The concluding residential week of the first year of the two-year political action training programme will be held from 26th January-1st February 2026. The programme is promoted by the New Humanity NGO of the Focolare Movement in collaboration with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the support of the Porticus Foundation.

Using the Hackathon methodology, the event will bring together 100 young leaders from different cultures and political beliefs, from the five continents, who are engaged in political and social life in their own countries. Following months of intensive online work, the young people will meet in Rome in person to translate the learning journey which they shared remotely, into proposals for political impact. The challenge they will face is to design processes and tools capable of addressing the critical issues that emerge in the exercise of political power, in relationships and in political institutions.

Great attention will be paid to the participatory dimension of public policies, leading to the definition of shared pathways that will be assessed and presented during an evening open to the public, to young people and interested politicians.

Javier Baquero, a young Colombian politician and President of the international Political Movement for Unity (MPPU) explained, “Today we are facing very serious problems. We must foster a political culture that sees humanity as one and the planet as our common home. In our opinion, there is a different paradigm that we must explore and experiment with together, learning to compose our different visions starting from some universal values.”

Argia Albanese, President of MPPU Italy agreed, “A meaningful response to the needs of our peoples cannot rely solely on the reform of institutions or from a purely managerial approach, which often seems devoid of democratic content. Our starting point must continue to be the social and community bond rooted in universal fraternity and sisterhood.”

The week concludes the interdisciplinary training focused on integral ecology, civil economy, collaborative governance and generative communication, which began in May 2025 with the support of experts from various academic institutions: Rotterdam School of Management (Netherlands), Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina), Georgetown University (Washington DC), University of the Philippines, Universidade de Ribeirão Preto (Brazil), Escuela Superior de Administración Pública Bogotá (Colombia), University of Dschang (Cameroon), Sophia University Institute (Italy).

The week in Rome includes:

• Two Hackathon days, in which the participants, divided into language groups, will seek solutions to collective problems.
• Dialogues with experts and policy makers to connect reflection and proposals within a broad international framework.
• A public meeting to present the Hackathon outcomes and to engage with politicians active at various levels and from different perspectives.
• Visits and workshop activities in Rome at research and social engagement centres (which support migrants, women’s rights, climate justice, unemployment and disarmament).
• Workshops to set up the global network for the second year and its governance.

There will be a much-anticipated audience with Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, 31st January. Representatives of the MPPU Centres who will come to Rome for the occasion will also participate and will have the opportunity to evaluate the results of the experience with the participants and to plan the next steps.

Edited by the Editorial Staff

Photo: © William Fortunato – Pexels