Ruvo di Puglia, Italy – October 2024 - The Sacred Heart Institute in Ruvo di Puglia participated in the Don Bosco Global Youth Film Festival (DBGYFF) event on 17 and 18 October. About 70 participants, including students, young adults and adults, explored and deepened the theme of DBGYFF 2024 "I Have a Dream - Youth and climate change - Making Mother Earth cleaner and greener". In preparation for the event, the organisers promoted the festival through a campaign with valuable information about DBGYFF, underlining its alignment with the vision of Don Bosco and Laudato Si '. The audience actively interacted with the themes of the film, triggering discussions on environmental responsibility. Participants reflected on impactful messages and explored practical solutions to reduce plastic use and promote recycling. The event was also featured on social media, expanding its reach and reinforcing the importance of youth-led media as a force for change towards a sustainable future.
Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil – November 2024 – On 1 November, the 55th anniversary of the inauguration of the statue of Father Cícero was celebrated in Juazeiro do Norte, one of the most evocative symbols of faith and religiosity in the Brazilian Northeast, also coinciding with National Pilgrim Day. Work began in 1967, under the direction of the then mayor Mauro Sampaio, sculpted by the artist Armando Lacerda and with a foundation project by engineer Rômulo Montenegro. Officially inaugurated on 1 November 1969, the statue is located on the Colina do Horto, a sacred space administered by the Salesians. This place has become a point of reference for pilgrims and a spiritual meeting point for believers from all over Brazil, especially from the Northeast. Fr Francisco Inácio, Superior of the Province of Recife (BRE), expressed the satisfaction of the Congregation in taking care of the place: "We, sons of Don Bosco, are fortunate to take care, together with the entire diocese, of this beautiful pilgrimage movement, especially here in Colina do Horto, a sacred place loved by Father Cícero as a point of encounter with God. The image of Father Cicero is not only a visual symbol, but also a symbol of testimony, of this great educator and catechist of the faith of the pilgrim people," said the Provincial.
Paris, France – November 2024 – Support for Ukraine by Salesian foundations around the world continues: the Don Bosco Foundation based in Paris, recognised as a public utility, has just financed the sending of almost 12,000 boxes of milk for babies to Ukraine. This operation was carried out thanks to the partnership with the "Laboratoire Modilac" brand, which has been producing and distributing baby milk in pharmacies and supermarkets for 40 years. The milk, from the Sodilac plants (group of which Laboratoire Modilac is part) in Caen (Normandy), arrived in mid-October in Zhytomyr, a town located 140 km west of Kiev. It was received by Fr Michel Wocial, SDB, responsible for the Salesian work in Zhytomyr and will be distributed to Ukrainian families in need. This shipment of almost 5 tonnes of cargo was possible thanks to the generosity of the donors, the Don Bosco Foundation that mobilised itself and the Don Bosco teams. Already in 2022, the Don Bosco Foundation took care of the needs of the Salesian house in Odessa, where refugees were arriving. In 2023, the Don Bosco Foundation supported about thirty projects, for a total of almost 700,000 euro in France, and in other countries around the world.
Dabolim, India – October 2024 – On 17 and 18 October the Don Bosco school in Dabolim hosted the Don Bosco Global Youth Film Festival (DBGYFF), bringing together 198 participants including students, teachers and the environmental activist Fr Bolmax Pereira. The event began with an opening ceremony in which Fr Pereira himself shared valuable insights on water conservation, the protection of forests and making Goa as green as possible. Student Durva gave a speech in the Konkani language on protecting the planet for future generations. During the two days, the students then attended the screening of numerous selected films, each introduced by a short synopsis and followed by engaging discussions. Teachers led the reflection sessions and students enthusiastically shared their thoughts, demonstrating a strong desire to contribute to the conservation of the environment. The event ended leaving a lasting impact on the students and reinforcing DBGYFF's goal of promoting environmental awareness and responsibility among young people.
Kep, Cambodia – October 2024 - Cambodian young people participated in the Don Bosco Global Youth Film Festival 2024 which this year was dedicated to young people and climate change, "I Have a Dream - Youth and climate change - Making Mother Earth cleaner and greener", in the context of the 200th anniversary of John Bosco's dream at 9 years of age. The social communication students and students from different Don Bosco schools in Cambodia were invited to participate in this international Salesian event. Three films made by young people were sent, but one would be the winner in the East Asia - Oceania Region: "Women guards of Mother Earth" directed by Mr Tula Hang, a student of media communication at Don Bosco Kep, with his team. In the ten finalists for the East Asia-Oceania Region, Thailand and the Philippines each scored three films, Vietnam two and Timor-Leste one. The Cambodian film stresses the need for community-oriented action to protect the environment. It is not enough for a single person or some groups to work for the protection of the environment if others in the community are simultaneously carrying out activities for its reduction and degradation. While a group of village women work to protect their beloved ancestral territory of wonderful giant trees, their husbands secretly cut down trees to sell them on the black market, in a hurry to get money for their family's livelihood. The women confront them and seek better solutions where nature and community can work together.
Rondonópolis, Brazil – October 2024 - The Salesian community at Rondonópolis (MT), which belongs to the Salesian Province of Campo Grande (BCG), organised the 3rd edition of Bosco Fest on Sunday 27 October, on the occasion of National Youth Day. The event brought together about 300 young people from different parishes in the city, at the Salesian Oratory. The afternoon was animated by music, spirituality and festive moments. The celebration, dedicated to Don Bosco, was attended by Fr Gabriel Romero, Councillor for the America South Cone Region, who is making the Extraordinary Visitation to the BCG Province. During the celebrations Fr Gabriel Romero expressed his joy at having shared this special moment, highlighting the importance of the Extraordinary Visitation to Rondonópolis: "It is a joy for me to share this moment with you," he said. The diocesan bishop of Rondonópolis, Bishop Maurício da Silva Jardim, attended the event underlining the commitment of young people. “The last Sunday in October is National Youth Day, it is your day, and it is a joy to be here with you. I invoke God's blessing on each of you, so that this blessing touches the hearts of all and inspires you with big dreams, not small dreams, "he said. The parish priest of the São João Batista Parish and rector of the Salesian community in Rondonópolis, Fr Vanderson de Souza Gomes, said that "Young people from different parishes of the diocese are with us from Montanópolis, Gratinga and other places where the charism of Don Bosco has arrived in their hearts".