De volta do UNIV 2009

Chegou ao fim a magnífica jornada Romana, que com toda a certeza irei repetir no próximo ano.

O UNIV foi muito mais do que uma viagem, muito mais do que um Congresso...

Compareceram mais de 4300 estudantes universitários em Roma provenientes de mais de 200 universidades de todo o mundo mostrando que o Papa não está sozinho, ao contrário dos ecos que por aí (ou por cá) se vão ouvindo.

Esta semana conseguiu ultrapassar as marcas a todos os níveis, e não se cansou de superar as minhas expectativas.

A cobertura não saiu bem como esperava. O tempo e o cansaço não ajudaram.

Terei a oportunidade de ir relembrando episódios desta semana memorável...

Entretanto, deixo a entrevista à presidente do Congresso UNIV 2009, Rachel Ziegler:

1. Why do you think it is important to talk about the University today?

In today’s world we are bombarded by a materialistic view, that only values quantitative data. The University is seen merely as a stepping stone to enter the professional world. Meanwhile, for me university studies have value in and of themselves. University studies are a school for life, where we learn to think with a wider, more universal vision. This requires us to reflect and dialogue with other, not only in the academic community but also in seeing the bigger picture of science`s relationship with the cultural and social environment. In short, to understand the relationship between man and science.

2. Which university did you attend and what did you study? What memories do you have of your years in university?

I studied medicine at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. I learned a lot and discovered a new world. I got to know many people during intense years of study, at times complex and highly specialized. Scientific progress in medicine is huge and fascinating, and seems almost inexhaustible. I also discovered the relationship that these scientific advances have on man, as their true meaning is based on the service of the person. This led me to discuss with other students and organize workshops and interdiscliplinary conferences to go deeper in these themes.

3. Pope Benedict XVI has insisted in the importance of cultivating reason. How would you describe the challenge that the Pope is placing before young people?

The challenge consists, I believe, in that each time that we study and reflect, we arrive at deeper truths. Reason is an integral part of the person, and we realize ourselves fully as persons when we seek the truth of all things and of life itself. For this reason, I think that the challenge consists in not being satisfied with easy answers, but always seeing something more profound behind all things, and find solutions that help us live better.

4. What does the UNIV Congress bring to the world of culture? What relevance does an annual Congress in Rome have for the international community?

UNIV offers a forum for university students from all over the world who share similar concerns to exchange outlooks, experiences of their respective cultures, and life projects. They have the future in their hands, they are the international community of tomorrow. For this reason, coming to UNIV constitutes an occasion for them to widen their view of the world and mutually encourage each other to build a renewed, more human culture.

5. What contribution will the UNIV Congress make to university students that participate in these encounters?

I hope that after UNIV they return to their countries with a lot of enthusiasm. That they realize the importance of this stage of their lives, that they truly make best use of their studies to form a more universal and ever more focued vision of the truth. In this way they will be prepared, conscientiously, to form tomorrow’s culture based on the good of humanity.

www.univforum.org