May 1, 2015 | Focolare Worldwide
More than 120 young representatives from 25 countries: from Japan to Italy, from Korea to Colombia, from Nepal to Romania, take part in an annual event that takes place within the framework of United World Week which is celebrated around the world and gives a witness that cultural and religious differences are not an obstacle between peoples but a springboard for a more united and fraternal world. This year’s title: “Fabric, Flavour, Festival – discovering fraternity,” focuses on 360° dialogue. Fabric. Face the challenges of dialogue in order to build a more United World: discovering one’s own identity; accepting and respecting others; and having the courage to take the first step. Festival: discovering one another as brothers and sisters. Flavour. Dialogue in action: living the Goldenn Rule, “Do to others what you would have them do to you;” opening the way to reciprocity and sharing. Multiculturalism was the leitmotif of the days in Mumbai. Representatives from the Shanti Ashram (Hindu Movement) and the Rissho Kosei-Kai (Buddhist Movement) joined with young Christians to share moments of brotherhood and service towards Indian young people and civil community. Lawrence from Religions for Peace says that he is here because “we need to show positive things to the world. We need to show the world that fraternity can change history.” Crisfan, a young Hindu, says that he met the Young People for a United World a few years ago: “ever since then, I have wanted to build bridges of fraternity. Religion is never an obstacle in India. Each person follows a path, but we’re all brothers and sisters.” He married a few months ago and also involved his wife in the adventure. The days were busy and intense, sharing in tragic events like that of Nepal where the earthquake produced thousands of victims. Sana and Roshan are also here in Mubmai; they have not been able to contact their families, but seem serene: “we’re sure that God is taking care of them.” Meanwhile, everybody prays. At day’s end we receive some nice news: their family are fine. They fled, but God’s love didn’t force them to wait. Maria Chiara, an Italian, tells us how she had long been hoping for such an experience. “When Christian invited me, I felt like I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by. I’m here to know other young people and to learn to live the other person’s culture as my own.” Christian is Romanian and studies at Sophia University Institute in Italy. After visiting the Holy Land (2013) and Kenya (2014), this year I decided to close my books “and find out how fraternity is lived in a different culture than my own.” Concrete brotherhood is already a living experience at this international site in India, as all sorts of activities in favour of peace are being held in many other parts of the world.
Mar 17, 2015 | Focolare Worldwide
6 weeks of preparatory work, 34 actors and an audience of 250 people 36 thousand rupees gathered, equivalent to about €500 which is quite remarkable, considering that the sum will allow 10 adolescents of the city to participate in the 5-day programme to be held in Mumbai.
The Focolare has been in India from 1980. Today there are centres in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa and New Delhi that promote various activities: Mariapolis, monthly meetings for adults, families and the youth. In various cities –Vasai, Pune, Panjim, Margao, Vasco, Trichy – there are active groups that have adhered to the spirit of the Focolare.
This year, the great goal ahead regards the United World Week (SMU), annual appointment of the Youth for a United World with the objective of diffusing the steps undertaken towards fraternity in various parts of the world.
The SMU 2015 transits through India. As occurred last year in Africa, the event that highlighted the Ubuntu concept, this time the event will focus on the subcontinent, cradle of an enormous variety of ethnic and religious groups that will host the main event of the week in Mumbai, from27 April to1st May, to conclude in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (southern India), on 4 May.
Already in 2009 Coimbatore had hosted the “Gen 3 Supercongress”, with adolescents from all over the world, and with the cooperation of the Gandhian movement Shanti Ashram.
As can be imagined there was an enormous load of work for the preparations of all the details- Due to this the entire Focolare Community of the city has decided to roll up their sleeves and support the youth in this initiative.
A first concrete job was to prepare their own musical “The brook in the woods,” staged last 22 February. A story that begins with the message of unity which the Gen4 (the children of the Focolare Movement) sing about. Rehearsals, performed with enthusiasm and commitment by the children, and even with some unexpected problems that came up: the day before musical two of them got sick with high fever and the authors had to change the lyrics!
“My children are so happy!” a mother explained, They made new friends and say that they miss the rehearsals., even more than their schoolmates, because they were so happy to be together.”
“Even if the children are talented in song or dance,” another mother said, “it’s so nice to see these talents used for a beautiful and valuable cause.”
भारत की ओर से आप सभी को बधाई (Bharat ki ora se aap sabhi ko badhai)
Greetings from India!
May 19, 2014 | Non categorizzato
Friederike and George from the Focolare community in Nigeria write: “We are finally able to write, firstly to thank everyone for the prayers that are supporting us at this critical moment for our land.”
“The double bombings in Abuja – in a very populated spot that many of us wallk through every day – and the kidnappings of the students in Borno have caused a wave of suffering and desperation among the Nigerian people. Reactions vary: fear, resignation, anger, revenge. . .”
But the witness we want to give speaks of peace: “We share the sufferings of the families of the many victims, trying to stay rooted in the present moment remembering that universal brotherhood is the only path to peace.”
“It was a providential coincidence that in the midst of this confusion, United World Week was just about to begin.” At this time every year the Young People for a United World go public with visible activities that make as many people as possible think about peace and solidarity. This year they presented the World Atlas of Fraternity.
Friederike and George tell us that in Nigeria: “Young people and other members of the local Focolare community programmed several activities both in Onitsha, Abuja and Jos. But on the day after the second bombing, we met with the community of Abuja and discussed whether or not to continue with preparations for United World Week. We unanimously agreed that now more than ever was the time to live for peace and offer hope!”
On March 14, 2014, 80 Muslims and Christians gathered in Millenium Park, Abuja, for a day focusing on “Welcoming and Brotherhood”. At noontime we paused for Time Out: a moment of prayer for peace.
That same week in Onitsha young people held a work day in an orphanage, and another day cleaning the areas around the public market. They also invited everyone to attend the final day’s events.
They write: “All of us members of the Focolare are committed with renewed faith to the Time Out For Peace ; we have a plan to send an SMS to each other at 11:55 every day. Every week we send an SMS to thousands of people from several areas of the country, with a slogan that invites us to live for peace. This is one small way to help turn public opinion towards a culture of respect for others.”
May 14, 2014 | Non categorizzato
For the opening of United World Week, teenagers from all over Portugal were welcomed to Mariapolis Arco Iris by the local band and over twenty groups that animated the afternoon with a variety of activities: judo, music (many songs written for the occasion), dance, Indonesian gamelans and 90 dancers from Cape Verde. Along with the media, several civil authorities also attended the event. Both the president and vice-president of the region attended, and numerous clergy brought youth groups from their parishes. Among them wes the head of youth ministry from the diocese of Lisbon. It was not only the Focolare that contributed: over 20 groups and associations gave their contribution to the Expo on Fraternity: a small living exhibit of the United World Project in which particpants were called on to share their experiences of Fraternity. A parliamentarian, a musician, an actor, a scientist and a mayor were on hand to share their expertise. The programme had five sections exploring the theme of fraternity, through music, testimonials and dance. They showed that the culture of brotherhood can be extended to all sectors of life, from the arts to the economy. An open discussion with economist Luigino Bruni turned out to be very meaningful. The workshops that followed invited the young people to become more actively involved in society, for the building of a more united world, and this was expressed in the impressions that were left by some: “Changing the world depends on us: this is the strongest impression I take with me from this day. Thank you for having given us your experience, because if we have the key for facing the difficulties, then a united world is truly possible.” “This was my first experience with the Youth for a United World. I’m amazed by this spirit of sharing, reciprocal assistance and true love that I have had the opportunity of knowing and living here. I leave here with a new life!” “In times marked by individualism and indifference, it is nice to see so many people fighting for a better world, and they don’t stop in the face of adversity. Today I realized that fraternity is truly within everyone’s reach, and takes place in daily life. It depends on me as well, to “take on the world” and try to make it better.”
Photo albums
May 8, 2014 | Non categorizzato
Ubuntu: “I am what I am because of who we all are.” This ancient concept found in many African cultures is the main focus of the Sharing With Africa Project. On April 27 – May 4, 2014, a hundred young people from 29 countries gathered in Nairobi, Kenya. Professor Justus Mbae, who is Dean of the Catholic University of East Africa, explained it during an open discussion: “Any situation regarding me personally comes after the community, because each person is part of that community; the community comes first. It is then through the relationship with those other people that compose the community, that I become a person.” At Sharing With Africa, in the Focolare town in Kenya, the young people also shared their projects and stories as they try to respond to the challenge of their lands. Their creativity and commmitment were impressive, as they were able challenge even some public institutions. Their mission statement is inspired by a speech by Chiara Lubich, who was the founder of the Focolare, in which she suggested some positive steps for changing a city: find some friends who support your project; focus on the least and the needy, help them in their need, and turn to God for what is lacking. In this way you will be laying the foundations of a new city, and your gaze will begin to expand across the world. 
Benedicto is a young nurse at a hospital in Iringa, Tanzania. Blood is a very precious commodity in his country. The lack of blood in the public blood banks results in many deaths. One day many women were sent home from the maternity ward because there were no more bags of blood in the hospital. Benedicto informed the young people from the Focolare with whom he had already been sharing a spiritual journey of care and concern for the needs of the least. The solution came right from the group. Why not invite the public to donate blood? “It’s true that in our country we don’t have much to share; at times the misery is overwhelming, but everyone has blood, it’s inside us.” A request letter was sent and in a few hours they had 22 bags of blood. The head of the blood bank confessed that he had never witnessed such generosity. That was 2010. In the last 4 years the project expanded to the point of becoming an official reference for all the institutions of public health in the country. In January the students at Ruaha University in Iringa and the Islamic Institute of Dar el Salaam, became voluntary donors. 
This is only one of the 800 examples of fraternity that have been recorded since 2012. They’re called “fragments of fraternity” to show that even though they are small, they are able to generate change. The others are found in the Atlas of Fraternity, which came out during this 17th edition of United World Week, which is the annual event that displays to international institutions projects that are making fraternty possible among people. The official opening was on May 1, 2014 in Nairobi, with twenty minutes of live streaming that linked people from around the world with Sharing With Africa. In her message of greeting, Focolare President, Maria Voce, congratulated those who took part in the project for their “stubborn courage” and efforts “immersed as they are in the complex affairs of the contemporary world.”She also referred to the ongoing work for the Atlas, mentioning that it is like working at a “massive work site, but that it’s the dream of God, as Chiara Lubich loved to describe it. And this is a also great garuntee. Universal Brotherhood is no Utopia: on the contrary! Even though it is a strenous journey, it is an ustoppable vision.” This year’s goal will be to engage national UNESCO delegations in officially recognising United World Week for the contribution it offers to the unity of the human family. To the Young People for a United World: good work!
More than 120 young representatives from 25 countries: from Japan to Italy, from Korea to Colombia, from Nepal to Romania, take part in an annual event that takes place within the framework of United World Week which is celebrated around the world and gives a witness that cultural and religious differences are not an obstacle between peoples but a springboard for a more united and fraternal world. This year’s title: “Fabric, Flavour, Festival – discovering fraternity,” focuses on 360° dialogue. Fabric. Face the challenges of dialogue in order to build a more United World: discovering one’s own identity; accepting and respecting others; and having the courage to take the first step. Festival: discovering one another as brothers and sisters. Flavour. Dialogue in action: living the Goldenn Rule, “Do to others what you would have them do to you;” opening the way to reciprocity and sharing. Multiculturalism was the leitmotif of the days in Mumbai. Representatives from the Shanti Ashram (Hindu Movement) and the Rissho Kosei-Kai (Buddhist Movement) joined with young Christians to share moments of brotherhood and service towards Indian young people and civil community. 
Lawrence from Religions for Peace says that he is here because “we need to show positive things to the world. We need to show the world that fraternity can change history.” Crisfan, a young Hindu, says that he met the Young People for a United World a few years ago: “ever since then, I have wanted to build bridges of fraternity. Religion is never an obstacle in India. Each person follows a path, but we’re all brothers and sisters.” He married a few months ago and also involved his wife in the adventure. The days were busy and intense, sharing in tragic events like that of Nepal where the earthquake produced thousands of victims. Sana and Roshan are also here in Mubmai; they have not been able to contact their families, but seem serene: “we’re sure that God is taking care of them.” Meanwhile, everybody prays. At day’s end we receive some nice news: their family are fine. They fled, but God’s love didn’t force them to wait. Maria Chiara, an Italian, tells us how she had long been hoping for such an experience. “When Christian invited me, I felt like I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by. I’m here to know other young people and to learn to live the other person’s culture as my own.” Christian is Romanian and studies at Sophia University Institute in Italy. After visiting the Holy Land (2013) and Kenya (2014), this year I decided to close my books “and find out how fraternity is lived in a different culture than my own.” Concrete brotherhood is already a living experience at this international site in India, as all sorts of activities in favour of peace are being held in many other parts of the world.
