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>Food and essential items given to the refugees<br /></em></p> <p>The clashes and resulting poor security have nearly emptied border towns and villages in north-eastern Nigeria, as people have fled to Niger. “Unlike previous waves of displaced people, those arriving today seem determined to stay longer in Niger,” said Yssouf Koné, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Diffa.</p>
<p><em>Protest against terrorism in Tunis</em></p> <p>An anti-terrorism protest has drawn large crowds in Tunis.</p> <p>Chanting “Free Tunisia, out with terrorism”, the rally took place under a heavy police presence.</p> <p>It comes shortly after Islamist militants linked to Al-Qaeda killed four soldiers on Wednesday. Both Nidaa Tunis and the Islamist party Ennahda called for supporters to join the march.</p>
<p><em>The account of a young communicator in face of the tragic events that struck the country</em></p> <p><strong></strong><strong>«The country is undergoing a very difficult period. </strong>In fact a police contingent sent to arrest some terrorist suspects, was attacked by the fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and 44 policemen were killed. The Parliament was just deliberating on the new peace treaty between the government and Muslims of Mindanao, with extensive grants in many fields.</p>
<p><em><span id="result_box" lang="it">The Vaccine Alliance on the path to immunise a further 300 million children and save up to 6 million more lives</span></em></p> <p>Hundreds of millions of children living in the world’s poorest countries will receive life-saving vaccines as a result of record-breaking financial commitments made on 17th January at the Gavi Pledging Conference, hosted in Berlin by German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel.</p>
<p><em>That was the theme of this year’s “Regenerate,” an annual event of the young people of the Focolare Movement from Ireland and Great Britain. Following recent events in Paris, dialogue has become a pressing challenge.</em></p> <p><strong></strong><strong>The group </strong>of 80 young Christians and Muslims. <strong>The topic: </strong>multiculturalism, religious diversity and dialogue. <strong>The question: </strong>Do you care? The format: to “Regenerate,” with two days at Hertfordshire, in a relaxed atmosphere where even burning issues were able to be discussed. The protagonists were young people from the Focolare Movement in Great Britain and Ireland and, this year, a group from the Islamic Unity Society with whom there has been growing friendship and mutual esteem, several projects, study sessions and planting peace trees.</p>
<p><em>A young couple took their plans for a traditional wedding and honeymoon and turned it in to a beautiful opportunity to give.</em></p> <p>"Shocked and frozen." Those are two words that Mark and Ismini Svensson say perfectly describe their families' reaction to their unique wedding plans.</p> <p>Instead of having a typical ceremony, complete with cake and family photos, the couple chose a different path: To celebrate their love by sharing good deeds across the country with people they'd never met.</p>
<p><em>"If a woman who wears a miniskirt is sending an invitation about what will happen to her, then we are also sending an invitation!”</em></p> <p>Men in Turkey and neighbouring Azerbaijan are spearheading a protest meme in honour of a woman who was murdered after an attempted rape.</p> <p>Twenty-year-old Ozgecan Aslan's burned body was found on Friday in a riverbed. She was last seen two days earlier on a minibus in Mersin.</p>
<p><em>A project that assists adoptive families, organised by the New Families Association, is implemented with support from the Banco di Napoli Foundation. The importance of supporting families during and after the adoption process.</em></p> <p><strong></strong><strong>All the documents are stamped and now the child is a son or a daughter in every respect,</strong> a child upon whom to to pour all that love, which adoptive parents always have plenty of. Years of waiting and ocean-crossings did not stop them. After a first fleeting encounter in which child and parent became acquainted and some brief stays at hotels abroad, they are finally home. It is a unique and exhilarating experience to witness the completion of an adoption, however, more than a completion, it is also the beginning of an uphill journey.</p>
<p><em>Fr Gariguez, executive secretary of CBCP-NASSA, said that 80 per cent of the work is done. The rest will be ready by the end of March. In all, 3,753 houses will be built. In addition to a roof, the Church will provide beneficiaries with the means to support themselves and their families. The aim is "integrated human development".</em></p> <p>Manila - The housing project planned by the Filipino Church for typhoon Yolanda survivors is "80 per cent completed," said Fr Edu Gariguez.</p> <p>Speaking to <em>Radio</em><em> Veritas</em>, the executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)'s National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice, and Peace (NASSA)/Caritas Philippines, added that he was confident the project would be completed by the end of March.</p>
Economy & Work
Thirty-five years ago a dream was born: the Economy of Communion. In late May Argentina will host an extraordinary celebration where people of all ages will come together to breathe new life into this project and write the future for a different kind of economy.
Lorna Gold, Executive Director of Laudato Si’ Movement, reflects on ten years of the encyclical, analysing how integral ecology is an essential path to global unity and tackling the climate crisis.
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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