The ‘Cantieri dell’Umano’ initiative to build a new economy from the ground up
Words and testimonies to shape the future and foster a sense of responsibility
The World Meeting on Fraternity did not end with the final testimony in St Peter’s Square. One question remains from those days: what are we prepared to do to ensure that fraternity shapes our choices in politics, the economy, culture and daily life? The ‘Cantieri dell’Umano’, taking place in Rome and at the Vatican today and tomorrow, pick up that journey and relaunch it towards the 2027 Meeting. The name itself suggests the method: a ‘construction site’ calls on different people to work and build.
The initiative is promoted by the Fratelli tutti Foundation, which conceived and organised the Meeting and is now building on its legacy by transforming it into a permanent programme. From this year onwards, the Foundation is chaired by Claudio Granata, who has been called upon to lead a phase in which fraternity must be translated into alliances, projects and shared responsibilities. The continuity between the Meeting and the ‘Cantieri’ responds to the need to ensure that the relationships and proposals that have developed are not lost.
Today, in the New Synod Hall, the coordinators heading up the various working groups at the Meeting will discuss the projects that have emerged and the commitments that can be implemented. Tomorrow at Palazzo Cardinal Cesi, Fratello, dove sei?, the report on the latest Meeting edited by Father Francesco Occhetta and Michele Capasso, will be presented to the public. Rather than merely a record, the book is intended as a working tool: the recollection of what has been said serves as a guide for what remains to be done.
Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will speak at the presentation. Her presence highlights the need to foster a spirit of fraternity within institutions and in the use of resources, so that care for the individual becomes a tangible responsibility.
Father Occhetta, Secretary-General of the Foundation, recalls: ‘Brotherhood is not measured by the words we speak, but by the responsibilities we are prepared to take on. Through the Cantieri dell’Umano, we want to move from declarations to projects, fostering dialogue between institutions, businesses, the cultural sector and civil society. At a time when artificial intelligence is transforming our lives, the challenge is not to lose sight of the wisdom of human relationships. The biblical question ‘Where is your brother?’ thus challenges us once more: it is not enough to know where the world is heading; we must decide together what kind of humanity we wish to build.”
