Peace does not inherit, it is built. It is not a obvious good, but an open construction site, fragile yet vital. This is the heart of the seventh edition of Dialogue forumwhich will be held on 4 October in San Marino with the title “Dialogue with peace manufacturers”. In a time marked by conflicts, “forgotten” wars and new tensions, the initiative presents itself as a radical invitation: do not limit yourself to talking about peace, but putting it in place, day by day, in relationships, institutions, in society.
The forum is promoted by a project group representing some local associations, and has grown over the years to become a reference appointment, capable of weaving the voice of the Church with that of the academic, associative and civil world. Not surprisingly, the scientific manager, Renato D. Di Nubila, professor at the University of Padua, recalls that the idea was born in the wake of an appeal to peace expressed by Pope Francis before, and today by Leone XIV: «This forum was born on his stimulus. A word that has become commitment, with months of work and the mobilization of an entire community. It is nice to see how institutions, associations, local and international realities move together every year. It is a sign that peace is truly a common good ».
Manufacturers, not slogan
Di Nubila immediately warns of the risk that the word “peace” will be reduced to rhetorical formula: «Peace is not a slogan, nor a vague of auspicious. A negotiation that leaves everyone dissatisfied is not enough: it must be built in the daily life of relationships. For this we have chosen to talk about Peace manufacturers: people, community, experiences that demonstrate with their life that peace earns with peace itself ».
The teacher cites Cardinal Matteo Zuppi: “The absence of peace is fought with peace itself”. A phrase that resonates as a compass of meaning for a time when conflicts multiply. “Today there is no longer only the traditional war of opposing armies: we witness a widespread conflict, which crosses communities and social relationships. Talking about peace then means facing the root of conflicts and proposing a new way of living in the world».
The forum does not avoid the most burning issues. “Tens of thousands of people take to the square not for a political cause, but for a humanitarian cause, as happens today for Gaza: this is worth more than a thousand rallies”, observes of Nubila. “Peace does not belong to a deployment, but to the polis, to the common interest. It is high and universal dimension, which concerns everyone’s coexistence and dignity ».
At the base there is a personalistic vision: “We in Padua are personalists. I remember Mounier, who defined the person “a human absolute”, and Maritain, who saw the key of the person in the balance between individuality and sociability. A dialogue can be set up on these foundations that cannot be trapped by partisan ideologies ».
The program of the 2025 edition brings together voices and stories of great thickness. There will be Carlo Cefalonijournalist and writer of New City; The Nobel Peace Nobel Riccardo Guarantini; Marcello Zavatta of Emergency, witness of the commitment to Africa and Asia; and rooted associations: the ACLIwith the national vice president Italo Sandrini; there Pope John XXIII communitywith the testimony of Stefano Vitali; Charity without bordersactive in Africa, India, Romania and Ukraine; And San Marino for the Childrenwhich has already guaranteed education for 13,000 children in Malawi.
Space also to young innovators: “A pasteurization and purification of water for African villages will also be presented,” he says about Nubila. “Peace also passes through social justice and from access to primary goods. Building peace also means guaranteeing clean water ». The forum will open with the greeting of the new bishop, Monsignor Domenico Beneventi.
The value of the testimony
The construction of peace is not abstract concept, but feeds on concrete gestures. “The testimony of realities such as the ACLI, who live daily next to the people, or the Pope John, with the prophetic force of Don Oreste Benzi,” recalls Di Nubila, is essential. «Personal memory also matters: I myself brought my children to school from Don Oreste and I remember his heart always ready to listen. These seeds are the real bricks of peace ».
Another trait that distinguishes the forum is the will to leave a legacy. “Every year we try to publish acts or materials, because the thought continues to circulate,” explains Di Nubila. «We live on small sponsors, but the challenge is to ensure that the forum does not remain an isolated event, but a process. Today’s society suffers from deficiency of thought: social networks spread volatile data, but do not help to reflect. We want to return space to thought, because without thought there is no peace ».
The Pope’s message
To strengthen the journey of the forum also came the Message from Pope Leonethrough the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The pontiff recalls a simple and yet decisive truth: “History, experience, the many good practices that we know have made us understand that authentic peace is that which takes shape starting from reality – territories, communities, local institutions – and listening to it”. A peace, he continues, “that does not remove the differences or conflict, but recognizes them, assumes and crosses them»(Hearing, May 30, 2025). It is an invitation to persevere in building bridges, even when the context seems hostile. “His holiness encourages to operate to encourage dialogue with everyone and spread a culture of peace”, concludes Parolin, sending the apostolic blessing.
The dialogue forum does not offer simple recipes, but intends to open spaces of thought and relationship. “When one returns home, in his work and in his own daily life, the forum can leave the seed of a good contagion», Hopes for a cloud. “An invitation not to resign itself, to believe that peace really builds together.”
