Magazine

John Paul II Foundation / Magazine (Page 3)

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January 17, 2024

"The situation in Israel and Palestine is very complex, difficult, getting worse with each passing day. The war is spreading to the whole Middle East. We must strongly call for peace, for an immediate cease-fire," these were the first words of Father Ibrahim Faltas, vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, speaking in Florence at an evening of reflection on the situation in the Middle East. The meeting sponsored by Alessandro Tonelli, president of the Rotary Club of Fiesole and Andrea Bottinelli, president of the John Paul II Foundation was attended by many Rotary Clubs in the Florence area. More than 200 people crowded the auditorium of the Innovation Center, built on the Florentine lungarni, recovering the ancient Granaio dell'Abbondanza, built in 1695 for Grand Duke Cosimo III dei Medici. Participants in the evening included the secretary general of the Chamber of Commerce, Giuseppe Salvini, entrepreneur Giammarco Piacenti, the president of the Order of Journalists of Tuscany, Giampaolo Marchini, the director of the Cassa di Risparmio Foundation,...

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January 8, 2024

Civil Service is an opportunity for training, personal growth and education in active citizenship that contributes to the social, economic, environmental and cultural development of the countries where it takes place. We invite you to carefully read the full text of the Call for Proposals at the following link to discover all the benefits and opportunities https://www.scelgoilserviziocivile.gov.it/leggi-il-bando/il-testo/ The John Paul II Foundation is offering 4 young people between the ages of 18 and 28 the chance to have a meaningful experience as volunteer workers in Lebanon and Jordan. In Jordan, the project focuses on supporting services for hearing-impaired children in the areas of inclusive education and health. While in Lebanon, the goal of the project is to contribute to the improvement of socio-economic and environmental conditions in rural communities by enhancing natural resources through sustainable consumption and development models. The commitment required will be 12 months, with an average of 25 hours of service per week. Interested young people can send their applications to...

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January 4, 2024

New dates for the Foreigner Support and Information Service are available! The desk offers social-work support, housing and legal guidance. In particular, it is possible to request: - Assistance on residence permits and family reunification. - Support in issues related to labor and rental contracts. - Support in the search for a home and relations with landlords. - Information on renting and buying property. - Support in job search and training courses. - Support in compiling a resume and cover letter. The office is open every Wednesday by appointment from 3 to 6 p.m. at 40 Via Concini in Terranuova Bracciolini. For appointments: send a message via Whatsapp to 353 439 0762 or email: sportellivaldarno@gmail.com or contact social services directly Attached is the calendar of openings from January to April 2024: Desk Calendar 2024 ...

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December 19, 2023

Florence, Christmas 2023 In the Church of Santa Maria della Pieve in Arezzo, as soon as we cross the threshold -on the right- nine faces of distant, silent, anonymous suffering introduce us to the sacred. Those faces were chosen from a folder full of other eloquent images by students who participated in the "Man Project" organized by the Foundation from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1. They are faces that we could meet every day in our cities; faces that tell of the same periphery that on the night of Bethlehem was populated by the excluded as they approached the Grotto and that still today ask that that embodied Hope does not remain confined to the territories of good statements only, as they would have the right to reproach us since they are deprived of any future - as they are - because of the conflicts that still inflame some regions of the world; conflict in Afghanistan, civil war in Myanmar, crisis in Yemen, Russian-Ukrainian war, Gaza war...

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December 12, 2023

I am Viola Nouhi, and I have been working at the John Paul II Foundation for a few months now, after doing Universal Civil Service in Bethlehem for a year at the Paul VI Effeta Institute. Just about this time last year I was there, cheered by the joy of the children and fascinated by the spirit of Christmas that only the Holy Land can convey. These days I often think back to that time when the war seemed so far away. In a few days it is Christmas again and my heart breaks as I read the news of the conflict that is once again devastating that land. The Dorothean Sisters, who have always run the Institute, tell me every week what is happening in Bethlehem; unfortunately, fewer and fewer students can reach the school. In fact, most live far away and are unable to travel because it is risky to travel the roads and cross the checkpoints. Classes continue online but for...

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Article, Magazine
December 6, 2023

December 6, 2023 Our school year 2023-24 began in mid-August. We were immersed in intense and creative activity in the various disciplines, but already there was a "polluted" atmosphere that grew, until it exploded in an unthinking dramatic and fatal way on October 7. Since that day, almost all the pupils attending our institute have been locked up in their homes, villages and towns. With courage, we have been trying to reopen the school, but very few children are able to attend. Online classes are very difficult for the hearing-impaired, because children who cannot hear us need to see the lip movement and mimicry of the speaker and manual dexterity to facilitate comprehension. Many have asked to sleep at school, even on the floor, as long as they do not miss the chance to learn and experience the serenity of a normal day-to-day life with their peers. This is tremendous for a...

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November 23, 2023

"Mark (Mark 7:31-37) presents the miracle performed by Jesus that restores hearing to a deaf man." So begins the President of the John Paul II Foundation, Andrea Bottinelli, speaking about the link between Effetà and the Foundation. "The ancient Aramaic word "Effetà," which means "open," is not only emblematic for fostering communication for the hearing impaired; it is paradigmatic for what the Foundation proposes: to open gazes and intelligences in an area of suffering and exclusion and to feel it as one's own." For more than a five-year period, in fact, the Foundation has been supporting the Bethlehem Institute and the Palestinian girls and boys who find shelter, care and a life project within those walls. "We feel that we belong to the family of the Effetà Institute and, like any belonging, it consumes desires, illusions, joys, achievements, renunciations, failures like any creature, which even if not deprived of hearing, sometimes remains deaf to the perception of silence." continues Bottinelli. The bond between the Tuscan non-profit organization and the Pontifical Institute is now well established....

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November 15, 2023

  Every day, in meeting others we set our gaze on their face. If we do not place our gaze on their face, it means that we want not to see them, not to recognize them; we reduce them to being shadows, silhouettes, beside which we pass in order to go beyond... Emmanuel Lévinas Every year the John Paul II Foundation organizes a space for reflection dedicated to discussion on various issues, involving collaborators, donors, employees and the whole community. This year the day will take place in Arezzo and will be entitled "Project Man," a reflection on the faces of humanity, the use of language and our interpretation of the other. For the first time, it will be possible to follow the day in its entirety through live streaming from the Foundation's Facebook page. The main purpose of the days is to involve young people and make them protagonists of the discussion, in fact, on November 29, they will have the opportunity to converse with Marco Bentivogli, a trade unionist, to talk about the challenges of the open society. The next day, 30.

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November 13, 2023

We are pleased to invite you, on Friday, December 1 at 2:30 p.m., at the Baracchi Foundation (Via Bosco di Casina 12), to the event "Life Project: a new approach for the Rights of persons with disabilities" !The event is organized by the John Paul II Foundation in collaboration with the Recognize Foundation and with the contribution of the CR Florence Foundation. During the meeting we will address the issues of social inclusion, autonomy and independence of people with disabilities, through the tools of the "Project of Life" and "After Us". We look forward to seeing you!Programore 14:30 Registration of participants ore 15:00 Opening of the proceedings Filippo Vagnoli - Mayor of Bibbiena, Carlo Toni- President Union of Municipalities of Casentino, Eleonora Ducci - Mayor of Talla ore 15:20 Life Project: the state of the art in the province of Arezzo Mauro Conticini - president of the Reconoscersi Foundation 15:40 Territorial networks: collaboration between the John Paul II Foundation and the Reconoscersi Foundation Andrea Bottinelli - president of the John Paul II Foundation 16:00 Methodological framework: paradigm shift...

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Conversations, Magazine
October 26, 2023

The difficult and complicated times we are experiencing in these weeks after the inhumane attack carried out by Hamas toward Israeli civilians and the Israeli army's disproportionate and unjustifiable response toward the people of Gaza will certainly not be resolved by siding with the Israeli people or the Palestinian people. Yet all those who care about the future and the coexistence of peoples are aware that without paving the way toward the construction of two states, that small territory in our world will become the place of greatest destabilization and a human powder keg capable of breaking the already unstable balance in the Middle East, the antechamber to a war of incalculable proportions and consequences for the entire planet. The history that has passed through a land so cherished and loved by Christians, Jews and Muslims over the past 70 years is, in each of its events and occurrences, the true witness to the inability so far...

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