Stories from around the globe show how a united world is already in motion. This platform highlights experiences, initiatives, and projects from people and communities working for unity and peace. Explore what’s happening and get inspired.
<p><em>The speech by the Focolare Movement’s president, Maria Voce at the High-Level Thematic Debate on “Promoting Tolerance and Reconciliation”</em></p> <p><strong>To risk your own life so as to relieve the suffering of the poor</strong>. This was Maria Voce’s invitation as she spoke of the last terrible phase of the Second World War, when in 1943 “a group of young women got together in the small city of Trent in northern Italy. While their city was being bombed, those young people, who were guided by a young teacher named Chiara Lubich, and urged on by a new understanding of the radical nature of Gospel love, decided to risk their lives to relieve the suffering of the poor.”</p>
<p><em>Denying the fundamental right of seeking assistance is tantamount to denying democracy and dignity of the person</em></p> <p>“The Mediterranean must become a humanitarian channel”, said to MISNA Monsignor Giancarlo Perego, director of the Migrantes Foundation, after a migrant boat capsized over the weekend leaving hundreds feared dead off of Libya’s coasts. A first focus must be immediately ensuring adequate search and rescue efforts, not only from Italy, but a European coordination. Monsignor Perego stressed that the necessary funds are available and migrants rights to seek help must be guaranteed, at all costs, without “distinction”.</p>
<p><em>A live recount of the tragedy in Garissa, Kenya. Sharing pain, bringing relief to relatives of murdered students. Solidarity born of tragedy.</em></p> <p><strong></strong><strong>”The slaughter in Garissa took place on Good Friday.</strong> I went to the morgue where they were taking the bodies of the students for identification, not far from my home in Nairobi. I took my camera along. It was impossible not to hear the sirens. I found the parents of the murdered students fainting on one side. . . and on ther other my colleagues with news cameras. I could certainly have shot a few interviews, but I just couldn’t do it; I found myself weeping with the families.
<p><em>In Florence (Italy) a “Bed and Breakfast” accommodations project. One of the many initiatives launched by the worldwide New Families of the Focolare, to help those in need.</em></p> <p><strong>Cesar, an 18-year old from Ghana, was saved just when he was about to drown</strong>, after he had drunk water and fuel. On that journey, 72 people were saved while 32 died. <strong>Maria, a Nigerian and seven months pregnant, </strong><strong>had </strong>received a phone call from her father while she was out with her husband and little son. He told them not to return home because the church had been burnt and her mother killed. <strong>They escaped with the little they had, and arrived in Libya</strong>. They had money for the journey to Italy of just one person, and so only she left. Her husband and little son remained on the other side of the Mediterranean, waiting for another embarkment.</p>
<p><em>An appeal to respect the cease-fire seems to be the only way</em></p> <p>Foreign ministers from France, Ukraine, Germany and Russia have met in Berlin to try and preserve a fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.</p> <p>The Minsk peace deal was not only supposed to usher in a truce but it is also expected to provide a framework for a political solution.</p>
<p><em>We are all against terrorism and violence. We are all Bardo. We are all Charlie.</em></p> <p>“Tunisia is free! Terrorism out!”</p> <p>That was the message from tens of thousands in the capital where, amid tight security, citizens joined by world leaders have marched to denounce Islamist militants after the deadly Bardo Museum attack.</p>
<p><em>Abraham, a young Mexican boy, shares his pacific battle for a better country, amid the great inequalities that reign.</em></p> <p>«Hi, my name’s Abraham, and I come from Mexico: a population of noble and deeply religious people, with their arms spread out to the world.» These were his opening words to an audience of 300 young people in a hall of the Italian Parliament, who gathered to pay homage to Chiara Lubich and her prophetic vision of politics. Abraham has brought along his background in a country torn apart by narcotrafficking and the lords of death.
<p><em>Stone Flowers, a musical group comprised of war and torture survivors – it's releasing its new album Ngunda, proving that something beautiful can come out of unimaginable violence</em></p> <p>“Music is a way of surviving. Music is a way to be understood. Music is life.”</p> <p>These words come from the members of Stone Flowers, a music project that is both therapeutic and political, and which produces powerful, uplifting and beautiful music. The project has the rare quality of raising awareness on human rights abuses while having a positive, feel-good effect on participants and the audience.</p>
<p><em>In mid-March several Pacific islands were hit by the full force of Cyclone Pam (with winds reaching up to 250 km/h). We received news from a community present in this remote place, where an Action for a United World (AMU) project is currently underway.</em></p> <p>The main causeway connecting the capital and the port with the rest of the Island of Tarawa, the largest in the archipelago of Kiribati, situated in Oceania, has been destroyed. Seawalls have broken down and many of the traditional houses close to the water are gone. <strong>Cyclone Pam</strong>, one of the most violent cyclones registered in the South Pacific region, hit the island nations of<strong> Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Kiribati</strong>. Massive waves were whipped up by winds of 250/300 km per hour. The local Red Cross says there is a lack of emergency housing, food and drinking water for most of the 253,000 inhabitants and people living in the most affected areas are being evacuated.</p>
From Nairobi, at the heart of Africa—a continent of 54 rapidly growing nations, where people under 30 account for about 70% of the population—comes a comprehensive proposal for global engagement. It positions younger generations to lead transformative processes, guided by a humanistic, community-oriented vision grounded in reciprocity and shared responsibility.
Communication & Media
In a context where the media can easily be turned into weapons, peace journalism—rooted in the ideas of Johan Galtung—emerges as an essential practice. It does not overlook conflict; rather, it examines its underlying causes and highlights non-violent responses as a path toward building lasting "positive peace".
The story of the Med25 Bel Espoir’s journey around the Mediterranean between spring and autumn 2025. Among the stories shared is that of Carlos Palma, the founder of Living Peace, and Ikram, an ambassador for peace in Algeria.
Interview with Majdi Abdallah, a youth from Palestine travelling on the school ship of peace, Med25 Bel Espoir. An emotional story based on the dialogue in the Mediterranean, the relations and of hope born aboard.
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