Nobel laureates, young people, international associations, and artists
on 10 June in St. Peter's Square for the #NotAlone World Meeting.
Pope Francis signs document on human fraternity with Nobel Laureates.
Worldwide on Vatican media, RAI1 and streaming,
conducted by Carlo Conti
CITTÀ DEL VATICANO, 5 GIU– Si terrà il prossimo 10 giugno alle 16 in Piazza San Pietro e, in contemporanea, in altre otto piazze del mondo, il Meeting Mondiale sulla Fraternità Umana, dal titolo “Not alone” (#notalone), che riunirà tantissime persone e giovani da tutto il mondo alla presenza di Papa Francesco, Premi Nobel, associazioni internazionali e artisti. Un’iniziativa, ispirata all’Enciclica Fratelli tutti, organizzata dalla Fondazione vaticana Fratelli tutti, in collaborazione con la Basilica di San Pietro, il Dicastero per il Servizio dello Sviluppo Umano Integrale e il Dicastero per la Comunicazione per promuovere la cultura della fraternità, del dialogo e della pace.
VATICAN CITY, 5 JUNE – The World Meeting on Human Fraternity, entitled “Not alone” (#notalone) will be held this coming 10 June at 16.00, in Saint Peter’s Square, and at the same time in another eight squares worldwide, bringing together many people, especially the young, from all over the world, in the presence of Pope Francis, Noble Laureates, international associations and artists. The initiative is inspired by the Encyclical Fratelli tutti, and organized by the Fratelli tutti Vatican Foundation, in collaboration with Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and the Dicastery for Communication, in order to promote the culture of fraternity, dialogue and peace.
The event, presented by Carlo Conti, will be transmitted live via the Vatican media (from 16.00), RAI1 (from 19 to 18.45) and will be livestreamed on the social platforms of the Fratelli tutti Foundation.
The day will feature personalities from science, culture, society and international associations, together with artists. A document calling for commitment to human fraternity will be drawn up, to be presented to Pope Francis in Saint Peter's Square and, with the Holy Father, to all the people in the world who wish to heed the call to build a society based on solidarity, justice and peace.
The artists present will include: Al Bano, Amara, Andrea Bocelli, Roberto Bolle, Giovanni Caccamo, Cristicchi, Hauser, Carly Paoli, Piccolo Coro dell’Antoniano, Mr. Rain, Amii Stewart e Paolo Vallesi.
The culminating moment will be the meeting, at 18.00, with Pope Francis, who will sign the document on Universal Human Fraternity, drafted in the morning by some 30 Nobel Prize winners, and address the world.
There will be eight connected squares: Congo (Brazzaville); Trapani (Mediterranea Saving Humans); Central African Republic (Bangui); Ethiopia; Argentina (Buenos Aires); Israel (Jerusalem); Nagasaki (Japan); Peru (Lima).
The event will see the participation of an international representation of young people who, at the end of the day, holding hands, will join in a large embrace in the colonnade of St. Peter's Square, an architectural symbol of the universal embrace of the Church, a project proposed by Argentine philanthropist Alejandro Roemmers to inspire future generations to commit themselves to transforming the world into a better place. With them are expected realities of ecclesial and lay commitment, families, associations and those who today find themselves forced to live on the margins of society, from the poorest and homeless to migrants and victims of violence and human trafficking.
Thanks to a memorandum of understanding signed with the Ministry of Education and Merit, the Meeting will also present the work carried out in recent months by Italian schools on the theme of fraternity. The day, conceived as a process and experience of building fraternity, will be divided into two moments: in the morning some groups will meet to share paths of communion that will be recounted in the afternoon.
The afternoon event in Saint Peter's Square will begin at 16.00 and will be open to all, without registration, with access to the square starting at 14.00. Further information on the programme will be available online at: www.fondazionefratellitutti.org/notalone.
The meeting will be broadcast live on television by CTV and Vatican Media and on RAI1 from 17.00 to 18:45, and will be streamed on the website fondazionefratellitutti.org and on the Facebook and YouTube channels of the Fratelli tutti Foundation. The partners contributing to the event are Coldiretti, FIAT, Intesa Sanpaolo, ITA Airways and Novamont.
ACCREDITATION PROCEDURES
Journalists and media operators wishing to attend must apply, within 24 hours of the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system at: press.vatican.va/accreditations
Press and Media Relations Office
Roberto Pacilio
Tel: +39 339.54.49.531
E-mail: pressnotalone@fondazionefratellitutti.va
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Statement by Father Francesco Occhetta S.J.,
Secretary General Fratelli tutti Foundation
To think of a World Meeting on Fraternity, with Pope Francis' Encyclical Fratelli tutti on the horizon, means first of helping cultures rediscover an ancient word that the Enlightenment has betrayed and forgotten: “fraternity”.
The challenge is great. In order not to repeat one event among many, the spiritual meaning of fraternity offers us a direction in which to look: the etymology of fraternity refers to “being born alongside another”. It therefore transforms members into brothers, it is the basis of mutual aid, it illuminates reciprocity, it rewards communion, it makes competition unnecessary, and it goes further than the meaning of “brotherhood”, that of blood or ethnic ties in which one includes the similar and excludes the different.
It is a grand dream; indeed, we wish to dream together again. That is why we have chosen as our hashtag #notalone: not alone, but together. No one should be left alone; to become a person, the individual always needs (at least) one other.
In presenting faces and experiences, songs and works of art, the Meeting addresses the individual and communities to help them change themselves and change their world, starting from the provocations contained in the Encyclical. For this reason, during the morning of 10 June we will work together with groups representing fragile and defenceless people, young people, associations representing many worlds of civil society, and experts dealing with the environment.
We will draw up a Declaration on Fraternity together, and we will ask people to adhere to it. Around 30 Nobel Peace Prize laureates will be present, who will join us to shout out to the world that fraternity is stronger than violence and war. Starting at 16.00, Carlo Conti will present artists such as Andrea Bocelli and witnesses of fraternity who will tell the world that it is not utopia, but is already reality for those who choose it. RAI and the Vatican media will help us to spread words and gestures, but above all a testimony of the people, to the world.
Pope Francis will be with us, he will give us his word of peace, and around him boys and girls from all over the world will gather to make the embrace of Bernini's colonnade alive to the world. A prize will be awarded to a student's work, chosen from among 30 other works, the result of a competition related to fraternity that the Minister of Education sent to all Italian schools thanks to a memorandum of understanding signed between Cardinal Mauro Gambetti and Minister Giuseppe Valditara.
We will connect with other squares around the world, from Jerusalem to Brazzaville, from Nagasaki to Lima, and others, to reduce the distance between us via the “bridge” of fraternity that makes diversity become a value and not a limit. The image of the meeting will be that of the Garden: a place to be safeguarded and cultivated like an inner space, of relations with others and with the Creator. Not by chance, the participants will be given as a gift a clod of organic soil and seeds to be planted and to be made to germinate, as a symbol of the commitment to preserve fraternity. The other symbolic gesture, the most representative of the day, will be the large embrace among the young who will participate, and who will hold hands in the Colonnade of Saint Peter’s Square, symbol of the universal embrace of the Church.
The Meeting, proposed by the Fratelli tutti Foundation and presided over by Cardinal Gambetti, is conceived as a “process” and an “experiment”: it represents the first stage in helping to rediscover the meaning of fraternity and to build it culturally, because it is not given biologically; fraternity needs encounter and dialogue, knowledge, shared words and gestures, common languages and experience of beauty. The event will demonstrate that it is first and foremost a relational good that the market cannot produce. This is why the organization is the fruit of a gift: hundreds of people are giving their time freely to organize everything.
None of this grows in solitude: it is not good for man to be alone. Together we can make our efforts grow, for the entire human family. We await you, #NotAlone!
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PROGRAMME OF THE EVENT
A day of appointments, five working groups in the morning: Nobel, Environment, Schools, the Vulnerable, and Associations. Each one will consider the theme of fraternity in relation to their own field of interest.
In the afternoon, at 16.00 the Meeting on Human Fraternity will commence in Saint Peter’s Square and live on RAI1 and the Vatican media: testimonies, artists and associations.
THE MORNING
Nobel Laureates: they will share a document on human fraternity and will present it to Pope Francis in the afternoon, to be signed in Saint Peter’s Square. The Nobel Laureates will meet in Palazzo della Cancelleria.
Environment: environmentalists, businesspeople and economists will work to discuss solutions and to advance concrete proposals on the theme of fraternity in the environmental sphere.
Schools: girls and boys from schools throughout Italy who, following a protocol of understanding with the Ministry of Education and Merit, have entered and won the “Fraternity Contest”, will gather to view all the winning submissions, and will choose which one to present to the Holy Father representing all the schools.
The vulnerable: the poor, the homeless, migrants, and victims of violence will meet to discuss their condition and their difficulties. A starting point for the exchange will be a documentary on the theme, which will then be broadcast – in an abridged form – during the afternoon in Saint Peter’s Square.
Associations: the representatives of the main associations will gather to discuss solutions and to advance proposals of fraternity in their field of expertise.
THE AFTERNOON
At 16.00 Carlo Conti will initiate the Meeting on Human Fraternity in Saint Peter’s Square and in world vision. The event will be broadcast on the Vatican media and via live streaming on the social channels of the Fratelli tutti Foundation.
From 17 to 18.45 it will also be possible to follow the event on Rai1.
It will be an afternoon of celebration under the banner of sharing, art and music, but above all an opportunity to rediscover the meaning of fraternity and social friendship.
Artists such as Al Bano, Amara, Andrea Bocelli, Roberto Bolle, Giovanni Caccamo, Simone Cristicchi; and also Hauser, Carly Paoli, the Little Choir of the Antoniano, Mr. Rain, Amii Stweart, Paolo Vallesi and many others will perform and bring their testimony to others. They will be joined by representatives of the third sector, the world of associations in defence of human rights, environmentalists and businesspeople to present their decisions and their efforts to build a culture of fraternity. Eight squares throughout the world will be linked up and will participate in the Meeting to recount their experience.
At 18.00, Pope Francis will be in Saint Peter’s Square, to greet those present and the linked squares all over the world, and to listen to what emerged from the morning’s working groups. In particular, Muhammad Yunus and Naria Murad, representing the Nobel Laureates, will present to the Holy Father a document on fraternity and together they will launch the collection of a billion signatures for universal fraternity.
The project on fraternity selected during the morning, and a video produced for the most vulnerable and those who live on the margins of society, will be shown to His Holiness.
THE SQUARES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD:
Live link-up with eight squares in the world:
- Brazzaville
- Ionian Sea rescue vessel, from Trapani
- Bangui
- Etiopia
- Buenos Aires
- Nagasaki
- Lima
- Gerusalemme
L’ABBRACCIO SIMBOLICO - Ragazze e ragazzi provenienti da molti Paesi del mondo, accompagnati dal Piccolo Coro dell’Antoniano, tenderanno la mano al Papa per formare un abbraccio simbolico, che coinvolgerà la piazza. Un gesto che prenderà vita all’interno del colonnato del Bernini, che simboleggia l’abbraccio della Chiesa al mondo.
THE SYMBOLIC EMBRACE - Girls and boys from many countries of the world, accompanied by the Little Choir of the Antoniano, will extend their hands to the Pope to form a symbolic embrace, which will involve the square. A gesture that will come to life inside the Bernini colonnade, symbolizing the Church's embrace of the world.
From 20.45 until 22.00, the focus of the event will shift from the “stage” to the square through the involvement of circus and street artists who will perform among the people.
At the end of the Meeting, each participant will receive as a gift a clod of organic soil and some seeds to plant and germinate, as a symbol of the commitment to preserve fraternity.
THE TESTIMONIES
Saint Peter's Square will speak of fraternity through the testimonies of realities that are concretely carrying out aid missions: from international organizations such as UNHCR, with Filippo Grandi, to entities such as the Sant'Egidio Community, the Centro Astalli and Rondine Cittadella della Pace.
Davi Yambio, spokesperson for the Refugees network in Libya, who escaped from the lagers in Tripoli and is now a political refugee in Italy, will offer his testimony. Also in Saint Peter's Square will be Sandra Sarti, President of ACS Italy (Aid to the Church in Need), Kinsu Kumar, children's rights leader, Heidi Kuhn, founder of Root of peace, the non-profit organization dedicated to clearing fields of landmines to make them fertile farmland, Catia Bastioli, founder of Novamont, and Ermete Realacci, founder of the Symbola Foundation.
For the occasion, the Mare Jonio rescue ship will also be transformed into a world square. On board there will be 50 women and men from various experiences of solidarity, reception and sharing, both secular and religious, active in Sicily.
Priests, men and women religious, women and men committed to building a culture of solidarity and social friendship in the world will recount their experience: from Buenos Aires, among others, there will be Sergio Sánchez, the cartonero; from Lima there will be Sister Marìa Helida, cook and member of the Hijas de María religious community, and Maricela Macavilca, a livestock breeder from Huarochirí; from Bangui, don Matthieu; from Jerusalem the Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the link-up will end with an invocation song of peace.
NOBEL LAUREATES AND ORGANIZATIONS
1. Juan Manuel Santos, President of the Republic of Colombia from 2010 to 2018 – Colombia. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2016, for his resolute commitment to bringing an end to the civil war that gripped his country for fifty years.
2. Oscar Arias Sánchez, President of the Republic of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010 – Costa Rica. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1987 for his commitment to promoting peace and stability in Central America, in particular for his efforts to bring an end to the conflicts in the region and to promote dialogue and cooperation among countries.
3. Lech Wałęsa, President of the Republic of Poland from 1990 to 1995 – Poland. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1983 for his non-violent fight for human rights and free trade unions in Poland. As leader of the trade union Solidarność, he played a fundamental role for workers’ rights and the promotion of democracy in his country.
4. José Ramos-Horta, President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor – East Timor. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1996 for his work in promoting a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor.
5. Jody Williams, Founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and President of the Nobel Women's Initiative – United States. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1997 for her work to promote the banning and clearing of antipersonnel mines.
6. Shirin Ebadi, President of Defenders for Human Rights Centre – Iran. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2003 for her commitment to the defence of democracy, human rights and in particular the rights of women and children in Iran.
7. Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank – Bangladesh. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006 for his work to promote economic and social development through the concept of microcredit. Through the Grameen Bank, cheap loans have been provided to the poor, contributing to improving their living conditions.
8. Leymah Roberta Gbowee, President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa – Liberia. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2011. As leader of the Liberian womens’ movement, she played a fundamental role in bringing an end to the civil war and promoting reconciliation in her country.
9. Tawakkol Karman, Leader of the Arab Spring - Yemen. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2011. As a journalist and activist, she defended human rights, democracy and freedom of expression in her country.
10. Denis Mukwege, gynaecologist – Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2018 for having provided medical care and support to women, victims of sexual violence in the context of war and armed conflict.
11. Nadia Murad Basee Taha, President and co-founder of Nadia's Initiative - Iraq. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2018 for her efforts to bring an end to the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.
12. Giorgio Parisi, vice-President of the National Lincei Academy - Italy. Nobel Prize winner for physics in 2021 for the discovery of the interaction between disorder and fluctuation in physical systems, from atomic to planetary scale.
13. Maria Angelita Ressa, President of Rappler Inc. – Philippines. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2021 for her efforts to protect freedom of expression.
14. Bureau International de la Paix (IPB) – Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910 for acting as a liaison between peace societies in different countries and helping them to organize world meetings of the international peace movement. Represented by Philip James Jennings, President.
15. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 for its pioneering work in the international movement for peace and compassionate efforts to alleviate human suffering, thus promoting brotherhood among nations. Represented by Hector Manuel Cortez, vice Secretary General.
16. United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981 for its commitment to healing the wounds of war, provided help and protetion to refugees throughout the world, and for its promotion of the fundamental rights of refugees. Represented by Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner.
17. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 for its commitment to strengthening solidarity among nations and reducing the difference between rich and poor states. The organization is dedicated to the promotion and defence of children’s rights, working to improve their health education and wellbeing throughout the world. Represented by Bo Viktor Nylund, Special Representative.
18. International Labour Organization (ILO) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969 for having created international legislation guaranteeing certain standards for working conditions in each country. Represented by Gianni Rosas, Director of the ILO Office for Italy and San Marino.
19. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for distributing authoritative information and raising awareness of the catastrophic consequences of a nuclear war. Represented by Kati Riitta Maria Juva, Co-President, and by Onazi David, Co-President.
20. Peace Operations United Nations Peacekeeping Forces - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988 for preventing armed clashes and creating the conditions for negotiattions between countries in conflict. Represented by Aroldo Lazaro Saenz.
21. Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for its efforts to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in international politics and, in the long term, the elimination of nuclear weapons. Represented by Paolo Cotta Ramusino, Secretary General.
22. International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its work to promote the banning and clearing antipersonnel mines. Represented by Tun Channareth, ICBL world Ambassador and by Denise Coghlan, RSM Member of the Executive Board.
23. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for its efforts to prevent the use of nuclear energy for military purposes and to guarantee that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest way possible. Represented by Jacek Andrzej Bylica, Head of IAEA Cabinet.
24. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for its efforts in creating and spreading greater awareness of climate change caused by man, and to lay the foundations for the necessary measures to counter it. Represented by Hoesung Lee, President.
25. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for its profuse efforts to eliminate chemical weapons. Represented by Odette Melono, vice-Director General.
26. International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) - Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work in drawing attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, and its pioneering efforts to obtain a treaty-based ban on such weapons. Represented by Daniel Högsta, interim Executive Director.
27. Center for Civil Liberties – Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. For many years it has promoted the right of expression and fundamental citizens’ rights. It has worked hard to document war crimes, violence and abuses of power, and has demonstrated the importance of civil society for peace and democracy. Represented by Oleksandra Matvijčuk.
28. United Nations – Organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for its work towards a more inclusive and peaceful world. Represented by Miguel Angel Moratinos, under- Secretary General of the United Nations, who contributed to the creation and launch of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in 2005, and has held the office of High Representative of the UNAOC since 2019.
29. Oley Dibba Wadda, representing Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2011 for her non-violent battle to promote women’s safety and their right to full participation in the work of peace-building.
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