President Pirc Musar attends a European Youth Meeting and expresses confidence and faith in young people in working for peace
The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, responded to the Taizé Community's invitation to meet young people attending this year’s European Youth Meeting, which is taking place in Ljubljana and has brought together over 5,000 young believers from all over Europe. Having attended today's evening prayer with 8,000 other people, the President of Slovenia addressed a letter to the young people, telling them that their role is irreplaceable in bringing about change for the better and in working for peace everywhere in the world.
Ljubljana, 30 Dec 2023
News
President Pirc Musar noted that this year's meeting was taking place at a time of many tensions, divisions and armed conflicts, among which the war in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian war are affecting us the most. Expressing sympathy for the suffering civilians and condemning their inhumane treatment, she stressed that it is our common mission to create the conditions in which people will live in peace and in a safe environment that allows progress and joy for all – and above all for children, who suffer the most in wars, being deprived of a carefree childhood.
President Pirc Musar expressed her belief that we can achieve this together – on the basis of the acceptance of diversity and with tolerance, in a culture of dialogue and a spirit of the acknowledgement of past mistakes and forgiveness, overcoming and accepting the sins of the past, and with our eyes and will fixed on the present and the future.
“We need to summon all the energy we have. Each and every single one of us. We must create the conditions for peace, for the dignity of all, for the inclusion of the most marginalised and vulnerable, and for the return of those who have had to leave. War refugees and economic and climate migrants repeatedly say they would prefer to stay at home, in their own countries, if only there were peace and the basic conditions for a decent life,” she wrote in the letter, thus expressing her trust and faith in youth, who have the will and strength to take a big, even decisive step towards cooperation, mutual understanding, the elimination of divisions, the acceptance of differences and diversity as an integral part of our societies and an understanding of an inclusive vision of the future.
