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This is the on-line version of Link, the bimonthly newsletter of Fimcap.

Edition December 2006

General

[top]Christmas, time of hope

As quoted in our Fimcap hymn, from North to South, from East to West, thousands of youth and leaders in the FIMCAP try to build a world of hope.  At Christmas time we all express wishes full of hope for a better world, a hopeful world. We all want our groups to be the hope of our Church, we wish that our organizations grow in hope and enthusiasm, spreading the message that children’s rights, as much as those of all human beings should never be trampled.

As Jesus says "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” (Matthew 7, 24). To listen to the Word of Jesus here and now and to build on rock means also to listen to the clamours for hope, for a worthy life: In FIMCAP this also means intensifying hope, strengthening relations between organizations, leaders and children.

Let’s imagine the building up of a nativity crib; that our local or regional group is the crib, and each figure and situation that we see represent a member of our group at any level. Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, kings and baby Jesus. Each figure in the crib has a function and represents something for humanity. Who am I for my group, am I a sign of hope? I think that the majority of our leaders are angels announcing to the children and youngsters, that there is hope in the construction of our house, in the construction of a new humanity.

In name of the ICB, we wish you all a Merry Christmas, and at the same time we hope that we keep building our common house, FIMCAP, full of hope and on rock.

Alveiro Vasquez

Africa

[top]Surprise visit to Xaveri Congo

On my arrival home from an unforgettable experience at the world camp in Congo, I learnt about the possibility of going back Congo as an international observer for the second round of elections. My interest was immediately stirred, as I had already felt the importance of these elections and the high expectations of the Congolese people from their outcome, during my stay in Congo. And of course, it was a fantastic opportunity to visit the friends from Kiro Congo again…Unfortunately, it was going to be impossible for me to visit the friends from Xaveri Congo, as we were flying from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi, and thus Bukavu was out of the way. However, thanks to the Monuc (the UN force in Congo) who arranged our flight schedules in Congo, I passed via Bukavu and with even more luck, the next flight got cancelled. This meant that I was to spend the night in Bukavu. For the other observers, this was a disaster, but for me it was a dream coming true. I could finally visit my friends from Xaveri Congo and their centre. I was impressed by the beauty of the environment around Bukavu and the centre of Xaveri Congo. I could meet the international secretary of Xaveri Congo, Gustave Lunjwire, and was happy to hear about the ever growing number of Xaveri movements in Africa. I also had the honour to meet Père Dufour, the founder of Xaveri Congo, about whom I heard a lot from our different movements. It was great to see the friends I met during the world camp and Afroconference. They showed me around their centre, and gave me a better idea of the work Xaveri Congo conducts. I was impressed, especially in seeing the huge library containing about 100 books written by Père Dufour for the Xaveri movement. Unfortunately, it was a very short visit but I felt really happy about this experience. I realised how special it is to have friends from all over the world, who are ready to welcome you any time. Thanks a lot!

Tine Cornillie
Secretary General Fimcap

[top]Xaveri South Africa was accepted as new oberserver member

The members of the ICB took part in the second FIMCAP intercontinental Bureau for 2006 which took place in Antwerp, Belgium between the 18 and 19 November. Besides FIMCAP presidium - Carme Carrion, Tine Cornillie and Alveiro Vasquez- Cesar Bamwepela from FIMCAP Africa, Carla Acerbi and Jürgen Leuser from FIMCAP Europe were also present.

After a short but warm welcome, the meeting began as usual, with a prayer. The agenda consisted of an overview of FIMCAP expenses and incomes, reports from visits and news from NGO’s like Fastenopfer (Switzerland) and Broederlijk Delen (Belgium) with whom FIMCAP was in close contact during the last period.

The evaluation of the World Camp 2006 held in Congo was definitely a very interesting topic. On behalf of the preparation team Cesar Bamwepela, gave a brief summary of the evaluated topics from the participants’ and the hosting organisation’s point of view. The members of the ICB agreed that it is difficult to evaluate the outcomes of an event like this in numbers and figures. However it shows that everybody got a valuable benefit: the participants who experienced an unforgettable and enriching intercultural experience; and the FIMCAP member organisation who got the opportunity to add an attractive international event to their calendar, together with new possibilities to take up future  projects in their organisations.

FIMCAP General Assembly in 2007 was another major point on the agenda. It will take place from 22nd to the 29th of July 2007 in Assisi, Italy. Thus member organisations will meet for the statutory part and the study theme, which will deal about the Millenium Development Goals of the UN.

After some news from the continents Africa and Europe, the members of the ICB shared also the latest news and activities from Latin America and Asia (see following articles in LINK).

The FIMCAP family can also welcome a new observer member: Xaveri South Africa was accepted as a new observer member for this period and has therefore the possibility to follow and join FIMCAP activities. One of these opportunities can be the participation in a new project in FIMCAP Africa. This event will take place in April 2007, between the 15 and 17, and will mainly deal with matters regarding gender issues.

Besides discussing FIMCAP representations, those present also had a look on their recent communication channels. First of all, concrete themes for next LINK issues during 2007 were established. Secondly during a first time live web-conference the webmasters presented their concept of the next generation FIMCAP webpage. All these measures were taken up in an attempt to improve the possibilities to share information and enable people to live solidarity across continents within FIMCAP.

Jürgen Leuser
President Fimcap Europe

Asia

[top]Youth Apostolate Meeting from South Asia

This meeting was organized by the youth commission of South Asia Bishops Conference. At the same time ICYM was hosting this summit. The participants were mostly national chaplains and national leaders from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; the participants from Pakistan were excused. Mgr. Leo Cornelio, the chairman of this commission was there to encourage all participants to improve in youth ministry.

Each national youth delegation presented its activities and projects as well as success and hindrances of being a minority Christian community in their own country.

Brother Joao from Taizé ecumenical community partook some information about next pilgrimage of Trust which will take place in Calcutta between 5 and 9 October 2006. This event is an international youth gathering initiated by Brother Roger. Each country and region of India will send some participants to this meeting. The motto of this meeting is: “On the road of Trust… towards a future of peace”.

I made a presentation about FIMCAP members, activities, goals, and also what it implies an organisation to be an FIMCAP member. All participants showed their interest to know more about our organization. At the same time ICYM was very proud of it status as observer member in FIMCAP, waiting for next year when it will become full member during our G.A in Italy.

The program consisted of a follow up of the preparation and participation of next coming Asian Youth Days with the theme: “Youth, Hope of Asian Families”. This meeting was organized in Hong Kong between July 28 and 9 August 2006. Around 1000 participants were expected ranging between 18 and 30 years old. All participants were hosted in families, schools, parishes and religious congregations. During the meeting, much importance was given to rice, being one of most common elements in Asian culture. 100gr, one cup of traditional rice was carried by each delegate for the rice ceremony which took place during those days. There were also some workshops about children labour (organized by ICYM), children’s rights (organized by Chiro Philippines on behalf of FIMCAP), family and prayer, Asian family...

Other activities consisted of games, typical dances, prayers, excursions, inter faith prayers… Each country and national organization exhibited material from the respective organization, country, culture… Fimcap wanted to have a common meeting with the participants of India, Philippines and Taiwan.

Next South Asian Youth Ministry meeting will probably take place in January 2007 in Sri Lanka.

All the best

Alveiro Vasquez

[top]Asian Youth Day

The Asian Youth day (IV) with the theme "Youth: Hope of Asian Families" took place in Hong Kong, YMCA campus from 28th July to 2nd of August. In total 800 young people who were not only from  Asia, but also representatives from Europe and Africa. The Youth gathering offered plenary assemblies, thematic workshops, common worship, and also integrated Taize vespers. All these were conducted mostly in English but some used Mandarin and other languages, trying to remove the language barrier for the Youth to understand, discuss and learn.

One of the workshops was conducted by FIMCAP entitled "Little Ones in a Big World". This workshop was about Children's Rights in context of Asian families. The participants discussed the different situations of children in Asia and how young people can be the remedy to the present juncture. The group was sad to know the conditions of children and realized that the situation is   same even in economically stable Asian countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan. This also revealed that child rights are still being violated and they are neglected by their families even if their material needs are taken care.

This gathering included a lot of new youthful songs, animation, exhibition, festival night and cultural presentations. All were even taught to write the word 'family' in Chinese and names being written on hand fans to take it home as souvenirs!

The young leaders of Indian Catholic Youth Movement- India and Chiro- Philippines came together during lunch and planned for a FIMCAP gathering. A small FIMCAP gathering was held during the Asian youth day, which included ICYM, Chiro and Youth from Bangladesh. It was truly a wonderful and memorable experience, and made us feel that even after the AYD in future too the collaboration is possible.

The whole, action reflected not only on the experiences of young people in those days but also gave insights to a number of challenges. To put it in a nutshell "we believe that there are seeds of faith in Asian Youth and "If" this faith is nurtured well, they can truly be hope of the Asian family."

Marie Gutierrez
Chiro Philippines

[top]Animators Training Course (C.A.T.)

The C.a.t program is a training course for regional leaders, animators, spiritual assistants or members of the council. It is organised every year and participants from Nepal, Bangaldesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also invited.

The training course is given by people from the national level and also by some experts in various matters. I took part in the course for some days and also gave a short presentation about Fimcap.

Hi, I am Anthony Pushparay from Bellary, India. I am the treasurer of ICYM. Our NEXCO team had organised C.A.T. programme in Bangalore. There were many people who participated from all over the country. As the name indicates it is a training programme. I wanted to know in what way they train us. The beginning of the programme was very energetic. I feel that this programme is very important because it is an opportunity to encounter people from different countries. That is what makes the training very useful.

It was given guidance for the youth work career; how to make useful things for the various regions; make business from their resources. Scripts and drama were used during the mass celebrated during the training. There was also a session about youth psychology and how to encourage young people to engage in social activities and in church; we had also some input about social analysis and how to see perceive reality form different points of view.

After this programme all animators and young people felt that we had the opportunity to make use of the resources we had there as well as Internet. This experience will help us to develop out business and celebrate mass in a more special way.

I am really thankful to the ICYM for organising such a programme and good training.

Anthony Pushparay

Europe

[top]Eurocontact 2006: “Different Roads Same Destination”

Eurocontact 2006, under the slogan “Different Roads Same Destination”, took place in Loreto from July 30 to August 6, 2006.
We were really pleased to host several representatives from Fimcap organisations, for a total of 60 people; participants and leaders coming from: Jubla - Switzerland, Chiro - Belgium, FDF - Denmark, ZAK - Malta, eRko - Slovakia, FOI – Italy, Ateitis – Lithuania and Jong Nederland – Holland.

We can enthusiastically affirm – together with the participants – that we were able to reach our main goal: creating a feeling to belonging to one big group, being able to talk, exchange, compare lifestyles, pray, reflect and play all together.

FOI – Forum Oratori Italiani – working team was made up of members from the International Committee and volunteers involved in the activities for teenagers and youngsters in FOM (Foundation for the Oratories in the Diocese of Milan) and COR (Centre for Roman Oratories).
The Italian team was greatly enriched by the help of two experienced and enthusiast helpers from Malta.

The chosen theme – Intercultural Learning intertwined with the Council of Europe all different, all equal campaign for the years 2006-2008 – was intended to propose to the participants the possibility to get to know each other from the direct comparison between their own way of living and that of their European mates.

We talked about stereotypes and prejudices; a reaction that happens to us when we get in touch with people of different cultures and lifestyles. We worked also on communication skills – exchanging feelings and impressions about barriers and suggestions for a better mutual understanding.

Playing together we deepened our awareness of rules, behaviours and social justice, getting to know more about fair trade. We tried to learn more about our belonging to a same European community starting from our personal way of being teenagers and young people in our respective countries and linking intercultural learning to everyday life and experiences.

We prayed together to find out that we have common origins and common values which have strong roots in our faith. Moreover, we experienced several moments of informal reciprocal knowledge and exploited everybody’s skill in creating friendship nets. This was done through a learning by doing process in which the participants were the true protagonists!

We wish the energy and atmosphere of these days to last as long as possible. Moreover we wish to transmit this experience to leaders, local groups, respective communities, and organisations at different levels… stimulate many motivated volunteers, intercultural activities multipliers and – last but not least - conscious European citizens!

FOI - Eurocontact working team

[top]Feelings from Lithuania

Fifteen years ago I did not know, that there is such a country like Lithuania and now I can see five nice girls from that country, I can learn more about their culture, traditions, specific features… and they can learn about my country and other countries from which representatives have encountered here. Doesn’t this prove God’s miracle, doesn’t this prove how important freedom is.” These are the words Bishop Edoardo Menichelli said at the introductory mass celebration. For other nations these may seem empty meaningless words but for us, Lithuanian members of Ateitis they were pleasant, encouraging words. Eurocontact 2006 was not only a merry summer camp but also a proof that we, children of a small country, are full and equal members of Europe. For sever days, Fimcap gave us an opportunity to socialize, learn and pray with people from other countries and cultures. Gradually, everyday we got to know other participants. Although Europe does not seem so huge a continent, we still find plenty of differences among cultures. Let us take the friendliness and eye contact of Maltese and Italians as example. At first this seemed strange for us from more Northern countries. There were also different features in character and appearances. Dark-skinned, black curly-haired, brown-eyed, tiny Maltese girls were very different from blue-eyed, fair-haired, tall Lithuanian girls.

Despite our differences we found a lot of similarities during this week. During the interesting discussions and games, we found out that the crucial similarity amongst us is the love for God and closeness to people. The wonderful Italian camp staff members did their job perfectly, as during the week the main idea of the event was fully revealed…so that those who came by different roads reached the same destination.

Lina Navickaite
Ateitis

[top]Fantastic!

I feel I learnt a lot from this experience, as much as the young people I accompanied to Loreto have learnt. At the end of the activity, I became aware that Eurocontact was a very important step in their lives. The young people cried and smiled at the same time.

They left in Loreto a part of their heart, and Eurocontact experience is going to be with them for the rest of their lives: the friends they met, the jokes, songs, long discussions during the nights and laughter, trips, sharing and praying together. The Holy Father said in respective languages was a tiny revenge on the tower of Babel!

From the very moment of our arrival in Loreto, the week spent at the «Centro Giovanni Paolo II» was a constant increase of emotions. During the first days we had some difficulty with communication since our English is not so fluent. At first, due to this language barrier and shyness, the Italian people kept to themselves, but then… then it was like a little miracle!

We found ourselves working in teams, having lunch and dinner with people whose name you could not even remember, folk dances, games, prayers…then, the deep silence you could find in the chapel every evening, where the only light was given from candles, the gestures we had prepared… we could feel God’s presence amongst us.

I felt an incomparable joy in seeing the young people with reddened eyes and bearing the smile of a person who knows he has lived something so wonderful. I can claim myself lucky having been chosen to be next to them whilst living this fantastic experience!

I would like to thank those who gave us the opportunity to have this experience: Fimcap, FOI and its wonderful staff, the «Centro Giovanni Paolo II» with Fr. Francesco and Fr. Beppe; and the organizations who took part in this project, Zak, Erko, Jong Nederland, Chiro, Jubla, FDF, Ateitis and all their young people. Remember, We are God’s gift to this world!

Hilary Broggi
Italy

[top]From Holland with Love

This year’s Eurocontact was held in Loreto, Italy from July 31 to August 6. For us this was a great experience. At first there was a language barrier, but we soon overcame that. In no time we had made friends from all different countries: Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Switzerland.

The program FOI prepared was great. The trips to the cathedral, Caves of Frasassi and to Corinaldo, the former home of Santa Maria Goretti, were really interesting. The games we played were full of energy and we loved playing them. One of the most interesting games was the Fair Trade Game. In this game we learned more about the differences in economy between the Western civilization and Third World countries. We also learned a lot of new dances, which we will dance for years at our own local club.

As we already said we had a really great time. We already miss our new friends and the sunny weather, for here at home it is cloudy and rainy. We hope to be able to participate in next year’s Eurocontact in Lithuania. Maybe we will see you there.

Merlijn van Kempen (18), Sandra Bevelander (16), Sigrid van Harmelen (16), Nicole Leenaars (16), Joris Ooms (23) and Maarten de Kroon (21)
Jong Nederland

[top]FDF Camp Julsoe in Denmark

In July 2006 13,000 children and young people from Frivilligt Drenge- og Pige-Forbund, FDF, Denmark and partner organizations around the world participated in Camp Julsoe in Denmark on FDF's own huge campsite, Sletten. For ten days the participants of the camp made up a medium sized Danish town with their own post office, bank, supermarket, café and swimming pool. But this "town" was a little unusual since the inhabitants slept in tents or hammocks and cooked their meals on fire and even showered outdoors. During these ten days lots of new friends were made and many new things were learned. The theme of the camp was "New Facets" and the idea was that the participants would experience new facets of themselves and the world. This was achieved through all possible kinds of outdoor activities ranging from mud wrestling, tree climbing and big camp fires, where all the 13,000 campers gathered.

Sunday was "visiting day" and that led number of people to the camp, more than double the number present. In the afternoon all the participants and near about 7,000 guests took part in a youth church service. The service included theatre and dance and which was transmitted on national TV after the camp.

Camp Julsoe is organized once in five years by FDF, and every time participants from the rest of the world are invited. This year more than 500 international guests took part in the camp. There were people from Belgium, India, USA, Romania, Scotland and many other places. They played a very vital role, since one of the aims of the camp was to give the participants international exposure and experience. This was the reason, for which all the international groups presented a lot of activities of their home organisation and shared with the participants present.

The next Camp Julsoe will take place in 2011 and we are looking forward in meeting our old and new friends from all over the world at the camp!

Sara Fyhn
International Committee, FDF

[top]eRko Slovakia – Federazione Oratori Italiani, Italy

Members of FOI participated at a special eRko event that was hosted from August 31 - September 4, 2006. It is the “National Leaders' meeting” which takes place once in every three years. Almost three hundred eRko leaders from all the Slovak dioceses and districts were present. During this programme, the annual theme, is presented to them and this provides them with new tools for the activities in their local groups. They are invited to reflect on themes relevant for their personal and educational formation, keeping in mind the present activities of eRko. It is also proposed at national and international level.

The most beautiful and interesting aspect for us was to get the chance to meet all these youngsters and see how they live being eRko leaders. They were active and lively in sharing moments of fun as well as in spirituality or formation. 

It makes always difficult to find words to articulate and summarize in words the special moments like this. Sometimes they are actually not enough to express the flow of images, emotions, feelings and colourful impressions. The pieces of music which keep coming to our mind when the memory goes back to those days… but we can't do without reporting three main reflections we have brought home.

Familiarity and calmness: We have been treated as "familiar guests", I would say really as "special guests" and treated with the utmost kindness and tenderness even though our hosts were under stress and the responsibility of being leaders in the big event... this is true friendship and for us it was like being at home!

Celebrations and prayer moments: Music and joy characterize the intensity of these moments and this made us go over the barriers of language to sing together – even if the r the program is over but the song – "Tvoje slovo je svetlo pre moje nohy, a pochoden na mojich chodnikoch." "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path” is still in our lips.

Thank you eRko… and may our paths come together more and more often in the future!

Roberta Rolando and Carla Acerbi
FOI International Commission

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