Light Up! Glow with your life! This is the theme chosen for the Choose Life 2020 Festival, which brings together 150 young people aged 12 to 18 every year. In response to the events, the Festival has reinvented itself as 'LIVE'. This is the first time ever, according to Fr Éric Vollen sj, the event's designer and coordinator.

From 14 to 18 April, the Choose Life Festival was to take place in Soignies, Belgium, bringing together, as every year, some 150 young people aged 12 to 18, led by young people aged 18 to 30.  Due to coronavirus, this long-awaited event has been cancelled. We had to reinvent ourselves. That's how an animator, Christophe, who excels in digital technology, combined his skills with those of Vincent, a former animator who lives in Morocco. With the help of Olivier, a graphic designer and former animator, they decided to create the Festival 2.0. With their help, the coordination of the Festival decides to give birth to a virtual Festival. The Festival Choose LIVE was born! The principle is simple: from Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 April, at 2pm, one hour of "live" for everyone who wants to. Another way to shine!

One hour of "live" programming

Of course, the appeal of the Festival to 150 young people for a week cannot be experienced in the same way. However, our goal is to make it possible to live the Festival in community with all those who wish to do so. Each day is structured in the same way: an introduction to the theme of the day, humor and gravity, a speaker for 15 minutes, live, with questions and answers, tracks for reflection, a live prayer time of about fifteen minutes, and 3 possible workshops presented by animators. All this is punctuated by several songs. And the incredible thing is: yes, it is possible to recreate an atmosphere - certainly different - of the Festival "at home". This was especially experienced at the time of prayer. A dozen songs were recorded remotely, by the six singers and musicians. A technical achievement.

Quality speakers

On the first day, Eric Vollen, a Jesuit from Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), spoke of joy and consolation.  On the second day, Grégoire Le Bel, Martin Rondelet and Louis Tonneau, from Paris (Blomet), shared their experience of being a witness today, through everyday life and on the net. On the third day, Isabelle Meeus, prison chaplain, spoke to us about her experience and the forgiveness lived in prison.  Finally, on the last day, Olivier Caignet and Bénédicte Malfait spoke to us about their professional commitment, and how to witness to his faith through his profession. About twenty animators were engaged to animate these various moments. A great team effort!  The "Young Church 2.0" was born!

An audience success

Every day we had about 200 different people logging on to the site. And, during the "live", we had between 50 and 65 people logged on at the same time. Many comments and questions showed the interest shown by the young people, the animators, and the elders; some parents were able to see what was going on at the Festival. And many people who didn't know about the Festival were able to enjoy it.

In 2021, from Monday 12 to Friday 16 April, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Festival in Soignies, Belgium. Already 2500 young people have been able to renew their faith since its creation.  By becoming "actors" in the Youth Church.