Argentina: International Youth Camp

500 teenagers from every continent will attend the events at Mariapolis Lia, a Focolare town in the state of Buenos Aires, Argentina. But they are only a small portion of the workshop which will be followed by  members of the Youth for Unity worldwide.

A Facebook page has been documenting the preparation stages of the event: “There is a global mobilization underway, with those of us who have been preparing since July 14-21 at Mariapolis Lia; others who have been awaiting and preparing events to welcome the teens to their cities; and still others who have been organising projects at local levels. They are all like small workshops of a worldwide construction site for the building of universal brotherhood and becoming citizens of the world! Even the preparatory activities have turned out to be opportunities to interact and share with many people – civil authorities, public institutions, associations, friends, the local Church and community – the most beautiful gift we have received: our ideal of a United World.”

Why has the camp been given this name? Chiara Lubich explains it in something she wrote to some young people in 1970: “The man of tomorrow will be a man of unity, a citizen of the world. He will be capable of both welcoming in his heart the treasures that the peoples of other lands have to offer and of giving his treasures to all of them. The man of tomorrow will be a man of unity, a world-man.”

Newsflashes from around the world.Paraguay: “We are getting ready to welcome the teens from Ireland. In the photo you can see me telling Radio Caritas listeners about the activities that will take place during the second week of the camp. We will go to three cities: Asuncion-Lambare, Capiata and Caazapa, which is 230 Km from the capital.” Austria: “Five of us will be attending and, in the second part of the camp, we will move to Bolivia to the Rincon de Luz Social Assistance Centre. Teens from Switzerland will go to Bolivia as well.”   

“In Salta, Argentina, we’ve been getting ready for some time to welcome the teens from Italy. We are working with public institutions, the local Church and youth organisations to finalize the “Let’s Colour Our Cities” projects that will be taking place. The most worrisome gray areas that have been identified are injustice, corruption, the gap between those who have and those who have nothing. . . Then there is the problem of drugs and the growing violence that has become natural among teens like us. The second stage activities will be held in three communities: Tartagal, General Mosconi and Yacuy. There is an obvious lack of material wealth in these regions, but there is certainly great cultural wealth, as well as a strong desire to build a more united world. There will be many opportunities to deepen our friendship with groups of teens from these communities! These areas are populated by Argentina’s indigenous peoples: the Wichi and Guarani.”  

On July 19^th a “SPECIAL DAY” will be held at Mariapolis Lia during which the young people will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Youth for Unity Movement. There will be a live streaming of the event at 15:00 GMT (11:00 local time).