Together for Europe invited by Italian Association “Cities for Fraternity”

Some say that in order to unite Europe, you need to unite European cities. Is there, however, any universal “glue” that is capable of tying together and bringing alive such network?

Together for Europe is a group of Christians who t o g e t h e r, through their social and political commitment for Europe in the broadest sense, strive for brotherhood among all. The Association Cities for Fraternity is a body whose objective is to make a contribution, in Italy and beyond, to promoting brotherhood in political life. The aims of the two organisations have a lot in common, to the point that these organisations consider themselves as peers.

On 22^nd June 2017, in Assisi, the city of St. Francis, the management of Cities for Fraternity met with representatives from different Italian cities. Together for Europe was also invited to the meeting, following a first contact between the two peer organisations last February in Rome, on the occasion of the conferral of the “Chiara Lubich Prize for Fraternity” to the municipality of Assisi (see article in section ‘International News’ of the website). The desire behind this invitation was to develop synergies between the peer organisations to better position of each to be at a service of the common good.

“Brotherhood needs to become our way of life” – Donatella Tesei, the Vice-President of the association emphasised, quoting examples of practical collaboration between different cities of Central Italy. Her words were echoed by the facts and testimonials showing the work of Together for Europe in different European countries.

So, brotherhood is the “glue” which makes such synergies between different groups working within Cities for Fraternity and Together for Europe possible; together they can offer a spiritual and cultural contribution in response to challenges emerging in our cities.

Ilona Tóth and Ada Maria Guazzo