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>Tales of survival, amid the devastation in Tacloban</em></p> <p><strong>Amid the devastation in Tacloban</strong>, tales of survival, resilience and generosity towards others are emerging daily.One concerns a small girl called Aisha.</p> <p><strong>She lost all her family when the super</strong> typhoon struck. She has now been taken in by Rodulfo Fernandez who himself has lost five relatives.</p> <p><strong>“Her whole family was wiped out,”</strong> explained Rodulfo. “The wind was so strong that many were blown out to the sea. Aisha clung on to something for hours, maybe it was a tree, and survived that way. I don’t actually know how she managed to do it. It is hard to believe.”</p> <p><strong>Despite his own loss, Rodulfo said he felt obliged</strong> to care for the traumatised Aisha whom he has renamed Christa in the hope that eventually she will be able to view her nightmare as a new beginning. In the meantime, what is left of his own family is taking one day at a time.</p>
<p><em>Campaign for Peace in the Great Lakes set to begin in December.</em></p> <p> </p> <p style="display: inline !important;"><strong>Catholic and Anglican bishops in the Congo</strong> have come together in a joint campaign meant to promote unity in this nation that has been up until recently ravaged by violence from an armed rebel group.</p> <p style="display: inline !important;"> </p> <p style="display: inline !important;"> </p> <p style="display: inline !important;"><strong>The Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa</strong> (ACEAC) brings together the Catholic Bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda and the Association of Anglican bishops. The joint initiative will be titled "Peace in the Great Lakes."</p> <p><strong>Bishop Fridoin Ambongo of Bokungo</strong>, president of the Commission For Justice and Peace of the ACEAC, presented the campaign in Kinshasa. The Congolese prelate spoke about the recent defeat of the M23 rebel group, which terrorized the area of North Kivu.</p>
<p> </p> <p><em>Life-saving devices to be placed all around Bussolengo</em></p> <p><strong>Verona, November 12 -</strong> A mayor in northern Italy on Tuesday said she was donating her salary towards buying defibrillators for the town. "I truly believe in this initiative," said Mayor Maria Paola Boscaini. "It's worth foregoing my mayor's salary".</p> <p><strong>The goal is to put the medical devices</strong> in crowded parts Bussolengo, outside Verona, such as schools, gyms, sporting complexes and shopping centers, giving residents easy access in the event of a heart attack.
<p><em>International relief effort is under way, but rescue workers have struggled to reach some towns and villages cut off since the storm.</em></p> <p><strong>Officials estimate up to 10,000</strong> people have died in Tacloban city (Leyte Island, Philippines) and hundreds elsewhere. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced. The typhoon flattened homes, schools and an airport. It has since made landfall in northern Vietnam, near the Chinese border, where it has weakened to a tropical storm.<br />Supplies</p> <p><strong>Four million people have been affected</strong> in the Philippines, and many are now struggling to survive without food, shelter or clean drinking water.<br />A huge international relief effort is under way, but rescue workers have struggled to reach some towns and villages cut off since the storm.
<p> </p> <p><em>The Grand awa Family lives in one of the areas most affected by conflict</em></p> <p><strong>The Awa are an indigenous people who straddle</strong> the Ecuador-Colombia border but do not feel part of the modern societies on either side. That has not saved them suffering the consequences of the armed conflict that has battered Colombia for years. (…)</p> <p><strong>For the more than 4,000 Awa in Ecuador</strong> and some 40,000 in Colombia the border is non-existent. The ´Grand Awa Family´ is considered one territory, irrespective of internationally recognized borders. Unfortunately for the Awa people they live in one of the areas most affected by conflict. (…)
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #595959; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #515151; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 15px;">Region starts infrared plane, drone, sattelite controls on area</span></em></span></p> <p><strong>Naples, November 8</strong> - Air surveillance has been ordered over the southern Italian region of Campania to identify any anomalies and any environmental issues related to illegal waste-management practices that have in recent months hit international headlines.</p> <p><strong>The aerial oversight will use</strong> an ATR 42 MP aircraft bearing infrared vision systems, and aims to help authorities combat environmental crimes such as the illegal burning of rubbish in areas near the city of Naples, which have triggered the location in question to be renamed "Terra dei Fuochi" or "Land of the Fires".</p>
<p><em>First participation for GMU to the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum with 500 young people. Three days of work on the theme "Youth and Social Inclusion", whose recommendations will be presented to the General Conference in November. "Different, but so committed to solve the problems together.This really made us feel as one family."</em></p> <p><strong>For the first time, three delegates of Youth for a United World</strong> participated in the 8° UNESCO Youth Forum: three days of intense work at its headquarters in Paris from 29 to 31 October. Gathered around the theme " Youth and Social Inclusion: Civic Engagement, Dialogue and Development of Competences" , five hundred boys and girls around the world have debated on the main objectives of the draft strategy to the youth of the institution for the period 2014-2021.</p> <p><strong>Absolute protagonists</strong>, they have made recommendations for the member Countries of UNESCO which will presented during the session of the 37th General Conference which will be held in the coming weeks (5-20 of November, <em>ndr.</em>). The participants also worked together to choose fifteen projects to promote youth actions who have received the quality label "8th UNESCO Youth Forum" .
<p><em>The diplomatic speeches closing. The words of the President of the UNESCO General Conference Katalin Bogyay . The contribution that each one can give. The third and final part narrated by young people who partecipated.</em></p> <p>"On the third day strong was the impact on us of the speeches of diplomats closing of the Forum. It was very loud to hear them talk about concepts that are very close to our ideal: the world must live as one human family, to achieve peace we must open our hearts and love each other or it's the little concrete acts that constitute a better world.</p> <p><strong>"Resound even more the words of Katalin Bogyay</strong>, president of the General Conference of UNESCO, who attended the Genfest . She closed the Forum speaking to all of "Ubuntu", this African value that expresses the belief that ' I am because we are ' and that is the basis for Sharing with Africa, the next step of the United World Project. A great experience to know many young people who think themselves to their ideas and skills to be able to change the world.</p>
<p> </p> <p><em>From Egypt an act of fraternity: it's giving it's receiving. From the Facebook page of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Y4UW.JO?fref=ts" target="_blank">Youth for a United World - Jordan</a>.</em></p> <p><strong>"Two years ago, I worked at the British Embassy</strong> during summer period. I was trying to save as much money as possible in order to pay for my final year at university and not to be burden on my parents. After 4 months of hard work I managed to put aside a large sum of money which would cover all my final year expenses.</p> <p><strong>"One day I met a person I knew on the street</strong>. As soon as he saw me, he felt compelled to open up his heart and share with me all the difficulties he was facing. He had many debts and he did not know how to get out of the situation. The sum that he needed was exactly the same amount I was able to save in my bank account.
Dialogue & Interculture
United World Week
More than 170 events across dozens of countries brought United World Week 2026 to life through initiatives, meetings, and concrete actions dedicated to peace, fraternity, and the building of a more united world.
Dialogue & Interculture
Dialogue & Interculture
Economy & Work
Active Citizenship & Politics
After thirty years spent in some of the world's most challenging environments, Marcoluigi Corsi, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, reflects on child protection, hope and the humanity that endures even in the midst of war.
Active Citizenship & Politics
Stefano Zaffino, author of Fraternità e Profezia (Fraternity and Prophecy): The Thought of Igino Giordani in the Wake of the Encyclical Fratelli tutti, reflects on fraternity as a response to the conflicts and divisions of the contemporary world.
Economy & Work
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.
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