Who are the young people of today? To understand, we need to look at their urgent needs for happiness and for fulfillment; at their–and our–bewilderment in the face of a reality that (especially for digital natives) seems increasingly liquid, that constantly changes. We need to look at the treasure housed in their humanity and the great things that can be discovered by anyone who seeks to unearth this treasure by throwing themselves into the adventure of education. In the following pages, we would like to offer a living experience of all this: an example of what can happen when the hearts of young people–their expectations, questions, and desires–meet a proposal. When they meet a method–a road on which they can learn how to grow–and an adult who will accompany them, who will throw him or herself entirely into this adventure with them. We present a dialogue between Julian Carrón (the successor of Fr. Giussani in leading the Movement) and a group of college students. The topic was charitable work, a gesture of sharing in the needs of others (the poor, the sick, prisoners, other students…) done on a regular basis so that a person can learn to discover his own deeply-rooted needs, his humanity. From the beginning, charitable work has been one of the pillars of Fr. Giussani’s educational proposal and is powerful enough to leave its mark on all of life (as you can read below): from academics to relationships to making use of time… It is also a formidable proof in action of the humanity of this generation of young people, giving voice to it in a much deeper way than many of the analyses that have been offered about them. And a way to listen to it.

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