Innovation and sustainability meet and form one of the five pastoral dimensions of the Theological Foundation of World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023. This WYD intends to present a dynamic of innovation in terms of its organization, interaction between the participants, communication and relationship with the available natural resources.

Sustainability is also one of the three central themes of the pontificate of Pope Francis, who even in the choice of his name was inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, "the saint of nature and animals. In addition to being a concern for the Holy Father, it is also one of the greatest concerns of young people today and, therefore, it could not fail to be a topic spoken about, reflected on and worked on in the largest meeting of young people from around the world with the Pope.

In this sense, we can find sustainability as a focus in several stages of preparation for WYD Lisbon 2023. From the training of volunteers to the awareness of pilgrims, passing through one of the main venues of the meeting, Tejo Park.

Having the goal of reducing the carbon footprint of WYD Lisbon 2023 in mind, a worldwide challenge has been launched to promote the planting of native trees in various locations of the Earth, in collaboration with the Global Tree Initiative (GTI). Learn more here.

In raising the awareness of the pilgrims, sustainability is present in the Rise up Preparatory Meetings, in which the first theme is Integral Ecology with the aim of reflecting on the resources of our Common Home and what is intended to be left for future generations.

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Tejo Park will bring a new green space to the city of Lisbon. D. Américo Aguiar, President of the WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation, stressed to Agencia Ecclesia the importance of a WYD "sustainable in the economy, but also in ecology," highlighting the Encyclical Laudato Si', asking pilgrims to "be effectively green.

Above all, it is a conquest of the Tejo coast, on the part of the people of Lisbon and Loures, and of the Portuguese in general, who will now have one more lung, to help reduce the carbon footprint of the day