New City Press Philippines (NCP-Ph) is one of the more than 20 publishing houses of the Focolare Movement spread all over the world. It is the home of the Focolare Publication in the Philippines. It was established here in Manila in 1966 as the English edition of the Italian “Città Nuova” for Southeast Asia.
NCP-Ph publishes books on a variety of topics and a full-color monthly magazine, the New City Magazine. It aims at offering a view of the world from the perspective of unity – that unity that Jesus prayed for to the Father, “May they all be one” (Jn. 17:21).
New City Press Philippines, through New City Magazine, has been awarded for its contribution in promoting interreligious dialogue by local and international media commissions, like the Catholic Mass Media Award (CMMA) in the Philippines and the International Christian Organizations of Media (ICOM) based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Why the name New City?
If we look at our own cities, what people yearn for today is precisely a ‘new city,’ a ‘living city’ and a ‘fraternal city’ where, beyond every division, we are sisters and brothers to each other. Our goal is to be a pathway to fraternity, a means of dialogue at all levels, and an instrument of communion and oneness. Focolare founder Chiara Lubich said, commenting on Focolare media. (January 2006)
The Focolare Movement
50th Anniversary Issue of New City Magazine featuring Chiara Lubich ‘s first visit in Mariapolis Peace Tagaytay
Chiara Lubich (1920-2008) was founder of the Focolare Movement (The Work of Mary). Born in Trent, Italy, her baptismal name was Silvia. In 1943, Chiara Lubich consecrated herself totally to God and 1943 has become the year associated with the birth of the Focolare. In the course of her life, she saw the spirituality of the Focolare – the spirituality of unity – grow around the world. She was awarded 15 honorary doctoral degrees, numerous civic awards, the Templeton Prize for Progress of Religion, and the UNESCO Peace Prize. She has published more than 50 books in 29 languages. It has approximately 2 million adherents and people who are sympathetic to its goals – the majority being Roman Catholic. Today the Movement is present in 182 countries. In 2000 Chiara wrote, “Right at the beginning we asked with faith. The Movement really has reached the furthest corners of the earth. Within these people are representatives of all the people of the whole earth.”
The Achievement Award and the Citation
The New City Achievement Award was conceived in 2014 to highlight the positive contributions and great impact of active Focolare members and adherents to Philippine society. The Editorial Board based its criteria in choosing the Awardee on the General Statutes of the Work of Mary and in the spirit of Focolare’s goal, Unity. Thus, a New City awardee is a person who works for unity, brotherhood and dialogue.
The 2016 New City Achievement Award becomes more significant as we celebrate New City Press’ 50 years of life in the Philippines. The New City Board has considered an essential element in choosing this year’s achievement awardee: his selfless and heroic commitment at the service of the marginalized, deaf and mute persons. And this validates New City’s commitment to reach the “peripheries” of the society.
About The Nuova Global Foundation
New City Press PH is an affiliate member of the Nuova Global Foundation. The Nuova Global Foundation (NGF) is a global non-profit organisation, established by the Focolare Movement. It serves as a platform that supports the development of media organisations and journalistic projects that surface global challenges and solutions for the common good and towards humane global development. NGF is headquartered in Rome, Italy and supports a growing global affiliate network across 6 continents and 32 cities, working collectively to pave ideas and solutions for inclusive and sustainable growth of our global society.
