date: 30.07.2014.
Preparations are being done for the 25th International Youth Festival that gathers youth from all over the world and was initiated in 1990 by late Fr. Slavko Barbaric. Back then only one hundred young people gathered with two players with one guitar and a few singers and everything was held in the green tent. Every year, the number of participants was increasing and at the moment is far the largest event that takes place in Medjugorje. The Festival is event of prayer, song, lectures and testimonies that the International Youth Festival and Orchestra is accompanying. Their conductor for the last five years is Professor Damir Bunoza. The members of the choir have been intensively rehearsing and professor Bunoza placed the emphasis on the organisation of the Festival: “The organisation of the Festival is so beautiful and people who come to sing and to play are not here just because of that. It is a unique feeling and we are all like a big family here. We pray together, we exchange experiences from various countries. It is a feeling that cannot be repeated, nowhere else in the world. We have more and more people joining us in the choir, at the moment around 60 singers and 25 players. When it comes to the bend, we have been rehearsing for one month and it is one of the most important things in the orchestra”, said Prof. Bunoza. The parishioners are also including themselves in the organisation, especially the youth. Fr. Stanko Cosic, chaplain in the parish of Medjugorje said that young people are really interested: “We tried to engage only young people from our parish this year. Not to exclude the others, but simply because all young people who wanted to participate have chance to do that, as parishioners who represent the parish of Medjugorje. They, as the volunteers will be serving and helping to the youth from all over the world. 150 young people registered for that”, said Fr. Stanko.
