Art and Cities: young artists on tour in Europe
They are young artists who are taking part in “Arts & Culture – Reshaping Urban Life” which was organized by various partners from the worlds of art, culture, and education. They are financed by the European Union cultural program (EACEA). Among them is also the Starmacher Association, known for its Strong Without Violence program that was carried out together with Gen Rosso in many schools throughout Europe and the world. The group of urban artists has recently returned from Udine, Italy, where they worked together for ten days (24 August – 4 September) in the “Park of Cement” sharing their impressions of the city with its citizens through paintings, acoustic works, and sculpture, as in the filigree model of the city’s water tower. Udine was the itinerant project’s third stop, which foresees laboratories to be carried out in five different cities of three European states (Udine and Venice in Italy; Schwerte and Dortmund in Germany; and Sternberg in the Czech Republic). “The atmosphere among us is quite particular,” a young student from Monaco di Bavaria recounts, “It’s as if we’ve known each other for a long time. And we’re actually able to work together on a single work of art with several artists. And our hosts immediately perceive our every need and desire! This is quite an exceptional way of working!” During February, in Schwerte, Germany, the participants were joined by experts to examine the theoretical and cultural foundations of their work. The central topic was the mutual influence between urban development and artistic expression in society and in the cities of today. There is a direct link between art and city, and young people have a particular sensitivity for the place in which they live. Their works almost always reflect their birthplaces in some way. The second stop was in the Czech Republic (2-10 July) where an old and abandoned monastery in Sternbeck became the point of inspiration. Each artist could choose his or her own “art studio” in which to work. In the evenings they met to chat and know each other better, to sing and dance. Each seminar concluded with a public showing of their works that had been created during the days of the seminar, but also included some paintings or sculptures which came from their studios at home. The fourth stop is underway in Udine at a workshop with Gen Rosso ending on 23 September. Upcoming stops include: an interdisciplinary seminar with Gen Rosso in Dortmund, Germany and, finally the concluding congress in Venice on 23 February 2012.
One event that was particularly highlighted was the Second National Convention of the Economy of Communion twenty years following its birth. It involves economists and entrepreneurs together finding new avenues for work’s future. Alberto Ferrucci from the International EoC Commission announced that a document of proposals is to be presented at the United Nations, which the Economy of Communion project has formulated for confronting the crisis and finding a new model of development. Many stories were shared during these days by entrepreneurs who decided to not only consider the final product and profits, but the individual persons who are the true assets of the company. The Trinity a Way of life?” This was the title of an evening dialogue session between theology, philosophy and art, based on Coda’s theological volume, “Dalla Trinità” (From the Trinity). Two parts of the LoppianoLab took place at Sophia University Institute. One was the presentation of Sophia magazine, which reports on the research being carried out at the Institute; and the other was the presentation of Nuova Umanita which, for thirty years, expresses the Focolare Movement’s culture. Participants were also given the opportunity to become acquainted with the academic project of Sophia Institute, which is a path of life, study and research for the acquisition and deeper understanding of a Christianly inspired culture that is capable of illuminating many human dimensions as well various academic disciplines. The meeting of the Città Nuova Press Group gathered together regional work groups of journalists and officers, editors and collaborators who are involved with “Città Nuova” magazine. They stand on the front lines in strengthening a national network which promotes the culture of unity. The town of Loppiano, which hosted the events, offered an “Open City”, a presentation of its people and places: a fifty years of Centro Ave Arte art exhibit, dramatic readings from the writings of Igino Giordani and Fraçois Neveux, music, dance, and a taste of cultures from around the world. 
The concluding laboratory took place on the morning of September 18. It was entitled: “Hoping with Italy. A network for the common good on the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification.” This laboratory highlighted the results that have been achieved in various settings, pointing out practical avenues for continuing reflection and experimentation, which were summarized in four proposals to make Italy hope again: support for young entrepreneurs with special attention to the South in the Expo of EoC businesses at the Bonfanti Industiral Park; the necessary openness to other networks, organizations and institutions, in the laboratories that are promoted by the Città Nuova Press Group; summer schools in Argentina and Cile with three new Masters from Sophia University Institute, which is an instrument for re-launching the new humanism: Loppiano as a permanent laboratory. What is its contribution to Italy? To demonstrate that unity in our cities is possible even in daily life. 
Amidst the fury of war Chiara Lubich and her first companions were in the habit of meeting each other in bomb shelters when the sirens would sound announcing new bombings. It was the desire of these young women from Trent to be together and discover new ways of being Christian and of putting the Gospel into practice, following that startling intuition that had led them to put God-Love at the center of their interests – he alone and nothing else – at the center of their young lives. “Each event touched us deeply – Chiara later said. The lesson that God was giving us through external circumstances was very clear: All is vanity of vanities, everything passes away. But at the same time, God placed a question in my heart for all of us and, with it, the answer: “But could there be an ideal that doesn’t die, that no bombs could bring down, one that we could give ourselves to?” Yes, God. We decided to make him the ideal of our lives.” God. God, who in the middle of the fury of war, which was the fruit of hatred, through the action of a special grace, manifested himself for what he truly is: Love. The leading concept upon which the Holy Spirit then constructed this entire spirituality was, therefore, God-Love (Cf. 1 Jn 4:8). What a change this truth, now understood in a totally new way, brings about in people when they come into contact with the movement! The Christian lives they were so faithfully living before, now appear overshadowed like the lives of orphans. For now a discovery has been made: God is Love, God is a Father! Our heart, which had been living an exile in the night of this life, opens and rises and unites to the one who loves it, the one who takes care of everything, the one who even counts the hairs on our head. The joyful and painful events acquire totally new meaning: Everything is foreseen and willed by the love of God. Nothing can make us fearful. This is an exciting faith which strengthens us, which makes us glory in it. It’s a faith that brings tears to the eyes of those who experience it for the first time. It’s a gift of God that makes us shout: We have believed in love (1 Gv 4,16). The choice of God who is Love, as the ideal of our life, was the first foundation that was laid, the first requirement of this new spirituality that had blossomed in our hearts. Thus we had found the one to live for: God-Love.»
It was a sight to behold: from 7 August to 5 September, 470 
Then we examined many episodes from the life of Jesus, who is the Father’s greatest gift to us. The stories about Jesus showed us how he always did the will of his Father and how we can imitate him in every moment of our lives. Of course, to know what the will of God is in the present moment, you need to open your heart and “take a moment for silently listening to the correct voice,” one Gen4 noticed. 