United World Project central commission
The Youth for a
United World of 29 nations, including 14 African, share with us the document
they have drawn up on the programme of reciprocity that took place in
Mariapolis Piero, Nairobi, Kenya from 25th April to 5th May
5, 2014.
It’s a
document that witnesses and narrates what happened in Mariapolis Piero,
Nairobi, Kenya, from 25th April to 5th May 2014 during
the Sharing with Africa programme, third
step of the United World Project after Budapest and Jerusalem.
These were
days in which young people of 29 different countries, 14 of them in Africa,
have had the opportunity to learn the fundamental aspects of African cultures,
such as Ubuntu or the community, for example, through workshops, the
participation of scholars and above all the programme itself. All this has
produced a final document that we propose below along with the Decalogue: Ten
points representing ten different ways to build a united world.
FINAL DOCUMENT of the International Youth for a United
World programme
What concrete contribution can the African young people
give to the culture of universal brotherhood?
Ubuntu means: “I am because we are, and because we are, I
am.” This is the underlying blueprint of many African
cultures and it was also the theme of “Sharing with Africa”, an event that took
place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 25th April to 5th May 2015, and which has
gathered around 130 young people from Africa and the rest of the world. All in
all, the participants belonged to 29 different nationalities. This proposal to
live and build an experience of authentic brotherhood among peoples was
launched much earlier.
From the very first sessions of this undertaking, a new
understanding of the idea of reciprocity has led us to put into dialogue each
person’s culture with the core of Ubuntu, with the desire for all to be
enriched by its values and transmit them to one’s own environment and
throughout the world. It was a big challenge: first of all, we have
rediscovered what it means to build unity while respecting the differences
between us and between our peoples.
The history of each culture is usually studded with the
names of the founding fathers. Plato and Aristotle, for
example, are the fathers of Western thought. However, in African cultures, we
do not come across the names of individual characters because it is the
community that is the cradle of every innovation, the home of every tradition.
The way of thinking and various cultural conceptions, from the beginning, are
born from the life of the community.
“UMUNTU NGUMUNTU NGABANTU” goes the
African proverb: “I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am,” and
still: “I am what I am because of who we all are!” This is the insignia of the
collective African consciousness, the principle on which ethical and social
values are rooted.
Ubuntu may
be expressed into a series of terms and practices that date back to the very
African societies themselves. Each person acquires these customs from his or
her community, where they are safeguarded and orally and socially transmitted
from one generation to another, in view of the common welfare. Our programme
gave us the possibility to search for these positive values and we were
overwhelmed by this experience.
In a world context of ongoing economic and social crises, where
acute individualism rips apart every relationship and unregulated capitalism
sows death, the African peoples are and propose an alternative. The sterile
narcissism of many companies in the North of the planet is beaten by the
courage, creativity and joy that characterises this continent - rich in
resources, participation, solidarity and openness to spirituality - even though
it is poor in economic assets. The false promises of happiness that society’s
material well-being programmatically feeds its followers are disproved: the
essence of human achievement is to be found in the interpersonal relationships
and in the sharing of what one is and what one has.
Community, hospitality, sharing and forgiveness: these are
some of the pillars that support the life of the villages in Africa where one
treats the other person as a brother, a father, a mother, a son. These pillars
are the soul and this is what we have experienced during the programme and
through the numerous stories of fraternity that the young Africans have shared
with us, including gestures from everyday life and choices of heroism. This was
the case of the Youth for a United World from Tanzania. For four years, under
the gaze of the astonished doctors, volunteers donated blood in conditions of
great personal risk, and yet an act that actually transmits and renews the gift
of life.
This experience has convinced us that the search for the
common good is not a utopia but a reality that can come true
for everyone, even today. Thus, the daily prospect of a happy life, which
brings communion between peoples and cultures, is near. This requires us to
continue to work hard in overcoming the conditions of injustice, inequality and
oppression; to recognize human rights, both individual and collective; and to
work for economic and social emancipation as well as the political freedoms of
the peoples of the African continent.
The vision of Ubuntu can become
a common reference point to build relationships both locally and on a broader
level. For this reason, it is necessary that Ubuntu leads to fruitful dialogue
with different cultures that have flourished in other regions of the world,
helping to highlight complementary perspectives to enrich the unity of the
human family while safeguarding its diversity. That is, focusing on what unites
us and not what divides us.
In this way, the path
towards universal brotherhood will become more and more shareable and shared.
This is the very meaning of the symbolic planting of the “tree of fraternity”
at the end of the experience in Nairobi. So let’s go ahead with “Sharing with Africa!”
DECALOGUE
1.
See each human being
as your brother or sister, and build relationships that aim at reciprocal
responsibility.
2.
Take initiative in building
bridges, including everyone.
3.
Share
unconditionally: goods, joys, sufferings and experiences. Utilize all
appropriate means of communication to share our ideals and convictions, that a
united world is possible.
4.
Value your own
culture and talents and be willing to share them to build brotherhood with all.
5.
Be open and accept
the treasures that each person and culture can offer.
6.
Give time to create
and develop relationships.
7.
Welcome one another.
8.
Seek reconciliation
and unity through dialogue, mutual understanding and searching for wisdom
within and between our communities.
9.
Strive to go beyond
your individual concerns and build real communities open to all.
Highlight and celebrate our
progress towards fraternity and a united world.
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