather in Sassone, Italy to prepare the 10th edition of the program. “Although we’ve been awaiting them for a long time, we also feel that this shouldn’t be just another event, even if it’s a great event, but that it should mark another step on a journey, a point of arrival and a point of departure in the building of a United World. There is a need for this testimony of unity nowadays. We can’t turn back,” recalls 23 year old Brazilian, Thyrseane Tupinamba who is on the central organizing comittee of the Genfest, together with other youths and adults from a variety of countries – the United States, Hungnray, Argentina, italy, Brazil. . . Youths seventeen years old and older, from more than forty countries have already signed up to attend the event in Hungary. A preview of the program is available on the web page: www.genfest.org You can find the Genfest page on Facebook in English, Portugese, Polish, Spanish and Italian. Follow us there!
Jan 18, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide
‘A big hello from Bulgaria!! We want to tell you how our preparations for Genfest are going. When we heard that the title was “Let’s bridge” we asked ourselves what can we do, here in Sofia, to build bridges? We remembered the refugees coming in especially from Arabic countries. Mostly they are Muslims, some haven’t been here long, others have been here for years. Sadly, though, a lot of them have very few contacts outside their own group. 
A friend of ours, a girl who fled Iraq and is now working in the committee for women refugees, told us they wanted to get to know our culture better and even to find out about the traditional Bulgarian ‘Tree Festival’. We met together on 10 December. There were 30 people, 20 of them refugees, for the most part from Iraq, but also from the Lebanon, Libya and Afghanistan. The programme presented our Christmas traditions, including traditional food. We began with a game to introduce ourselves: a ball of wool was unravelled from one person to another and whoever held it had to say something about themselves: name, place of birth… just enough to break the ice and start building a relationship among everyone. 
Then there were moments for reflection, a children’s fable illustrated by folk customs from various lands at this time of year. The refugees felt loved and were moved by everything that had been done for them and they kept on saying thank you. At the end one girl wrote: ‘Even though in Iraq eggs are painted for New Year and in Bulgaria we do it for Easter, and even though there other differences of customs and festivals, we all felt that there is something that works with the same strength and the same light everywhere in the world: love. Our love for one another, for someone you’ve know for years, with all their shortcomings, and for someone who you’ve just met, who you don’t know yet, but in whose eyes, despite everything, you can see Jesus.’ The meeting finished with delicious dishes from all over the world, with storytelling, smiles and thanks. Let’s hope we managed to make these people we care about feel welcome and at home.’ From Youth for a United World, Bulgaria
