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>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>
<p><em>"He wants to be able to buy him a house and make sure he has all the care he ever needs"</em></p> <p>Twins Jason and Aaron Clark have always known they are different but the same. While Jason is a high-achieving, sporty and confident 11-year-old, his twin Aaron has Down's Syndrome, delayed speech and deafness. But despite such differences, the brothers from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, have an unbreakable bond that knits them together.</p> <p>The boys' mum, Lynn Clark, said: "They have always been extremely close. They have a very unique and special bond. They aren’t just twin brothers, they are best of mates too. I’ve always told them they are very special and have different talents and skills that are unique to themselves. Jason is very protective over Aaron - who looks up to his twin in a big brotherly way." And now ever protective Jason has sold all his old toys and books to help his brother’s education.</p>
<p><em>"You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripples for change"</em></p> <p>Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook is joining the roster of the very rich who are giving away their wealth.</p> <p>Fortune magazine cited the head of the world's largest technology corporation as saying he planned to donate his estimated $785 million fortune to charity - after paying for his 10-year-old nephew's college education.</p>
<p><em>Direct link-up with a teacher in a refugee camp inn Kurdistan, Iraq. Promoting projects for an emergency that is ongoing.</em></p> <p><strong></strong><strong>“I live in Erbil, northern Iraq, where I began a school for Kurdish children in 2010,” </strong>says Malu Villafane, who born in the Philippines. For the past few years I have been working in a local sanctuary, organising activites and projects. Last August, the shrine was turned into a refugee camp. The cities of Sinjar and Mosul, along with adjacent villages like Qaraqush, Aaramlesh, Bartalla and others, had been invaded by ISIS. The inhabitants fled leaving everything behind, and they took refuge in Kurdistan, with us. There was a very heavy atmosphere in the camp, so much pessimism, children lost and abandoned. Together with the people in charge of the centre, we started up some activities for the teenagers and children, which also involved some of my colleagues from school.”</p>
<p><em>Interview with Congolese biologist Pierre Kabeza: «there are things we cannot understand or see clearly if not with eyes that have cried.» His commitment for his own people.</em></p> <p>The Democratic Republic of Congo: a big country with immense natural resources. A population of 72 million with hundreds of ethnic groups. The difficult relationships with the West, the war for the exploitation of minerals, the drama of a forgotten people.</p>
Dialogue & Interculture
New Humanity NGO presented the M.E.D.I.T.erraNEW project — co-financed by the Erasmus Plus Program — to the Youth Section of UNESCO in Paris.
Peace & Human Rights
Amid the rubble of Syria, art becomes an act of resistance. Discover the story of Aeham Ahmad, the “The Pianist of Yarmouk”, who defied the horror of war with the invincible beauty of his musical notes.
Operation Mato Grosso is working on over 100 missions across Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, all rooted in education, hard work, and solidarity. Jacopo Manara, who has been a volunteer for years, tells us their story.
An interview on communication with Michele Zanzucchi, journalist and writer, former director of Città Nuova, professor of communication at Sophia University Institute and at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and author of around forty books.
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