Participation of young people is crucial for the future

David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, spoke on 7 May 2021 at the opening  of the International Forum “DareToCare”, the central event of United World Week 2021. 

The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, spoke to a group of young people at the opening of the International Forum “DareToCare-Osare prendersi cura” in Brussels, Belgium. “Caring is a beautiful concept – a beautiful image – it is the goal of politics. Politics can have no other goal than to care for people, to care for communities and to care for cities. I believe that this project is  a real sign of hope for the future.”

The young people who spoke to the President are following courses in international relations, politics, peace studies and  communication in Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Colombia, Hungary and Rwanda. Their questions to the President focused on issues such as democracy, Europe’s accession to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, reception, integration and humanitarian corridors and the climate crisis. “We know that politics can do many things,” Sassoli said, “but it certainly cannot achieve much without active citizens and, especially, young people. Therefore, at this very difficult time, if we want to think about and prepare for the challenges of the future, the participation of young people is decisive and important.”

The International Forum that opened in Brussels is part of the United World Week 2021, the event promoted in the first week of May by the Youth for a United World of the Focolare Movement. Each year, a continent is chosen to host and prepare the central event. This time it was Europe’s turn. And Brussels, capital of the European Union, is at the heart of the events broadcast via the web.

The Forum began at the Atomium, the monument which is the symbol of Brussels and was erected for the Universal Exhibition held in the Belgian capital in 1958. Prophetically, the theme of that Expo was ‘For a more humane world’. It was here, at the heart of Europe, the young promoters of the “DareToCare” campaign spoke of  their commitment to ensure that in the world there is more care, more inclusion and more fraternity.  They also launched their appeal for a world that respects the dignity of all human beings and respects the identity of each people and community.

Rita, Febe and Johnny, young people of different ethnicities from Belgium and Luxemburg presented a brief history of the development of the “DaretoCare” campaign since its launch in June 2020:  this included testimonies and details of various actions and initiatives that have taken place in all five continents. Burundi, El Salvador, Myanmar, Italy and Colombia featured in this virtual tour of the world:  in these places, people have found the most diverse ways to care for their communities and countries, to live out political commitment and active citizenship.

Then, the young people of Porto, Portugal, involved in the “Daretocare” campaign were able to inform European leaders, gathered in their city for a Social Summit, about the “Appeal to Care”. The text includes the following: “On behalf of all those involved in the #daretocare campaign, we ask EU leaders gathered in our country this weekend – and leaders from around the world – to answer our call and ‘dare to care’. […] To strengthen social rights across Europe, […] that the Conference on the Future of Europe should have the goal of  uniting the peoples of Europe, putting care at the heart of this European project and ensuring that the Covid-19 vaccine becomes a vaccine for all, a global common good shared by all across all borders.”

Tamara Pastorelli

For further information: www.unitedworldproject.org/uww2021