Invited by Mrs. Perla Magculang, an active member of Focolare Movement. Attended by 20 delegates from the DSPNSDA led by Bro. Patrick Jay Tolop, the Youth Ministry Coordinator. Photo: Mark Pelobello / Evangelization Ministry
MAKATI City – GenFest is a gathering of youth with different cultures, nationalities and religions from 108 countries and 5 continents of the world. It is organized by Y4UW or Youth for a United World of the Focolare Movement which invites everyone to build bridges of fraternity and contribute to breaking barriers of indifferences, prejudices and egoism to help change the world.
The year’s host for Genfest is our home land, Manila, Philippines. The main event took place in World Trade Center in Pasay City last Friday, July 6-8, 2018. With the theme “GENFEST 2018: BEYOND ALL BORDERS” the participating countries have sent 6,000 youth delegates, bringing with them their flags of places they represent.
The Genfest is a meeting of youth who want to show the world that universal fraternity, a united world, is an Ideal worth living for. Photo: Atom Yango
I attended the event together with other youth members from different organizations/ministries in our parish including GAWARASAL, Media Ministry, PYM Core and Tanghalang Aranzazu. We have been invited by Mrs. Perla Magculang who is an active member of Focolare Movement. There were 20 delegates from the parish and was led by Bro. Patrick Jay Tolop, the Youth Coordinator, as Team Leader.
The number of participants were overwhelming to see since it was composed of different nationalities; there were also Filipinos delegates from other provinces. The highlight of the first day was the Cultural Night which was composed of participating countries whom showcased their cultures and talents in forms of art. There weren’t just talks and sharing, but also a lot of dancing and singing, and this festival just showed how love can unite everyone all together.
The second day was spent for the most awaited workshops and forums, which were held in De La Salle University near the main venue. Participants were transferred there by a service bus. Each participant has selected their own preferred topic for workshop and were placed in a classroom set up. Workshops had a wide selection such as multimedia field in arts, communication, writing, music, and many more. Everybody enjoyed the lectures plus the bonus of meeting new friends in the same course. The next activity was called H4H or Hands for Humanity which aimed to provide participants with experiential activities by doing acts of kindness. Some participants were sent to feeding programs but most of them were assigned to Mangrove Clean up Drive near Costal Area. Rain or shine, everyone was eager to fill up sacks with plastics bottles and styrofoams to help clean the area and segregate items that can be recycled. Before the day ended, the night was celebrated with a live concert of guest bands and performers from different countries.
Genfest has become a great festival of ideas, thoughts and actions that inspire thousands of youth to change their life, their future and, finally, the world.
The last day was led with a send-off mass presided by Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle together with many other priests. The youth were amazed on how Cardinal Tagle talked about his homily of love saying, “Maybe it is not true that love is blind, maybe it is love that will make us see something we cannot see. Maybe we are the ones who are blind because we don’t love.”
At the end of the program, Maria Voce as the president of Focolare Movement gave her speech and left the youth with three points to live by: to love, share and restart which means to just continue doing things over and over again. It was also then announced that the next Genfest will be held in Brazil by 2024.
A thanksgiving mass was celebrated with Cardinal Luis Tagle together with the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia and with other priests.
As we went home, we bring with us the inspiration and motivation to go beyond borders.
This event will be a living proof for everyone that it is not impossible to be united as one even with differences and that only love can make this change.
Dahryl Imari Yuson
Writer/Contributor
Commonly known with her nickname "Mumai", started in the youth ministry as Tala in Panunuluyan 2006. An awardee of Gerry Roxas Leadership for Batch 2014. Currently studying BS Sociology in her Sintang Paaralan, Polytechnic University of the Philippines. A wide reader of classic books and is inlove with any form of art. Writes everything down, cause every thought counts! Dreams to be a performer in Broadway's Hamilton. Choral Singer. Youth Leader. Servant of God.
