What’on. EoF life

(featured on the IV Global Gathering and new stories)

Due to time constraints, it was impossible to report and explore all the initiatives of the EoF generation around the world, during the Oct the 6th Global streaming. Those we have been able to mention are just a few examples of the fruitful actions taken in different places and backgrounds.

We here want to report the main narrated local initiatives and next, some other valuable pieces of life, that were missed out during the event:

The Latin American Congress of the Social Doctrine of the Church in Bogotà, Colombia;
The Forum in Casamance, Senegal involving young people from Mauritanie, du Cap-Vert & de la Guinée Bissau on the theme: Ecological Economy for Lasting Peace in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Last May, the Mexico State Hub organized an event with 300 young people gathered at La Salle University in addition to many other initiatives with the Imdosoc Institute.
International Festivals include the Ecumenical one in Romania; the YouTopic Fest promoted by Rondine Cittadella della Pace; Economia para disminuir inegualdades, in Colombia and the Biblical Festival in Italy, with over 200 middle and high school students. And also sustainability fairs such as «Fa’ la cosa giusta» in collaboration with Economy of Communion and the Village for the Earth, both in Italy, or international retreats, such as the one promoted by Uniapac at the European level and the Spazio Spadoni Convention for the reEvolution of Works of Mercy
Spaces of fraternity where reflection and action revolve around inclusion, peripheries, and the fight against hunger that can also be mentioned are: the recent Pacto Nacional pelo Combate às Desigualdades in Brasilia and the many initiatives of the Houses of Francis in Turin and in different cities in Brazil with the involvement of disadvantaged people and representatives of the Campana de Fraternidade.
As to the African continent, last August’s Amboseli Mission engaged entrepreneurs, researchers, and educators in a special 10-day mission to Kenya’s Maasai community, which consisted of training sessions on nutrition, health, and entrepreneurship. Africa has hosted several other initiatives this past year in Zambia, Mozambique and the Ivory Coast. In this country, a group of young people, once back from the Assisi 2022 event, lived for a few weeks with vulnerable communities reaching about 200 people including differently abled, orphans, widows, and frail old people: “Parmi les nombreuses leçons recueillies, nous avons réalisé que les pauvres n’étaient plus des personnes considérées comme éloignées de nous, mais qu’ils faisaient partie de nous – they told us- Nous avions besoin de les toucher et de les sentir proches. In Burkina Faso we could see, instead, how partnering with government agencies has facilitated working with youth in a new economy and a couple of sentinels from this country showed us the beautiful fruits they’re harvesting, despite the current fragile political situation. Paths of entrepreneurial promotion for economic growth and sustainable work are the focus of activities in Uganda as well as other virtuous experiences are recorded in Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Botswana, Mali, and Ghana.
In Lebanon, the Economy of Francesco has been included in a Christian formation program.
EoF is also spreading in Asia: particularly in Taiwan, where there is a collaboration standing with the ESG Foundation for Global Citizenship Digital Governance.
In Bangladesh and the Emirates we report an active community of young people at work, especially entrepreneurs. Many of them have gathered to follow us to the 25th Hour event with special local programs and we greet them with love and lots of gratitude!
Central and Eastern Europe are also very lively: EoF’s presence is being strengthened in Germany, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, countries that mainly focus on the training of younger people, and Hungary, which is hosting a brand new Hub, in collaboration with Pulsatio Meridiana Noon Bell, a regenerative economy platform, and again in, where EoF even participated last June in the Dialogue on Soil Health organized at the Polish Parliament.
Innovative business models are at the center of Spanish initiatives, in Madrid, but also in Catalonia and the Basque Countries where there is a dialogue with the cooperative world, and finally in the U.S., where the youth agenda privileges experiences of ethical financial investment.
In almost all of Central and South American areas -Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, Paraguay, Chile- there is a lively dialogue with important actors such as, for example, Sistema B, Caritas, Uniapac, and communication agencies such as Ecocatolica-among others, and Mexico and Cuba where several entrepreneurial training pathways are developed. A crossroad linking the entire area from the Caribbean to Chile are the activities of the Latam Network, engaged in business and interreligious dialogue by collaborating with CELAM, Creas, and other academic and civil society entities. The EoF Latam Network has celebrated its Third Congress just at the beginning of October, and Colombia, the host country has already passed the baton to Mexico which will host the next edition, as the young people have already given us a taste during the live connection.
Argentina has seen a proliferation of initiatives the past few months and we could listen to a couple of Hub representatives talking about the 3 beautiful projects going on in the country: «Economía de triple impacto», linked to Work & Care and Business in Transition villages, “Conectando para Educar” linked to CO2 of inequality, “Puente hacia el Futuro” in cooperation with UCA, Buenos Aires and we also got updates from the great “100 Asís” project.
Some Portuguese young people did an EoF event during the WYD this summer, in collaboration with the Universidade Catolica de Lisboa, welcoming many people «home» in Portugal and telling that participating in WYD has represented “one small step for oneself, one giant leap for EoF”

All these meetings and opportunities have come about through synergies: first among the youth themselves, then with many other partners, like Laudato Sii Action Platform and Laudato Sì Movement, among others.

[…] Training is a key element on EoF’s agenda. From last March to the present, “EoF…IN THE CLASSROOM” is available on our website: a two-step educational kit for schools and informal groups. Mentioning the educational projects, we also point out the collaboration with the University of Monterrey and the Yunus Innovation Pathway Center working together around youth labor inclusion and enriching Mexico with even more initiatives.

In addition to our annual international Summer School, others are also being locally organized. The one in Split entitled Environmental and Social Crisis: New Economy in collaboration with the Catholic University of Croatia, the Angelicum in Rome and the Docat Center Split, has recently ended. Next February in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, a group of young Brazilians is proposing ECOnomie and the Global South, a summer school in collaboration with the Franciscan School of Theology and Spirituality, while Mexico will also host a summer school in the summer of 2024 at Imdosoc and the Ibero American University. Don’t miss further updates on this! Finally, we also want to remind you of EoF’s participation in the Certificate of Advanced Studies entitled Integral Economics. Incorporating Sustainability, Ethics & Faith, inaugurated in Einsiedeln a few weeks ago and still ongoing, sponsored by the University of Fribourg and SUPSI.

A thought and message of gratitude and encouragement goes out to all the young people and all the entities that we could not mention directly on 6 oct Global Gathering but that we know are working hard to make EoF an increasingly strong and impactful reality.

THANK YOU to each and every one of you!

Last, in this WHATS’ON column we want to remind all new young people interested in EoF, to fill out the form «BE PART OF IT,» available on the homepage and also participate in the proposed activities and promote new initiatives, which will then be available on our «LIVING EoF«, where is possible to find events, local activities and insights, from around the world.