TAIZÉDates
The European Meeting in Ljubljana will take place from Thursday 28 December 2023 to Monday 1 January 2024.
Photo: © T. Dolinar
Age for participation
European Meetings are for young adults between 18 and 35.
Programme
Tuesday 26 December: Arrival of helpers
Arrival of helpers. Please plan to arrive at the welcome point between 2pm and 5pm.
The Meeting can take place thanks to a good number of volunteer helpers arriving on 26 December. They help in various ways:
welcoming people who arrive on 28 December work teams (meal distribution, cleaning, preparing the places of prayer, etc.) supporting the organising group in a local church or other host centre singing in the choir (please indicate on your registration)
Thursday 28 December: Main welcome day
8am to 12 noon, arrival in Ljubljana, then first contact with host communities
4:30pm meal in Stožice Arena
6pm evening prayer in Stožice Arena, then return to your host communities and assigning of accommodation
Friday 29 and Saturday 30
8.30am morning prayer in the host communities, then small reflection groups and meetings with people, young or older, involved in local community life.
Lunch on the way to the city center (a packed lunch will be distributed the evening before during supper).
1pm midday prayer in various churches in the city center
3pm workshops on themes of faith and inner life, social involvement, culture and artistic creation
5:30pm meal in Stožice Arena
7pm evening prayer in Stožice Arena, then return to your hosts
Sunday 31 December
Participation in the Sunday service in the host communities, then small reflection groups and meetings with people, young or older, involved in local community life.
Lunch on the way to the city center (a packed lunch will be distributed the evening before during supper).
3pm meetings by country in different places of the city
5:30pm meal in Stožice Arena
7pm evening prayer in Stožice Arena, then return to your host communities
11pm prayer vigil for peace, followed by “Festival of Nations”
Monday 1 January
Participation in the January 1st service in the host communities, then lunch with your hosts.
Departure from 4pm onwards.
Accommodation
Accommodation will be either with inhabitants of the city and surrounding region or in small group accommodation (i.e. in church halls, schools, sports halls, etc.) Everyone must bring a camping mat and a sleeping bag. Young adults with disabilities should register by 1 November so that appropriate accommodation can be found.
If you have your own accommodation
In the spirit of the pilgrimage of trust, we encourage you to let yourself be welcomed by local residents and get to know people that you do not know already. If you have already organised your own accommodation during the meeting, it is essential that you include the address of where you are staying on the registration form. You should also still come to register at the arrival point to receive the programme, tickets, etc. Your hosts should contact the nearest participating church and explain that you will take part there during the meeting.
Cost
Your financial contribution covers meals, local transport, the hire of the meeting places, equipment, and other costs of the meeting. The level of contribution varies according to the cost of living in different countries.
The requested contribution to costs is:
For young people from UK and Ireland: €90
Other English-speaking countries: please contact us.
For participants or group leaders whose professional occupation allows them to give more, we ask 140€
If you arrive on 26 December to help, the expected financial contribution is the same.
How to make your contribution
Please give your financial contribution online by credit card via your registration form before the meeting. (Please note that we cannot refund any transactions.) If you have questions about the above mentioned mean of contributing, please write to meetings taize.fr putting “financial contribution” in the subject line of your message.
In different regions and countries, young adults are preparing the pilgrimage together. Preparation material will be published on the Taizé website over the course of the next months.
On the Taizé social networks (@taize @taizeljubljana) you will find more news with photos of the preparation.
Registration
Those intending to lead a group should please register as soon as possible, giving an initial estimation of the number they will be bringing and then adding little by little the details of participants. The deadline for registrations is December 1st.