The Awards Ceremony for the National Competition for Schools “One city is not enough. Chiara Lubich, citizen of the world”, took place on Friday 17th May, 2024, in the Auditorium of the International Centre of the Focolare Movement (Rocca di Papa – Rome). It was organized by the , Chiara Lubich Centre, New Humanity, Foundation Museo Storico del Trentino, and with the support of the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit.
The Competition took place for the 4th time. It was open to all Italian schools, nationally and abroad and once again provided an opportunity for many primary and secondary school students to reflect on pressing themes such as peace and the sustainability of humanity and the environment. These themes were aligned with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and inspired by the thoughts and testimony of Chiara Lubich, Founder of the Focolare Movement and advocate for a culture of unity and fraternity among peoples.
About 330 students from 14 schools across Italy including the major islands, participated. They presented 21 diverse projects, which the students carefully planned and executed processes with the support of their teachers.
The award ceremony, included both in-person and online participation from the winning schools and those receiving commendations, was a moment of sharing and exchange. It highlighted not only the creativity of the students but also their strong focus on the contest’s themes The new generations, often overlooked, demonstrated their ability to observe, reflect and envision a better future and world, proposing viable paths to achieve it.
The VIPS who attended and those who presented the prizes to the winning schools, included Dr. Luca Tucci, Director of Office III (Area of Bio-Psycho-Social Well-being, Transversal Education and Legality) of the General Directorate Student Affairs, Inclusion and School Orientation at the Ministry of Education and Merit (MIM); Dr. Fabrizio Bagnarini, Director of Office III (Area of Bio-Psycho-Social Well-being, Transversal Education and Legality) of the General Directorate Student Affairs, Inclusion and School Orientation at the Ministry of Education and Merit (MIM); Dr. Giuseppe Ferrandi, Director of the Historical Museum Foundation of Trent; Prof. Maurizio Gentilini, historian and researcher at the NRC (National Research Centre); and Dr. Marco Desalvo, President of New Humanity.
In his online greeting before the awards ceremony began, Dr. Tucci reaffirmed the Ministry’s support for this initiative, stating: “Promoting certain values through raising awareness among young people and students is fundamental not only for their growth but for our society as a whole.”
In the Primary School category, first place was awarded to Class 4^ C of the I.C. 2nd Circle “Garibaldi” A. Moro School in Altamura (Bari) for their poetic work “The country of Fraternity”, which creatively expressed key concepts of Chiara Lubich’s philosophy and offered a hopeful vision for the future of the world.
In the Lower Secondary School category, second place went to Class 1^ C of the I.C. “San Nilo” I. Croce School in Grottaferrata (Rome) for their innovative news program “Let’s Build Peace! Peace TV News” a project that showcased the class’s concrete experience and daily commitment to peace. First place was awarded to Class 3^ D of the I.C. “Filippo Mazzei” in Poggio a Caiano (Prato) for their project which was a game, “Origami for the environment”, an activity that transcended play to become a tool for reflection and concrete action in favour of the environment.
In the Upper Secondary School category, second place was a tie between Classes 2^ and 3^ C of the A. Doria Classical High School in Genoa for their digital project “The common home”, which proposed a reflection-based educational path on the aforementioned themes and Estelle Le Dauphin from Class 5^ I of the I.I.S. A. Bafile High School in L’Aquila for her textual work “Love that enlarges heart and arms” a reflection on Chiara Lubich’s philosophy focused on the concept of gift, also inspired by French anthropologist and sociologist Marcel Mauss.
First prize in this category went to the photographic project “Horizons” , ” by Giulia Bilardello, Sara Marino and Chiara Parrinello from Class 3^ G of the P. Ruggeri Scientific High School in Marsala (Trapani). Their work conveyed a message of peace and the hope for a horizon where sea and sky unite, symbolizing collaboration to build a more fraternal world.
The risen Jesus opened a way for us, but now the Resurrection happens every time I rise up in myself, overcoming my selfishness. This “coming to consciousness,” which is charity put into action, is changing my life little by little. I hear this not only from my husband, but it is something that my children, my friends, also notice. Driven to learn more, I read the lives of saints I previously avoided, and I find confirmation of this secret that is key to a true life. One evening our son came home lightheaded, almost absent-minded. He did not respond to questions. At night he was sick. He had used some hard drugs. Being perhaps one of the first times, the reaction was strong. In the following days I tried to get past all the questions in me, the search for culprits, to investigate his friendships. At some point, however, I was “resurrected” to be only love to him. One afternoon I was sitting beside him without saying anything. In that full silence he said to me, “Thank you, Mom, for how you welcome me. If I am a father someday, I want to be a parent like you, with a heart that has no horizons.”.
(M.S. – Netherlands)
Where there is no love…
In the post office where I usually go to pick up my mail or for other reasons, until recently I often found some employees nervous and rude to me, and most of all the manager, who one day even started yelling about my being late to pick up a certain amount. I, however, being guided by the phrase of St. John of the Cross, “Where there is no love, put love and you will find love,” endured, continuing to greet everyone with kindness. With this way of doing things out of love for Jesus, little by little I was able to establish more humane relationships in that office. A confirmation of this was when, having suggested to one of the employees a ticket for a charity raffle, the other colleagues also became interested and wanted one, including the janitor. Even the manager came to get a ticket, indeed shortly afterwards he asked me for another one. To which I said, “I hope at least one prize goes to one of you.” He said, “Who cares? Even if we don’t win, we did something good together!”.
(M.F. – Italy)
An opportunity to love
About 15 years ago, I was volunteering at a Diocesan Caritas listening center. One day a young woman came to visit us, and she asked me if I could put her in touch with a gynecologist because she wanted to have an abortion; she had no financial possibility to bear the expenses of growing the new life in her. At that moment I felt a pinch in my heart, but also the great opportunity to love that young mother and her baby. I told her about the wonderful gift that is life and that financial difficulties should not be an obstacle, that we were there to help her. The young woman was moved and told me that she wished to be helped. Some time later the young mother came to greet me; she was with a wonderful newborn in her arms. She told me with a big smile, “This is my baby and I wished to introduce her to you! Thank you for listening and helping me that day. Thank you from her too!” I was deeply moved and grateful to God, grateful for that very special encounter; grateful for giving me the opportunity to love.
(M.M- Italy)
Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta (taken from The Gospel of the Day, Città Nuova, year X- no.1 May-June 2024)
Those who love participate in the life of God and experience their freedom and the joy of self-giving. Going out of ourselves and meeting the other through listening opens the door to communion with our brothers and sisters and gives life to reciprocity.In prison I am a prison chaplain and for me each prisoner is ‘Christ-imprisoned’ to be loved. During Lent, to prepare them for Easter, I thought of reading some Gospel passages to them, accompanied by experiences. Noticing a certain interest, I thought of introducing them to some young people involved in a church movement. Having obtained the necessary permits, before even setting foot in the prison for the first time, we prayed that our being there would be a gift for the inmates. We did not talk much. But after celebrating Mass, enlivened by the young people’s songs, I saw hardened men begin to cry and heard them say: ‘Clean, innocent faces still exist!’ Evidently they had never met any before. Since then those young people have been coming once a month to the prison to animate the mass, which is always eagerly awaited. And when an inmate was transferred to another prison to be closer to his family, he had only one regret: losing contact with them. (Don Marco – Italy) In true communion One day I had a phone call from a fellow student at the academy where I studied whom I had not heard from for some time. She wanted to know how I was, among other things about the children and in particular the latest one. Evidently the news had not reached her that the pregnancy had not come to term. At that point I started telling her how things had gone, but at the same time I felt I was communicating to her the most intimate experience of that painful event: the special union with God that I experienced thanks to the support and concrete love of family and friends. As I spoke, I could sense that my friend was really listening, and it occurred to me that in those days when we studied together we had never dared to speak of God to one another. So it came as a great surprise at the end of the phone call when she confided to me: ‘You know, deep down I have always been a believer even if I didn’t want to admit it, but now hearing you speak so serenely I feel a great desire to get to know God more deeply. Why don’t we meet to talk about it?’. (J.V. – Belgium)
Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta
(taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year X- no.1 May-June 2024)
May 1st to 7th: the return of the United World Week, a global workshop and expo of initiatives to restore peace and fraternity between people and peoples. The United World Week (UWW) returns from the 1st to the 7th of May 2024. This year it focuses its global commitment on peace, sought and built from multiple fronts: attention to the poorest and the excluded, care for the environment, formation of consciences and education towards peace. This year’s motto is “Embrace Humanity, Spark Change”; a starting point and inspiration for many initiatives taking place in various cities around the world. UWW 2024, a worldwide Genfest The UWW will start with an international opening event on the 1st of May in Loppiano (Florence-Italy), but from the outset, other cities around the world will also be involved and will continue until the 7th of May being types of “workshops” in creating synergies, sharing ideas, good practices and creativity. The UWW 2024 takes place two months prior to the Genfest, the worldwide Festival of fraternity promoted by the young people of the Focolare Movement. The Genfest will take place in July at Aparecida, Brazil and it will showcase the “local” commitment of many Focolare communities. Networking with Organisations, Movements and Institutions, the Focolare communities are engaged in local contexts to respond to the most urgent needs and challenges of a given area. The “change” that the young people of the Focolare Movement, together with their communities, want to promote is concentrated in the areas of the world that are most devastated by war, by the environmental impact and by forced migration. Who are the protagonists of the UWWThe protagonists are the young people from all over the world: there is Giacomo, Italian, who left for Kenya thanks to the MilONGa international volunteering project, where he worked in orphanages in Nairobi. Or Daphne, from India, who recounts the adventure of Reach Out, the project set up in Goregaon, a suburb of East Mumbai, by some local young people to support about 70 families in poverty. Icaro, Sam and David, on the other hand, live in Brazil, in Fortaleza, where they are volunteering in the “Uirapuru Spiritual Condominium” (CEU), a campus where 21 associations work to care for needy children, people with AIDS and drug addicts. 1st of May, the opening of the UWW These and other stories will be presented during the opening of the UWW from Loppiano with an international event that will be streamed live and translated into 5 languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English and French). It can be followed on the UWP Youtube channel or by connecting to the UWP website (unitedworldproject.org). On this occasion, the International little town of the Focolare will host three villages, each with a different theme: inner peace, peace with others, peace in the world. In these spaces, participants will be able to attend many workshops to explore the theme of peace (Economy of Peace, There is no dialogue without listening, Conflicts in our cities, Water, a source of peace?, The Living Peace International project, Peace and art: harmony between different peoples, etc.). The common thread that will ideally unite their itinerary is the discovery of the art of dialogue. If you go to the UWP website, you can also follow some of the other events and stories of the UWW, such as Peace Got Talent which will take place on the 4th of May. There is also Run4Unity, the relay race for peace and unity, promoted by thousands of teenagers all over the world (the adults are running too!). Run4Unity will be held on the 5th of May: wherever possible, the sport events will be held in places that are symbols of peace, on the border between countries or communities in conflict, or at least in places that “speak” of inclusion.
On 13 April, the CERAP University Institute in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, hosted a symposium on the Economy of Communion entitled: ‘The gift revolution: a new paradigm for the African economy’. On April 13, 2024, the Cerap University Institute in Ivory Coast hosted a vibrant symposium focused on the Economy of Communion (EoC). Attended by 146 participants, primarily from the esteemed Economic Faculty of this University, the event provided a platform for stimulating discussions and fresh insights into alternative economic models. Against the backdrop of today’s prevailing economic norms, marked by a culture of consumption rather than contribution, attendees eagerly engaged with presentations from distinguished speakers. Father Bertin Dadier and Madame Julie Bodou Kone took center stage, illuminating the transformative potential of the EoC as a complementary force within our existing market framework. Their presentations delved into the foundational principles and values that underpin the EoC, fostering a deeper understanding among participants. Despite initial skepticism, robust exchanges ensued, with attendees seeking to unravel the practical implications of this innovative approach. One of the highlights of the symposium was the unveiling of the Chocomabs EoC enterprise, offering a tangible example of how these principles can be translated into action. As attendees delved into the case study, a palpable sense of enthusiasm and curiosity permeated the room, underscoring the relevance of such initiatives in today’s society. Steve William Azeumo, coordinator of Action for the Economy of Communion in Central Africa, delivered a powerful presentation. Azeumo emphasised the crucial role of incubating EdC entrepreneurs, offering convincing examples from Cameroon to illustrate his point. He also stressed the importance of fostering and promoting such enterprises in society, symbolising their importance with the seven colours of the rainbow. Looking ahead, the momentum generated by the symposium is poised to catalyze tangible change. Plans are underway to establish an EoC Club at the university, providing a platform for ongoing exploration and collaboration among the EoC Commission, students, and faculty members. In essence, the EoC symposium at Cerap served as a catalyst for dialogue, challenging conventional thinking and laying the groundwork for a more inclusive and sustainable economic future. Source: EoC
The protagonists are the young people from all over the world: there is Giacomo, Italian, who left for Kenya thanks to the MilONGa international volunteering project, where he worked in orphanages in Nairobi. Or Daphne, from India, who recounts the adventure of Reach Out, the project set up in Goregaon, a suburb of East Mumbai, by some local young people to support about 70 families in poverty. Icaro, Sam and David, on the other hand, live in Brazil, in Fortaleza, where they are volunteering in the “Uirapuru Spiritual Condominium” (CEU), a campus where 21 associations work to care for needy children, people with AIDS and drug addicts. 1st of May, the opening of the UWW These and other stories will be presented during the opening of the UWW from Loppiano with an international event that will be streamed live and translated into 5 languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English and French). It can be followed on the 