“Walls divide cultures, countries and people. I grew up in front of the wall that separates the United States and Mexico. My name is Noé Herrera and I was born in a city of Mexico named Mexicali, which stands for Mexico and California. Ever since I was small, I wondered why it was so difficult to cross the United States border. The cultures of these two countries have a lot in common, like the food, language and even some economic features. I have many friends on both sides and many people like me go back and forth between the United States and Mexico. Still, I’ve seen how this border represents pain and suffering for our two countries. I’ve seen it in the many families that are separated, in the immigrants who fight for a better future, in all the prejudice that we’ve created. And yet, I find that people are indifferent to the situation. Why? Because we’ve become accustomed to seeing the divisions.” “I didn’t have the same experience with the wall as Noè. I’m able to say that it’s easier to cross from the United States into Mexico than vice versa. My name is Josef Capacio. I come from a city in south California, San Diego, near the border. I’ve also seen the division in the United States, but fortunately, I learned from when I was young to live for unity. Over the years, a new perception of the world made its way inside me. Growing up exposed to multi-culturalism, not only did I tollerate it, but I made it mine! I think that’s part of the reason why Noé and I became friends. I’m not just Josef, the American, born into an immigrant family from the Philippines, and him Noé, from the great Mexican race. We’re all that and even more. We’re citizens of the world. And I’ll never forget how we met. After having spent a year away from home and attending a school of formation for young people in the Focolare in Italy, I was excited about returning home to support our projects in California. A friend suggested that I join the efforts for a project in Mexicali. In all honesty, at the beginning I was reluctant. Nevertheless, I bit my tongue and listened to him. Fortunately, after having met Noé, I decided to go along with several friends. That day can’t be described with words. It was amazing!” “The goal was to show our vision of a united world through a simultaneous race along both sides of the wall. There were around 200 people on each side, with a single message: ‘We might be divided by a wall, but we’re together in building a more united world.’ Lots of people of all ages joined us and, ever since then, it has been an annual appointment that has involved the local governments from boths sides. Following that first big event, our objective has become more visible. Josef and I, along with several friends from our countries have had many opportunities to work together in different social projects, but also, over time, we developed fraternal relationships and real frienships with our neighbours over the border. I’ve found that our values, goals and visions of the world are very similar. We’re all the same and I can love his country as my own.” “I took this photo during one of our events, which inspired this thought in me: ‘For many reasons there are physical, geopolitical, economic and security borders. But in our hearts there are no borders. We are one people and we want a united world!’ Those who have had the privilege of seeing our world from space, often tell of this new perception of human life on Earth. Up there in space there are no borders. They disappear. They’re invisible, non-existent. The reasons for continuing the wars become small. One astronaut even said: ‘From up here it’s clear that we are one Humanity on the Earth.’”
Last April, the United World Project (UWP) selected 25 representatives from all over the world to become ambassadors for a United world. They represent the Youth for a United World (U4UW) and their main task is to work for the official recognition of the United World Week by the United Nations. The ambassadors who came from countries such as Brazil, Australia, Kenya, Argentina, Italy, Mexico, the U.S, and Burkina Faso, among others, met for the first time during the Genfest 2018. Their role as ambassadors started precisely in Manila by contacting National Commissions of International institutions in the Philippines. On July 5 and 6, they visited the FAO and the UNESCO branches located in Manila to learn about the organizations and begin a collaboration with the Y4UW through New Humanity, the NGO representing Focolare Movement at the United Nations. Since 1987, it was granted ECOSOC|UN Special Consultative Status, and Since 2005 the General Consultative status. In 2008, it was recognized as an official partner of UNESCO. The Ambassadors were able to put into practice the training they received from the UWP since their selection in April, and successfully developed a working relationship with both UN agencies for future partnerships. They emphasized the need for a concrete reciprocal relationship to face world challenges such as climate change, wars and migration, focusing on UNESCO priority of global citizenship education for youth. Not only did a relationship develop between the Ambassadors and the institutions but also among the ambassadors themselves. The meetings at UN were a chance to reinforce their role as engineers of a new culture that goes beyond race, religion and social class to promote a culture of unity through concrete action on a local and International level. They realized the necessity to develop into a stronger and more well equipped team. Their work will now continue far beyond the Genfest taking full advantage of the energy, inspiration and unity constructed for path ahead. By Michael Grueter
“I am really happy to celebrate the Genfest here with you and with all those who are connected in different ways. I greet you with all my heart! I can bear witness to Chiara’s relationship with thousands of young people all over the world: her dialogue with them was always from the heart, open, sincere and characterised by trust. Chiara was demanding, just as you are, and she was convinced that the new generations, who have the ideal of unity at heart, will become new men and women who spread this light and bear witness that a united world is possible, because it is already a living reality amongst us, as it is here today. I too have had the gift of meeting young people from many parts of the world and I have always been fascinated and enriched by your energy, creativity and courage. Chiara challenged you to be men and women of unity, people who know how to carry in their hearts the specific treasures of each culture and give them to others: to be global men and women. At the 2012 Genfest you launched an ambitious project, the United World Project. In recent years you have worked on many practical ways of doing this. And the vision behind the project – to foster and spread a culture where all people are one family – has spread to many others, including adults and children. I know that you will soon be launching a new process, in continuity with what is already happening. We will all set off on many pathways to achieving a united world. We have a fantastic goal, but we know that great ideals are what make history. Our goal is “that all may be one”. We are aiming towards “all”! Making God’s dream our own is something that links us to heaven and at the same time locates us firmly in human history, to bring to light its journey towards being one universal family. The Genfest is ending with the project you are launching now. We will all go back to our own countries, to our towns and cities. What will we do? The united world that we experience here is one we will bring everywhere, wherever we go, to make it become reality in our families, wherever we study, or work or do sport. There is a secret that can help us not lose sight of this goal, which here at the Genfest seems so beautiful, real and fascinating. I’d like to sum it up in a few words: Love, start again and share! Love is the secret for a life that is happy, full, interesting, always new, never boring and always surprising! Start again when problems, discouragement and failures overwhelm us and make our passion for a united world waver. World champions train hard and get up every time they fall until they reach their goal. Share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties, our talents and our goods. Let’s use every means possible to build networks; let’s launch the most varied initiatives to build unity: large scale projects, both locally and globally, and make this universal family visible. We know that the visible part of an iceberg sits on a part that is under water. Similarly, being one family is built up through many ordinary deeds and actions carried out in the strong conviction that the most powerful means we can use to renew the world is our own heart. While our heart is still beating, we can love, we can start again and we can share. A universal family starts with my heart, with our hearts. This is the fascinating challenge we want to take on together so that a united world becomes a dream fulfilled.
MANILA (the Philippines) – The eleventh edition of the Genfest has just come to its end. The 6,000 young people present, who came from Focolare communities in more than 100 countries worldwide, launched their project: “Pathways for a United World”: ways and means that aim at bringing individuals and peoples together so that they can contribute towards building fraternal relationships in the fields of economy, justice, politics, environment, intercultural and interreligious dialogue. Maria Voce,president of the Focolare Movement said: “At a time when migration increases and nationalisms gain ground, as a reaction to an exclusively economic globalization that ignores the diversities of individual cultures and religions,the Genfest has proposed to youth a change of attitude: do not stop at personal, social and political barriers but be ready to accept without fear or prejudice any sort of diversity”. In the coming years, therefore, the Focolare Youth for a United World will seek to generate a web of activities targeted at instilling a mentality and a practice of peace and solidarity in their own surroundings and in their countries. Marco Provenzale said: “On July 6, we visited the FAO and UNESCO headquarters here in Manila to present our projects and to offer these international organizations the commitment of so many young people, who will be ambassadors of fraternity in their own countries, and whose precise mission is to promote actions that go beyond cultural, social and political boundaries, that go “beyond all borders” as the Genfest title states”. The Genfest has been a feast and a commitment at the same time.The message to overcome borders has been passed on even through the artistic performances, as revealed by the two evening concerts that brought Asia to the rest of the world and vice versa. Many visited Explo, a multimedia and interactive exhibition that offered a different version of the world’s history based on humanity’s steps towards peace and the centrality of personal commitment to build it. The young participants were even offered the opportunity to “dirty their hands” by choosing to take part in “Hands for Humanity”: twelve activities of solidarity, encounter and urban redevelopment organized in different parts of Manila. Stories beyond walls Stories related by young people, who live the drama of migration and segregation, were the highlights of this eleventh edition of Genfest.“Today, little is said about those restricted by limits in their everyday life, about those limited by walls, with a sense of powerlessness and a longing to be saved” – the organizers explained.
Watch interview with Aziz (Iraq)
The stories related are of current significance, such as the one of Noé Herrera (Mexico) and Josef Capacio (USA). Both live very near to the border that separates their two countries. Noé has to cross the border everyday to go to school and this means he has to queue for long hours to be able to cross to the other side. From where does he manage to get hope? From his friendship with Josef and other North American young men with whom he works to promote a mentality of mutual respect and concern. Aziz is from Iraq, but presently lives in France. “Have you ever stopped to think what it would mean if one day, all of a sudden, you are deprived of everything: family, home, dreams…. What would you do?” he asked the other youth at the Genfest. Egide and Jean Paul, one from Rwanda and the other from Burundi met during a very dramatic incident. Jean Paul was at a bus stop when he was attacked and almost killed. Egide saved him and supported him for many months: an extraordinary gesture when one thinks of the wound that never healed because of the recent conflict between their two countries. Is there any recipe one can use to overcome walls and barriers when things seem to push in the opposite direction? – the Genfest people asked. Maria Voce proposed three words, that are also a life program for all the youth who now return to their countries: love, start again and share. Love the peoples of other countries as you love your own people; start again without ever losing hope that another world is possible and share personal and collective wealth, resources and burdens. She concluded by challenging the young people to be men and women of unity, people who cherish the treasures of every culture, but who even know how to give them to others, and ultimately be global men and women.
MESSAGE By His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Youth for a United World International Genfest 2018: Beyond All Borders (Manila, July 6-8, 2018)
“It is with particular joy that we greet all of you, the participants of the 11th edition of the Genfest held in Manila, entitled “Beyond All Borders”, which has as its aim the opening of the young hearts and minds of tomorrow’ s future generation. Know that we commend your initiative and desire to gather together and share your blossoming ideas in order to surpass social and persona} boundaries; for, it is only through a spirit of solidarity, respect and mutual understanding that these obstacles will be overcome and cease to be a cause for division and conflict among the people of our world. As you embark on this journey to address these issues and strive for worldwide unity and peaceful coexistence-always, of course, remaining united in your own noble aspirations and the bond of common action and witness, which certainly hold a promise for a better future, we encourage you to remain steadfast in the vision of this gathering and to remember as well as promote the message of the foundress of the Focolare Movement, the late Chiara Lubich. With prayer and goodwill as the “waterfall of God”, all things will be accomplished and transfigured ! With these words of wholehearted congratulation, we invoke upon all of you the infinite grace and mercy of Almighty God, and remain with much love.”
At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the 6th of July, 2018
[Signed]
+ BARTHOLOMEW Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
The second day is full of novelties. With its 117 activities like forums, workshops and 10 ecological, social, intercultural and interreligious activities, the Genfest participants will be offered a unique chance to pass from theory to practice in less than 24 hours. “Learning by doing,” is one of the pillars of the professional pedagogy. This is exactly what the youths are now experiencing: a personal and social school of change, and the overcoming of walls and fences not only as themes of discussion and sharing of good practices, but also with action and hands-on experimentation in a “global” context like the Philippine scenario, with ideas, projects and actions from the whole world. The young finals have been signed up in the workshops for months now, and expectations are high. A Portuguese boy said: “I’m going to the ’I want to help’ forum on how to win over the ’spectator’ effect. The title is attractive and I feel at times that I am a powerless spectator facing situations that are bigger than me: unemployment, racism, and the sense of inadequacy before the challenge of life in relationships. I want to succeed in overcoming the feeling that there is nothing I can do to change things.” A group of young people from Cebù will participate in the very popular forum, “Nurturing Nature.” Kim Atienza, a famous Filipino anchorman and expounder of environmental issues, encourages the youth to get to deeply know nature with the cycle of life and its processes, and will lecture on sustainable lifestyles and production. One can also do a full immersion in Asian culture, with workshops in origami and fusion cuisines, or attend laboratories dedicated to knowledge and working on oneself: management of stress, fears, and care for the others. Many workgroups will be dedicated to social, civil economy and economy of communion, architecture, and the language of cinema. Politics will not be missing, “but will be the politics of hope.” A girl from Burundi said: “I signed up for that on corruption. We studied the different forms and the tools to fight it. I come from a continent where corruption is a wound. What has given me hope? It is the fact that we came from all over the world to bring down this wall.” In the afternoon the young people will pass on to phase 2 of the day, “Hands4Humanity.” The proposal will consist of 10 activities in solidarity, reception and urban re-qualification in various places in Manila, to experience small acts that can change the reality around us, slowly but in an irreversible way. Then upon returning home proposals will be offered to implement ad hoc initiatives. There is a wide choice: from service in the children’s canteen to the social center of Bukas Palad, to the cleaning of roads and other city areas, visits to hospitals, the aged, the deaf and dumb, up to street theater and the intercultural exchange with the Muslim and Hindu communities. In Tramo Street in the peripheral belt of Manila, a big group of kids coming from Australia, Brazil, Europe, besides other Filipinos, will paint and clean together with the local people. A Californian boy explained: “I would never have thought of doing something for a city which isn’t mine, and where I may not return to, but I am glad, and what’s more I would like to know Manila better. At the start I thought I didn’t care, but now it’s no longer so.” “Making Genfest a laboratory for learning and experimentation on human transformation techniques is a choice of great impact, both for the youths and the city,” explained Tina Bonifacio, businesswoman and coordinator of the forums. “The aim is to make a real experience of the overcoming of borders, both physical and mental. Each person, culture, and piece of the world always has something to give and share with the others.” It will be an intense day therefore for the young people now in Manila. But this is not all: it will end tonight with the international concert where many will stage their songs and performances. Music and art will recount another piece of “Beyond all borders.”
Last April, the 
“I am really happy to celebrate the 
know that you will soon be launching a new process, in continuity with what is already happening. We will all set off on many pathways to achieving a united world. We have a fantastic goal, but we know that great ideals are what make history. Our goal is “that all may be one”. We are aiming towards “all”! Making God’s dream our own is something that links us to heaven and at the same time locates us firmly in human history, to bring to light its journey towards being one universal family. The Genfest is ending with the project you are launching now. We will all go back to our own countries, to our towns and cities. What will we do? The united world that we experience here is one we will bring everywhere, wherever we go, to make it become reality in our families, wherever we study, or work or do sport. There is a secret that can help us not lose sight of this goal, which here at the Genfest seems so beautiful, real and fascinating. I’d like to sum it up in a few words: Love, start again and share! Love is the secret for a life that is happy, full, interesting, always new, never boring and always surprising! Start again when problems, discouragement and failures overwhelm us and make our passion for a united world waver. World champions train hard and get up every time they fall until they reach their goal. Share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties, our talents and our goods. Let’s use every means possible to build networks; let’s launch the most varied initiatives to build unity: large scale projects, both locally and globally, and make this universal family visible. We know that the visible part of an iceberg sits on a part that is under water. Similarly, being one family is built up through many ordinary deeds and actions carried out in the strong conviction that the most powerful means we can use to renew the world is our own heart. While our heart is still beating, we can love, we can start again and we can share. A universal family starts with my heart, with our hearts. This is the fascinating challenge we want to take on together so that a united world becomes a dream fulfilled.
The second day is full of novelties. With its 117 activities like forums, workshops and 10 ecological, social, intercultural and interreligious activities, the Genfest participants will be offered a unique chance to pass from theory to practice in less than 24 hours. “Learning by doing,” is one of the pillars of the professional pedagogy. This is exactly what the youths are now experiencing: a personal and social school of change, and the overcoming of walls and fences not only as themes of discussion and sharing of good practices, but also with action and hands-on experimentation in a “global” context like the Philippine scenario, with ideas, projects and actions from the whole world. The young finals have been signed up in the workshops for months now, and expectations are high. A Portuguese boy said: “I’m going to the ’I want to help’ forum on how to win over the ’spectator’ effect. The title is attractive and I feel at times that I am a powerless spectator facing situations that are bigger than me: unemployment, racism, and the sense of inadequacy before the challenge of life in relationships. I want to succeed in overcoming the feeling that there is nothing I can do to change things.” 
A group of young people from Cebù will participate in the very popular forum, “Nurturing Nature.” Kim Atienza, a famous Filipino anchorman and expounder of environmental issues, encourages the youth to get to deeply know nature with the cycle of life and its processes, and will lecture on sustainable lifestyles and production. One can also do a full immersion in Asian culture, with workshops in origami and fusion cuisines, or attend laboratories dedicated to knowledge and working on oneself: management of stress, fears, and care for the others. Many workgroups will be dedicated to social, civil economy and economy of communion, architecture, and the language of cinema. Politics will not be missing, “but will be the politics of hope.” A girl from Burundi said: “I signed up for that on corruption. We studied the different forms and the tools to fight it. I come from a continent where corruption is a wound. What has given me hope? It is the fact that we came from all over the world to bring down this wall.” 