World Youth Day 2011 calls for artistic and cultural submissions

Madrid, Spain, Feb 1, 2010 / 17:59 pm

Organizers for World Youth Day Madrid 2011 have recently called for proposals for the event's Youth Festival, an aspect of the international gathering intended to “manifest how faith becomes culture.” 

The Youth Festival, held during each World Youth Day, is described by organizers as an “ensemble of artistic and cultural activities” including music and dance, theater, art exhibitions, design of urban spaces, displays of the Church's social work across the globe, biographies of saints and missionaries as well as cinema and audiovisual productions.

An online announcement detailed the criteria for proposals and stated that the submissions need “to be lively, contemporary and important expressions for today's young people,” inspired by the Christian virtues of faith, hope, charity, joy and fortitude.  Also mentioned in the specifications was the requirement for proposals to “manifest a universal beauty, accessible to people of different cultures” and to also be “of great artistic quality.”

Though the festival is organized by international committee members, emphasis is placed on the local committee and the culture of the country hosting World Youth Day.

“The principle framework of the Youth Festival is the history and cultures of Spain,” said the online statement, which described Spain as “a country of apostolic tradition, where the faith has taken root and borne innumerable fruits of sanctity; from which innumerable missionaries have left to take the faith to the five continents... .”

Youth Festival organizers will select submissions based on relevance, artistic quality, universality and technical and financial feasibility. Those interested in submitting proposals are required to do so by April 1, 2010. More information can be found at www.madridwyd2011.com.