Social and political commitment, interiority and economy. But also social rebirth, geopolitical challenges, care for creation and communication. With the “new entry” of sport understood as a gym for social inclusion. These are the themes covered by the 2024-2025 edition of SPES, the School of Politics and Social Ethics of the Archdiocese of Udine which – on the website www.spes.diocesiudine.it – has opened registrations for its 11th edition. A path that, in this new edition, develops along the usual two lines of the Social Doctrine of the Church and the UN objectives for Sustainable Development, combining local commitment with global insights. And giving substance to the formative instances that emerged from the 50th Social Week of Catholics in Italy, held in Trieste in July 2024, whose theme was «At the heart of democracy».
Luca Grion: «As women and young people, we listen to the struggles of this time»
«This year we wanted to take up again some of the themes that were at the centre of the Social Week of Trieste», he recalled Luca Griondirector of SPES. In particular, «the relationship between democracy and participation will be analyzed, understood as a “weekday”, not occasional, contribution to the common good». As was effectively highlighted in Trieste, in fact, democracy is shown to be healthy «when everyone is able to feel truly part of a common adventure, which involves feeling listened to even with respect to one’s own difficulties and weaknesses. This is why the 2024-2025 edition, in addition to focusing on the main challenges we are called to face (geopolitical, economic, environmental), will give great importance to listening to the struggles of our time, starting with those of young people, women, the most fragile subjects».
Preview: Public meeting on the “Heart of Democracy” on October 10th
Registration is now open for an edition that will open on Thursday, October 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the Garzolini-Di Toppo-Wasserman building in via Gemona 92, in Udine, with a speech open to the public entitled «Participation, responsibility, trust: a journey to the heart of democracy», by writer and historian Benedetta Tobagi. «With Tobagi we will talk about democracy and constitutional values, but given her personal history, we will also touch on other topics: how a professional vocation is born, what it means to face suffering and discomfort, how to respond to political violence. An appointment not to be missed», Grion anticipates. From November, the usual biweekly appointments of the Sociopolitical School will take place, the latter reserved for members.
All the details on the calendar, as well as information on the guests of the 2024-2025 edition, can be found on the website www.spes.diocesiudine.it.
John Lesa