The gift of freedom, the freedom of giving

Personal relationships are a source of deep satisfaction when we give without expecting anything back—when freedom is at the basis of our choices. In order to experience the joy of giving, said Carlo Maria Martini, “we should not be anxious for ourselves: the personal ego should be strong enough”. Love in solidarity presupposes the conquest of freedom. The well-known journalist and author Corrado Augias and Father Virginio Colmegna will discuss the gift of freedom and the freedom of giving. They will examine the risk and the effort that the difficult choice of freedom entails if freedom is understood in its loftiest and fullest meaning. They will investigate the conditions, events, and times of history that make that freedom possible, and comment on how easy it is to lose it. They will emphasize the importance of self-confidence in any exchange— confidence in one’s identity, in one’s country, in one’s bonds in daily life. The gift is a personal as well as a collective deed—it concerns everyone. Whole countries can be selfish or on the contrary show solidarity, and the same goes for one part of the world vis-à-vis another.