The world meeting of the movement of young economists and entrepreneurs convened by the Pope to promote a truly comprehensive development is taking place in Assisi. Jena Espelita, from the Philippines: “Blockchain technology, if used well, can also become an opportunity for the poor.” Sohan Patrick: “From an economy that appropriates itself to one that creates a future: a recipe that we in Sri Lanka also need.” Tomorrow they will receive a visit from Francisco.
Assisi () – Thousands of young people from 120 countries gathered yesterday in Assisi for the world meeting “The Economy of Francesco“, the movement of young economists and entrepreneurs from around the world convened with a letter in 2019 to imagine together a new model of comprehensive development that puts the person at the center. Tomorrow Francis will travel to Assisi to meet them. And many young from Asia will also be present to welcome you.
“On this first day I have already met boys and girls from Indonesia, India and Pakistan, and others from South Korea,” says Jena Espelita from the Philippines. Originally from the city of Baguio, she has lived in Italy for four years and graduated in Economics and Administration from Sophia University in Loppiano, the multicultural athenaeum of the Focolare movement in Tuscany. She has followed the path of “The Economy of Francesco” from the beginning and today she works in Rome managing the computer networks of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.
“From this experience -he says- I like the openness of adults towards us young people. Even today it has been repeated that we are the present, not the future of the world. These events in Assisi are part of a much longer process that brings together different approaches to comprehensive development: not only the economy, but also technologies, psychology… And Pope Francis is the point of reference because he is with the poor , invites us to see everyone as brothers and sisters in one humanity, to build peace, development and equality. It is a long road, of course -says Jena- but in these meetings we share the experiences, the concrete steps that can be taken to promote this change”.
We asked him how he should change the face of his country of origin based on the ideas shared by the young people of “The Economy of Francesco”. “In the Philippines, for example, we have many problems in environmental management,” he replies. Water pollution kills children in the poorest areas. Slums are growing and clearing forest areas on the outskirts of cities. But there are answers that are coming from below, even using innovative ideas. I think of an experience that in the southern Philippines is using Blockchain technology to engage the poor in environmental protection. Those who clean a certain area are rewarded with cryptocurrency coin, which can be used to buy essential goods. Or use different forms of microcredit to help those excluded from the banking circuit to open a business. Or even all the work on caring for people. For example, in the Philippines, the experience of Bukas Palad is important, which accompanies parents in the most difficult contexts when they cannot take care of their children on their own”.
From Sri Lanka – a country victim of a deep economic crisis, the result of an unjust development model – Sohan Patrick, a young graduate and professor of finance, came to Assisi. Responding to the call of Pope Francis, in the year 2020 he formed in his parish a group that promotes concrete actions for the construction of a fairer and more sustainable future. “Much of the economy that we have learned so far – he commented in an interview with VaticanNews – is based on the idea of taking from the land, producing something and maximizing wealth. The economy in which the young people of Assisi have come together to work is a new type of economy, in which Pope Francis has invited us to participate. And this model I hope to take with me to Sri Lanka.”
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