The second International Living Peace Congress took place in Castel Gandolfo (Rome) recently, attended by 160 people from 40 different countries. “There are no words to describe what I feel now that the Congress is over” was one Portuguese boy’s reaction.
They came from all over the world to participate in the 2nd International Living Peace Congress that took place in Castel Gandolfo (Rome) from 1st-4th December. Just to give an idea of the size of the event, 160 people participated from more than 40 countries. Young people, adults, men and women from different cultures, all brought together by the dream of building a world of peace.
Despite the difficult times we are living through, the Living Peace network firmly believes in the universal values of peace.
The Congress was organized in a very different way to the classic conference: the whole focus was on group work to encourage exchange and dialogue between people from different countries and cultures.
Professor Jose Luis Cabezas Casado from the University of Granada offered his insights and reflections on how each of us can concretely make our own contribution to building a culture of peace.
However, there was no shortage of more “theoretical” moments, such as the panel discussion where peace was discussed in different areas: social, political, intercultural and ecological.
One of the most significant moments was the interfaith Time Out in which representatives of Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism took part, each praying for peace in their own language.
The participants were deeply moved by the experience and lots of messages were received at the end of the Congress, like that of a young man from Portugal:
“There are no words to describe how I feel. On the plane, I was scrolling through my phone’s photo gallery to choose some photos for a photo display, and I just couldn’t stop myself from crying. Although this was not my first time in this kind of experience, it is always difficult then to leave again. I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU, and congratulations to everyone for making this conference memorable and one to be repeated!”