Why did you decide to get involved in the Economy of Francesco?

It didn’t come out of nowhere, since I had already spent three years of my life in Italy with the Focolare Movement, and then as a lay missionary for some time now. From my experience in Europe, I understood that there are values to be taken and values to be shared, with respect to one’s identity. Thus, I joined a bank [technically inaccurate; rather I joined an association that comprises a bank as one of its members :)] to look for a way to apply the charism of the Focolare. I also reached out to other young professionals to better understand what was possible for me to create in the Philippines in our globalized era… especially today as the world faces a pandemic. I have come to understand that, nowadays, information spreads so fast that it creates an enormous amount of data for us to take in and sift through, and to do so, we need committed people who have the same conscious motivations working together on the risks and benefits of different processes… even educational processes, and perhaps focusing on informal pathways of education, such as that of the Focolare Movement. I believe that it is important to share without losing one’s own identity, and to combine scholarship with interesting and dynamic life experiences.

In what way has your participation in the Economy of Francesco enriched you?

It has deeply changed me. I joined as a researcher and economist [change-maker,[1] in fact], and when I became part of a “village” [Policies and Happiness], I saw that many of my peers were greatly interested and focused on how happiness can be institutionalized – how this concept can become more influential in society. The relationship I’ve built with other colleagues involved in the project was a very democratic experience, and benefits greatly from it. However, we must be aware of our need to be effective in communicating these values. Let me give an example: In Europe, there have been ups and downs during the pandemic and a variety of containment initiatives. In the Philippines, on the other hand, we have experienced seven months of more or less severe lockdowns that have hindered direct communication. I’m afraid this will still be the case for some time, and precisely at a time when we need to develop the ability to work together, to propose spaces of sharing and dialogue without the strict need to interact face-to-face. This is the kind of network we are fostering, which is the prerequisite for us to get to know each other better even as we come from different professional backgrounds or areas of action.

Which principle is of central priority in your activities [with your youth colleagues]?

The principle of collective action. We already have experiences of socially-oriented entrepreneurs, of an economy, based on solidarity in daily life. For me, the narrative of making a contribution, in a way that is positive and optimistic, is part of the process, despite the challenges we face. We have a responsibility to orient the next generation towards collective action: to aim for equality, even in education, and to journey together. In my group (in the Philippines), we have different professional backgrounds, but I think that the Economy of Francesco reaps the fruits of collective action.

How do you plan to pursue the objectives of the Economy of Francesco in your teaching and research?

I am increasingly convinced that we must commit ourselves to changing the current vision of inclusion and diversity – thinking of the latter as a source of enrichment rather than an obstacle to coexistence –to rethink and recreate our idea of economics and politics in global society. We must promote a new culture of encounter that changes increasingly polarized relationships. We must work to broaden the horizons of young people for an effective global citizenship education. I plan to undertake research with two colleagues from the Ateneo de Manila University to map the processes and practices of Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) in the Philippines, including social enterprises, using the guidelines of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and of the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of SSE (RIPESS).

Interview by Stefano Vecchia, Asia Correspondent for Avvenire.

This article was first published in the Italian newspaper Avvenire last November 14, 2020.

[1] Anyone who is taking creative action to solve a social problem