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 Holy Father will meet twice the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, hold an ecumenical meeting in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, and sign a joint declaration.</em></p> <p><strong>Pope Francis will pray side-by-side</strong> with Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew in Jerusalem in a powerful sign of Christian unity during his May visit to Holy Land, the Vatican said on Thursday.</p> <p><strong>The prayer will take place</strong> in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the spots widely believed to be the sites of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
<p><em>The Holy Father will meet twice the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, hold an ecumenical meeting in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, and sign a joint declaration.</em></p> <p><strong>Pope Francis will pray side-by-side</strong> with Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew in Jerusalem in a powerful sign of Christian unity during his May visit to Holy Land, the Vatican said on Thursday.</p> <p><strong>The prayer will take place</strong> in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the spots widely believed to be the sites of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
<p><em>It is the village of Pyla with more than 1,400 Greek and Turkish residents and the only place on the island where the two live together. Pyla is seen as a symbol of unity.</em></p> <p><strong>It is 40 years since the buffer zone</strong> was established by the United Nations between the Greek and Turkish communities on the island of Cyprus.</p> <p><strong>Much of what is there – like the airport</strong> has been trapped in time as peace initiatives over the four decades have come and gone, evidence of the deep split on the Mediterranean island.</p> <p><strong>It is an area seen only by UN</strong> peacekeepers who have not witnessed a serious incident since 1996. Over the years some corridors have been opened but border controls remain.
<p><em>From assistance at the food pantry to friendship: an important step</em></p> <p><strong>"I volunteer at an emergency food pantry.</strong> Besides distributing food, the sisters there also help people who are about to be evicted from their homes, as well as new immigrants.</p> <p><strong>One day, while I was working in the pantry,</strong> a sister asked if I could drive a woman and her children to their new apartment. I wasn’t familiar with the area and am horrible with directions, so I asked if someone else could do it. She just smiled and pulled me to the other side of the building.
<p><em>From 25th April to 5th May 2014 “Sharing with Africa Madagascar”, the worksite on reciprocity and integral part of the United World Project based on the spirit of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu" target="_blank">"Ubuntu"</a></em></p> <p><strong>From 25th April to 5th May 2014</strong> we will be having the worksite on reciprocity “Sharing with Africa Madagascar”, an integral part of the United World Project – a global project that aims at highlighting and spreading a culture of brotherhood among all.</p> <p><strong>The United World Project was first launched during</strong> the Genfest (Budapest, 1st September 2012) along with the slogan “Let’s Bridge”. From there we moved to the Middle East for the second important step entitled “Be the Bridge”. This event was held last May in the Holy Land, coinciding with 2013 United World Week reaching its climax during a worldwide link-up from Jerusalem.</p>
<p><em>Thursday urged his 1.2 billion strong Cathlic flock to outwardly show the inner joy stemming from their religious faith.</em></p> <p><strong>"I cannot imagine a Christian who does not</strong> know how to smile. May we joyfully witness to our faith," Francis wrote in a Tweet. Over nine million people follow the the Argentinian pontiff's messages on the microblogging website Twitter, which are published in nine languages.</p> <p><strong>During a visit to the Umbrian hilltown</strong> of Assisi last October Francis told enclosed nuns there not to be "joyless".
<p><em>Parliament chairman signed election decree.</em></p> <p><strong>Presidential elections will take place</strong> in Macedonia on April 13. The parliament chairman Trajiko Veljanoski signed today the election decree. It will be the fifth presidential election since Macedonia became independent in 1991, after the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.</p> <p><strong>Under the constitution, the current head of state</strong> Gjorgje Ivanov, who belongs to governing conservative party VMRO-DPMNE, has the right to run for another term of five years. None of Macedonia's political parties has so far indicated their candidate.
<p><em>Aproagro: three pilot companies thrive thanks to the resolve of the poorest community in Brazil</em></p> <p><strong>Today’s Brazil presents itself on the international scene</strong> with a growing awareness of its political, economic and cultural clout. However, it still suffers from many social wounds inflicted by the huge inequalities in the way the country’s immense wealth is distributed.<br />It was from this land, and more precisely from a community - which took its name from a former slave who had rebelled like the Spartacus of old - that an initiative was begun: one that marks a quantum leap for the EoC. This is an experience born “from the ground up,” with hardy roots deeply planted in the community and characterized by tenacity and resoluteness.</p>
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Every year, from May 1st to 7th, the United World Project support, together with the Focolare Movement and Youth for a United World (Y4UW), the United World Week, a global action where many people promote events and initiatives worldwide to foster dialogue, unity, and peace.
Here’s the key: knowing that we do not know. No one possesses the absolute Truth, and by engaging in dialogue with everyone we can grasp aspects or fragments of truth that help us reassemble a shattered vase that we can restore only if we are “together”.
Anna Granata, professor at the University of Milano-Bicocca, reminds us that teaching peace is not an abstract utopia. It is something that happens every day in Italian classrooms among children with diverse stories, languages, and backgrounds.
Celebrated Marvel and DC artist Gabriele Dell’Otto invites us to consider the people who are working to build peace as the real superheroes of our world. A profound discussion on responsibility, citizenship, and the challenge of doing the extraordinary in our everyday lives.