The second edition of the International Summer School promoted by The Economy of Francesco ended on Friday 23 June. For a week, the Franciscan Sanctuary of La Verna hosted the work of the school entitled
Spiritual, social and narrative capitals: going beyond capitalism.
The urgency of this theme was emphasised by Pope Francis himself in September 2022 in Assisi, on the occasion of the global meeting with more than a thousand young economists, entrepreneurs and changemakers from all over the world. There and then he recalled that «the first capital of any society is spiritual capital, for this is what gives us a reason to get up every morning and go to work, and engenders the joy of living that is also necessary for the economy».
It was a training and study experience aimed at young students, doctoral students, post-docs, researchers, but also entrepreneurs and changemakers, in an evocative setting such as the Sanctuary of La Verna, surrounded by a monumental forest and guarding numerous treasures of spirituality, art, culture and history. In fact, it is one of the hermitages in which the Poverello of Assisi is said to have loved to spend long periods of retreat and which holds many spiritual messages of beauty, search and peace.
The participation of 80 young people from over 32 countries around the world shows that The Economy of Francesco is a living and dynamic reality, especially in terms of ideas. The participants of the Summer School are, in fact, mainly young people engaged in academic research with a strong critical view of capitalism: a non-ideological and generic view because it comes from people working in concrete areas such as poverty, development, environment or ecology. Therefore, they propose change based on critical, concrete and timely aspects. Listening to the reflections, discussions and studies of the School’s participants, a new post-ideological critique of capitalism clearly emerges that is concretely linked to the major issues that are priorities for young people today: injustice, inequality, poverty and the environment.
«This year's edition was dedicated to the theme of narrative and thus spiritual capital as an essential resource first and foremost for young people who are the first to be aware of the present inability to pass on the spiritual wealth inherited from their parents (and previous generations) to other young people, peers and colleagues, because,- emphasise the teachers and coordinators of the School, - it is as if the link between two thousand years of history, values, categories and the ability to be understood had been broken. Narrative and spiritual capital, -the coordinators continue, highlighting the great involvement of the participants in the School's work, - are vital aspects for young people, not a mere abstract matter. How to tell the world of today (and tomorrow) the great messages of religions, ideals, and virtue ethics in a living language will be one of the great challenges of the coming years».
The Bishop of Assisi, Mons. Domenico Sorrentino also participated in the Summer School and during his visit to La Verna recalled that “St. Francis recognised the world for what it is: he recognised it as a gift; and his thought, his way of acting was all based on the idea of gratitude and gift. An economy that wants to renew itself must come to terms with these fundamental concepts, just as it must learn the logic of relationship,” he added. “If these concepts are authentic, the economy that will follow will also be authentic.”
One of the participants at the School was Ivanna from Ukraine. Born in 1995, she is a graduate in theology. After a period of studies in Italy, when the war broke out, Ivanna returned home to work with Caritas Ukraine serving the neediest people, with the dream of starting her PhD in civil economics after the end of the war. Erika, on the other hand, comes from the northern region of Chiapas in south-eastern Mexico. She is a business engineer who works with indigenous communities and is pursuing a master's degree programme in social and solidarity economy. Erika believes in the Economy of Francesco: an economy that is just, fair and in harmony with our common home. Among the participants of the Summer School there was also Emanuele, who graduated in economics from Bocconi University and is now a research assistant at the Harvard Business School in Boston, where he works on econometrics, migration flows and finance.
There were lectures, group work, project presentations, workshops, but also time and space for thinking, walking, listening and being in silence. Various reflections and activities were proposed to young people, including a diary writing workshop to help participants reflect on the power of words in influencing choices and decisions, including economic and social ones, and to re-discover the complexity of language as well as the tools for analysing texts and discovering their potential.