Rallies, shouts for independence, cries of dissent—the year 1968 was a time of change, catalyzed by the youth. A great social upheaval was felt the world over. It was also a time marred by violence and bloodshed. In the midst of such tumult, the UNIV Congress was born with the aim of providing a positive solution to the growing culture of violence in universities.
The UNIV Congress, initiated through the efforts of St. Josemaria Escriva, has since then been held every year in Rome, gathering thousands of university students from across the globe to take part in a week-long showcase of fora, conferences, and cultural encounters.
The academic aspect of the UNIV Congress centers on a plenary session addressed by an eminent speaker and a forum presenting research papers made by students in collaboration with their professors, followed by cultural exchanges where students hear about their contemporaries’ enterprises in their respective homelands.
For Louie, a delegate to the UNIV 2007, attending the cultural exchange was a humbling experience. “I thought Kapuluan guys were doing their utmost already,” he says, “But the other fellows were talking about setting up computers in the Amazon, and refurbishing schools in Nicaragua.”
Delegates from the Kapuluan have also presented papers in past UNIV Congresses. In 2000, a paper was presented on genetically modified foods from the viewpoint of a developing nation, and another on how total fertility rate decline can affect the population. In 2004, a study on how Filipino teenagers perceive values was presented, together with Project Forge, as a social initiative. In 2007, Universitas, Kapuluan’s key project, was presented as a social initiative for the youth.
The UNIV also provides young Catholics with an opportunity to visit sites that have been instrumental in establishing their faith. Mike, a UNIV 2000 delegate, vividly recalls how his encounter with the nails of the crucifixion at the Basilica of the Santa Croce in Gerusalemme moved him to take his faith more seriously. “I wasn’t sure if those were the true nails, but if after 2000 years people still lay down their lives for the Crucified One, then there must be something more human here,” he shares.
A pilgrimage to Rome would naturally climax with attending Holy Week services with the Holy Father, the center of unity among Christians.
Ninety Sixty-Eight has gone and the tremors that it sent throughout the world have left their mark, but few brainchildren of that period are today as lively as the UNIV. By providing a venue where students can see one another’s desire to help out, and to put into practice the faith they profess, the UNIV helps sow among the youth the certainty of hope, making it as attractive and as revolutionary as any other form of protest.
No comments:
Post a Comment