Today's society - wrote Rabbi Johnathan Sacks with great insight - has generated a process of reduction of the "we" to the "I", accentuated and accelerated by the pandemic: the distancing measures, the forced isolation to avoid contagion have in fact made everyone more lonely and isolated.
For this reason, the need to reverse course and rediscover the We is greater than ever, because only together we can emerge from the serious health, economic and social crisis caused by the pandemic. It is the theme of universal fraternity, which is at the heart of the meeting "Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth" and will be addressed by representatives of the major religions and culture.
The speakers will be Afeyan Noubar, an entrepreneur and philanthropist of Armenian origin, known also for having co-founded the biotechnology company Moderna, one of the companies to which we owe the creation of the Covid-19 vaccine; Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Evangelical Lutheran bishop, President of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, known for his ecumenical commitment, and friend of the Meetings of Dialogue and Prayer for Peace of Sant'Egidio.
A female voice of particular interest will be that of Lakshmi Vyas, an Indian scholar and researcher, nominated Woman of the Year in 2018 by the British Indian Awards, for her commitment to women in the faith that has given rise to the Hindu Forum of Europe, with the intention of accentuating the presence of Hindus in the field of solidarity and of integration of immigrant minorities, starting in the Anglo-Saxon world, and throughout Europe.
Karekine II, Supreme Patriarch and "Catholicos" of all Armenians since 1999, is promotor of an intense ecumenical activity of dialogue with the other christian communities. José Tolentino Mendonça, Portughese Cardinal and theologian, to whom we owe important studies on the theology of friendship (including the 2013 essay "No path will be long").
Also of great interest will be the contribution of Olivier Roy, one of the greatest specialists in Islam, the Middle East and comparative religions in Europe.
The event can also be attended online.
It will be broadcast in multiple languages (Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German).
