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Leadership Training Seminar 1 U hekk għadda wkoll il-Leaders Training Seminar 1! F’dan il-weekend (19 – 21) flimkien esplorajna ftit xi tiffser li tkun ta’ servizz u l-motivazzjonijiet tagħna il għaliex nixtiequ nkunu ta’ servizz, kif ukoll poġġejna xi ftit dak li tkellimna dwaru fil-prattika permezz ta’ sessions iktar ‘hands-on’. Nirringrazzjaw l Alla ta’ parteċipanti u l-ħeġġa tagħhom, kif ukoll tal-leaders kollha li għenu b’modi differenti sabiex dan il-weekend ikun esperjenza sabiħa u ta’ ġid għal kulħadd.  Din l-attività ġiet kordinata bil-ħidma tal-Youth Work Coordinator fiż-ŻAK. Il-programm ta’ ħidma taż-ŻAK huwa ssapportjat mill-Aġenzija Żgħażagħ permezz tal-fond operattiv INVEST 2023-2025.#InvestAġenzijaŻgħażagħ.

Mumenti The project Mumenti, supported by Arts Council Malta, kicked off on Saturday 17th February by means of a half day Seminar organised for those who hold a decision- making role or are coordinators of a section or working team within Azzjoni Kattolika Maltija (Malta Catholic Action). Around 40 people, aged between 20 and 70 years who voluntarily lead different sections and groups of the organisation, participated in this seminar held at the Iklin Parish Centre. This event was a way for these members to continue to get to know each other and to be supportive of each other. It also aimed to help them express the beauty they experience and the challenges they face whilst carrying out their mission within the organisation. An artistic workshop was held, with the help of Ian Stilton, an artist by profession, who helped the participants discuss ways how to overcome such challenges and to think about what makes them resilient and want to continue to persevere in their role within the organisation. He delivered this by exploring symbolism and visual representations in the workshop. The participants used different comparisons to represent and symbolise their thoughts and emotions.  These group leaders and team coordinators learnt about the importance of resilience and perseverance. Despite the several difficulties they might face, on a personal level or within the group, there is the need for resilience for that individual to adapt and continue moving forward. It is through perseverance that one reaches their personal and collective goals even though they might face failure. The 17th of February was also intentionally chosen for this seminar due to the fact that this week, the Maltese Catholic Action is celebrating its 94th year of its founding in Malta. The organisation was started in Malta by a small group of University Students on the 5th of April 1929, thanks to the guidance of Fr Danjel Callus. On the 19th of February 1930 the official statute of the organisation was approved by the Archbishop of that time. From then on, this date has been commemorated as the anniversary date of the organisation. Since then, more youth groups have been founded in different parishes. Their aim was to take an active role in conveying the message of the Church and to be of service to others. This small initiative developed into one of the largest Maltese Catholic organisations in existence today. The members of the organisation commemorate this special anniversary through a number of meetings and activities which are taking place this week. This seminar was only the start of the project Mumenti which will continue until February 2025. The next part of the project will see a number of creative workshops come to life, where with the help of many established locals artists, the Maltese Catholic Action will be bringing together members coming from different generations and different localities, to continue to get to know each other but also to continue to express themselves in a creative manner. The beauty of all this is that the organisation will bring together elderly members together with young people under the same roof and they will experience something they maybe have never experienced before. The creative workshops will focus on art, music, dance, drama and writing. The writing workshop will include young and elderly people corresponding by post, which may be something young people no longer do. The aim of all this is to continue to build and strengthen the sense of community and fraternity within the organisation. In the coming months the organisation will also be planning a number of cultural visits around Malta, where the participants involved will have the opportunity to go discover cultural spaces in our country that they may never have had the opportunity to visit or explore. Later on this year, through the Mumenti project, a group of young people will also be trained in setting up and creating a podcast where they will have the opportunity to interview and discuss topics and subjects with the older members of the organisation.

World Youth Day Naomi Galea, a 19 year old leader and member of ŻAK Mosta explained her experience of participating in a week of joy, fun, togetherness, and spirituality at this year’s World Youth Day in Portugal. During this week she met with people from all over the world who went to Lisbon with the same purpose: to share the joy of their faith together. This experience really surprised her, as she described it as a unique journey which only a few get to enjoy – to freely express one’s faith openly without any judgements. During the pilgrimage there were two moments which really struck her the most and which she will forever cherish. The first one was the unguarded, genuine exchange of peace during the opening mass. Seeing people coming from different walks of life embrace each other with a sincerity and joy that surpassed language barriers and cultural differences brought peace to her and a happiness which she could not explain – She can only describe this moment as what she think space really means. The second moment was during a WYD concert. As the singer Fr Rob Galea, started singing hymns of love and devotion to God, everyone else joined him, shouting their love for Jesus too. This was a rare unfiltered moment as many have to hide how they truly feel about their faith in their everyday lives and to see all these people shouting about their love for God was truly remarkable. Amidst witnessing all that the WYD had to offer, she feels as if this experience helped her rekindle her own faith. It was the boost she didn’t know she needed, which, during tough times she will look back to, in order to help her with her faith. During his homily on Sunday, Pope Francis emphasised these three points: shine, listen, and do not be afraid. These words truly struck her as they are the path to living freely and joyously through Christ. Naomi’s 17 year old friend Liam Muscat, also from ŻAK Mosta, describes the World Youth day as a memorable experience which he will also cherish for the rest of his life. He was frank and told us that he wasn’t looking forward to the trip. He was anxious that it was going to be a very long and tedious week. But as the days progressed, he didn’t want it to end. He felt as if his connection with God had strengthened, and his mental health was improving. While the main purpose of this pilgrimage was to be more spiritually aware of God’s presence, he also made friends with other pilgrims from all over the world with whom he talks to about Christ. The entire journey made a long lasting impact on his life, but he believes that The Way of the Cross was his favourite WYD event. This event compared modern issues that many teenagers face in their everyday lives with every station of the cross. Each station discussed a hot issue such as, eating disorders, loneliness, suicide, the environment, and many others. A line which he will remember is “What kind of world do we live in, God, where you allow people to die of hunger, while others die from overeating?” This question outlines how unjust the world we live in really is and that it is ok to question God. This activity also showed him how the Catholic Church is not stuck in the past but is constantly evolving to meet the needs of society today. World Youth Day enriched him spirituality, kindled unexpected friendships, and evoked a sense of hope inside of him. The Way of the Cross really changed the way he perceives the church, making him shed a positive light of its reforms and evolution and he witnessed the love for everyone, no matter what their situation in life currently is. Jamie Farrugia, a 24 year old leader and member at ŻAK Birżebbuġa, explains how she had always wanted to go to the World Youth Day. She remembers the time she had just started attending ŻAK in 2016 and a number of leaders and members had just returned from the World Youth Day in Krakow and remembers them mentioning what an amazing and memorable experience it was. A few years later, the World Youth Day took place in Panama and there it was announced that the next one would be in Lisbon. However, as we all know, due to the pandemic everything was postponed and she even questioned herself whether she would get to see Pope Francis in presence. Luckily, the Pope made a shirt visit to Malta last year but she feels that she was not well prepared for this event and that it went by so quickly that she did not even understand what the preseice of the Pope really means. The World Youth Day, she continued to explain, was a completely different story. Apart from the anticipation she had throughout tha least year, they had numerous meet ups, reflections and preparations as a group, and this group spirit continued to strengthen once they arrived in Lisbon. The first three days were focused on the Catechesis, which are sessions where participants reflect on their journey, their mission and their active contributions in their Catholic organisations in society. Moreover, they reflected on what brought them to that moment, what was their call in the World Youth Day. Jamie describes the experience of welcoming the Pope at Parque Eduardo VII. She understood much more the significance of the Head of the Church passing in front of them. His blessing, his words were accepted with an open heart, together with millions of other young people from around the world, who were all eagerly there in the name of peace and love. Even though Jamie mentioned she did not make a lot of personal connections that she is used to making in international youth exchanges and training seminars, there were still numerous moments that she cherises. One moment is when a Brazilian family turned around to hug them, after the Pope had just passed through the crowd. The moments of joy and positive energy where she danced and sang with other young people. The moments of silence when one and a half million young people were on their knees during the adoration at Campo da Graça. She also mentioned that the Pope’s words, through his simplicity,