17 Feb 2017 | Non categorizzato
Up until the age of 18 I lived a normal life between house, school, sport, parish and my dreams. But one day, after the withdrawal of the Kurdish army, the resistance didn’t last long and my city of Qaraqosh fell. The so-called Islamic State (ISIS) took over and everything fell apart. Occupied for two years by the black flags of ISIS my birthplace was named the capital of ISIS for the Nineveh Plains. Qaraqosh had been the most important Christian city in Iraq with more than sixty thousand inhabitants. And even though it was liberated in October 2016, it was now a ghost town. But let’s go back a bit. On August 6, 2014 we had to leave our home without even packing our bags, only with the clothes on our back. We had been put in front of a choice: become Muslim, pay a bribe or have our heads cut off. We were fortunate to stay alive! From then on it was a hard adventure for us. And inside me there were mixed feelings of anger, resignation and exasperation, to the point that I even wondered how God could allow us to live such a hard trial. But it was an important life lesson that led me, not without effort, to then make a great discovery. We started out in the direction of Iraqi Kurdistan together with a crowd of refugees who were moving on foot.. I can still see their tears, the soldiers, people sleeping along the road . . . a road to Erbil that usually takes a half hour, now, due to the road blocks and in spite of the fact that we were lucky enough to have a vehicle, took us 12 hours. We went towards Dohuk where we spent about 2 months. It was a painful period that we lived through in the hope of returning home. In those difficult moments, I realized that if I stayed close in my own suffering, nothing would change and I wouldn’t move on. So I decided to live the present moment, deciding to try to bring a smile to the face of the neighbour beside me, to try to bring some change in that way in spite of everything. Near me were people of the Yazidi religion who were more needy than us. Their people had been slaughtered by ISIS, because they didn’t have the means to escape: men killed, women raped and sold. The ones who did manage to escape were in a pitiful state. I lived along with them and tried to forget my own wounds to console them. After the years of exile, my parents had decided to go to France, because that country had extended its hand. It was a hard decision: to stay in our own land with an uncertain future, or accept our exile and begin our life again in a new country that had a different culture. We were well aware of the problems that were awaiting us beginning with the language. We arrived in France on October 26, 2014. At first it wasn’t easy, but we never felt abandoned. Someone took care of us and cleared our path. His unseen hand dried our tears and lightened our pain. Yes, it was Jesus who died for each one of us! How could we respond to His love? Now that this painful adventure has led me to discover that God is Love, that it is He who gives meaning to my life. Now, I want to build peace starting from the little things.
16 Feb 2017 | Non categorizzato
https://vimeo.com/204142200
15 Feb 2017 | Non categorizzato
The worldwide appointment which inaugurates this year’s edition of United World Week is an event whereby young people from over 40 nations come together in unity in order to have the finger on the pulse on humanitarian issues. The program includes choreographic expressions, life experiences and spaces for dialogue on politics, economy, art, religion, culture, social commitment for peace. 1st MAY EVENT PROGRAM 10.00 am -3.15 pm – Welcome and start of program
Workshop: Peace and … Religion – Economy – Politics – Art – Education – Nature
3.30 – 4.30 pm – Many pulses in the one world: stories of peace 4.45 pm – Explosion of peace: music4peace Information and bookings: www.primomaggioloppiano.it FB primomaggioloppiano https://www.facebook.com/primomaggioloppiano/videos/1391995820874604/
15 Feb 2017 | Non categorizzato
For over 20 years, United World Week has been an event which gathers young people from all over the world who, through a variety actions, public meetings, conferences and cultural debates, commit themselves to having an influence on public opinion in the host country, and in together giving witness that a united world is possible, they leave a tangible sign of this unity in the cities and institutions which took part. This year the 1st May event will be launched from Loppiano and it will be preceded by the international meeting for Youth for a United World. Program of Youth for a United World Meeting (29 – 30 April) 2 days dedicated to meetings, reflections, learning, assimilating, envisaging a new world where peace is the universal law 800 young people from around the world who are part of Youth for a United World; 3 workshops dedicated to welcoming and integration, social commitment, peace expressed through art; 4 forums focussed on: Peace and religious traditions; Economics and Politics; Education to Peace; Peace and Nature. 1st May Program 10.00 am – 3.15 pm – Welcome and start of program Workshop: Peace and … Religion – Economy – Politics – Art – Education – Nature 3.30 – 4.30 pm – Many pulse beats in the one world: Stories of Peace 4.45 pm – Explosion of peace: music4peace Information and bookings: www.primomaggioloppiano.it FB primomaggioloppiano
15 Feb 2017 | Non categorizzato
The meeting aims to be a voyage of discovery whereby ideas are explored for changing the course of history. In their quest to be a node in the worldwide network, Youth for a United World are committed to working alongside other associations and groups. The actions of YFUW, referred to as “fragments of fraternity”, are collected up in the United World Project, which since 2012 has been connecting up people from all latitudes who have chosen universal brotherhood as a way of life. The program of the meeting which precedes United World Week (1-10 May 2017) which will kickstart with the 1st May event 2 days dedicated to meetings, reflections, learning, assimilating, envisaging a new world where peace is the universal law 800 young people from around the world who are part of Youth for a United World; 3 workshops dedicated to welcoming and integration, social commitment, peace expressed through art; 4 forums focussed on: Peace and religious traditions; Economics and Politics; Education to Peace; Peace and Nature. 29 April 3.00 pm – Welcome: Peace in the world 5.00 – Peace in our cities and nations 6.45 – Group meetings 9.15 – Evening program 30 April 9.15 am – Peace within us 10.45 – Dialogue 12.30 – Prayer 3.00 pm – Workshop and forum 6.45 – Group meetings 9.15 – Evening program Partner organisations: Sophia University Institute, “Non Dalla Guerra”, “Nuovi Orizzonti”, “Rondine”, Action for a United World, “Italia che cambia”, Economy of Communion, Living Peace, EcoOne, DanceLab, La Pira Centre (Florence), Moslem Youth, Assisi Group, “Barbiana”. More information: www.primomaggioloppiano.it – FB primomaggioloppiano Video clip: https://www.facebook.com/primomaggioloppiano/videos/1347355652005288/
15 Feb 2017 | Non categorizzato
Cittadelle, literally “citadels”, but translated here as “Little Towns,” are small-scale models of society, with sharing among generations, schools, offices, businesses and centers of art. But the first rule of these communities is mutual love among their members. They are cities on a hill, cities of the future, ideal cities – only that they’re real. When you visit them you see concrete and tangible examples of a society healed of rivalry, competition, war, lawlessness and hatred. They are living incarnations of the ideal of a united world, “luminous examples suspended in time” of human communities that look towards a future of peace. Utopian? It wouldn’t seem so, walking the corridors of the Focolare’s international center in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, where a hundred young people and adults from little cities around the world got together over the week of February 12th. It was the first international gathering of these model cities. 
Each has its own story, its own personality that was shaped by the culture and social context in which it grew, with its own number of members, challenges and developments. For example, the Focolare Moviment‘s little town in Thailand is called “Golden Rule” because of a law that is found in every culture and religious tradition: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But they all share in common the same inspirational spark, the same strand of DNA that makes them all places of witness, in which it is possible to experience what the world would be like if everyone lived the Gospel, places where God’s invisible presence seems to become visible to human eyes. The presentations were like a trip around the world: from “El Diamante” in Mexico to Tagytay in the Philippines; from Fontem in Cameroon to Curryhills in Ireland; from Ottmaring in Germany to “Faro“ in Croatia; from Hyde Park in the United States to Loppiano in Italy. Together they form a network across the map. Participants from around the world discussed common issues such as governance, organization, economic sustainability, relationship with the local environment and future plans. One emerging feature is the growing connection with the local environment, both on the professional level (such as the Preset-Participation Project, the Resilience and Employability through Sustainablity Project, and the Entrepreneurship and Training Project at the permanent Mariapolis in Argentina) and on the human and spiritual level through ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. Young people make important contributions, such as in the innovative management system at Marienkron, Holland 
Clara Zonlini and Vit Valtr, who coordinate the Focolare’s permanent Mariapolises around the world, underscored at the close of the week: “A key element for bringing these little cities ahead is an extended form of responsibility. . . . There aren’t any cliques: Each one is complete in itself, with its own identity. And even if some of them don’t have certain elements like schools or businesses, what really matters is the presence of Jesus among the members.” What are the future prospects after such and intense and fruitful week together? Clara and Vit: “To return to the original identity of the Mariapolis (city of Mary), to give that specific witness, which is the witness to the whole Work of Mary,” taking part in ecumenical dialogue, interreligious dialogue, and dialogue with every person of goodwill within each local context. “There was also unanimity in the desire to be connected: each little city in sync with the respective Focolare region. These days together have shown the importance of reciprocity and how the experience of one can be of help to the other, often giving important insights into solutions to a possible problem.” So, it’s not a utopia; the place exists. Indeed, at least twenty-five places exist.
