Three hundred young people from 29 countries where there are various forms of conflict will come to Rome for the 15^th World Day of Youth.  From Asia and Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, their faces bear witness to their suffering for the tensions in their countries, but above all to the lively hope of true peace.  The witness of these 300 young people will help WDY2000 to keep the Church’s horizon broad in its untiring missio ad gentes. “Do everything you can to rediscover the road of reconciliation and forgiveness” is the invitation which John Paul II conveyed to young people who are living through the difficult experience of conflict, and whom he wishes to meet during the WDY in Rome.  The youngsters who are helped by the Solidarity Fund come from (among other countries) the Balkans (Albania, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Kossovo and Montenegro), from Sri Lanka, Indonesia. East Timor, the Sudan, Angola, Sierra Leone and regions of South America.

The tradition of solidarity fund

The tradition of the Solidarity Fund is a long-standing one, already rooted in the celebration of the Days of Youth. The purpose of the Solidarity Fund is to support participation by young people from countries in economic difficulty.  The Fund was devised by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, which in relation to the WDY 2000 event, manages it in conjunction with the Italian Committee.  The Fund is made up by the $10 contribution which each young participant is asked to pay.  Assistance is then granted under the form of financial contributions or under the form of participation free of charge.

The possibility of participation for delegations of young people resident in areas with economic difficulties, who would otherwise not have been able to come,  will again be available for WDY2000.  If it proves possible again this year, it will be thanks to the thousands of youngsters who, by a contribution of 10 dollars each, make possible what for so many of their contemporaries would otherwise be just a dream.  Thus throughout the month of August, not only during the week of the WDY, these young people will be guests of the dioceses of Italy.