One of the great novelties of this year's "OzBosco" was to allow people who otherwise would not have been able to attend (due to distance problems) to represent different countries such as India, the USA, Hong Kong, Canada and Fiji.
Among the main interventions, those by Steve Eguino and Akec Makur Chout are worth mentioning. The first, on the evening of Friday 14, explored the theme of this year's Strenna. Eguino highlighted that: “when it comes to our faith, we must always work to improve it”.
The next day, a lot of time was reserved for Akec Makur Chout, a native of South Sudan, who spent her childhood in a refugee camp before arriving with her family in Perth, Australia. Akec spoke directly to young people, telling her story, urging them to become the change they want to see in the world and reminding them that being young means being powerful!
Also significant was the speech by Macson Almeida and Malka Doshi, of the Don Bosco Green Alliance, who, live from Mumbai, shared their passion for caring for the environment. Also noteworthy is the youth empowerment workshop conducted by Michael and Felicity Walter, from Melbourne.
The final liturgy was led by Fr Brian Ahern and was the perfect way to conclude the event, which also celebrated Don Bosco's birthday.
Usually, OzBosco is the absolute pinnacle of the year for the Salesian Youth Movement in Australia with over 150 young people from all over the country coming together for a weekend of games, workshops, music, reflections, dance and prayer. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it seemed impossible to continue. However, thanks to a small but willing hardworking team, the whole event was re-evaluated and rethought, which then moved to an online platform, where it, however, retained all the Salesian charism.
