MED25 Bel Espoir
(Tirana-Durrës)
10 August, 2025
Inspired by Pope Francis’s call for the Mediterranean to be a space of peace, dialogue, and encounter, MED25 is an initiative driven by youths from across the Mediterranean region. In the Context of the Jubilee of Hope, MED25 is a youth-oriented educational journey aboard a ‘peace training ship’ named ‘Bel Espoir’ (Beautiful Hope) that traverses the Mediterranean Sea, visiting 30 dioceses along its shores from March through October 2025. Hosting approximately 200 young people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, the voyage aims to foster interreligious dialogue, mutual understanding, peace, and solidarity.
From August 4th to August 6th, 2025, the MED25 Bel Espoir journey brought together young Mediterranean voices to confront the pressing realities of migration. Anchored in the city port of Durrës, Albania, the session explored the human stories behind migration, emphasizing dignity, hospitality, and shared responsibility.
SDC member Warren Vella was part of the organising team of the event. The program included visits to different places of worship in Tirana and Durrës, and meetings with different authorities and organisations dealing with migration in Albania.
The event concluded with a workshop facilitated by Warren Vella together with several Albanian youth volunteers. The workshop, through different interactive activities, helped the participants to have a deeper look on migration and to have a more active role in bringing about a more just world where the dignity of every human person is at the centre.
