Sergio's Commitment to International Solidarity

Our friend Sergio Regazzoni passed away at the age of 66 on July 29, 2009 in the Paris area.

Born in Tessin (Italian-speaking region of Switzerland) in 1943, he was a YCW activist there before he became a fulltimer. He participated in the International Training Session for future international leaders which was held in Chile at the end of 1968. He was asked to take on responsibility as a leader of the European YCW in 1969, and was elected to the Executive Committee for the 1970-1975 period. Finally, he was elected international treasurer in Linz from 1975 to 1977.

As a result he lived in Brussels from 1969 to 1977, working at the European secretariat, then at the international secretariat (which was in Rue Juste Lipse at the time). During that time, Sergio carried out several difficult missions, including in Vietnam and South Africa when YCW activists were in jail.

We can say that the YCW and the international experience he had were the basis of Sergio’s commitment for the rest of his life, at the service of genuine international solidarity. He showed his solidarity as much as he could in his subsequent commitments: with the Mouvement pour la Coopération Internationale (Movement for International Cooperation) in Geneva, the Comité Catholique contre la Faim et pour le Développement (Catholic Committee against Hunger and for Development, CCFD) where he was in charge of the Asia and Pacific region, and finally the Centre International Lebret-IRFED in Paris.

His friends who gathered for his funeral on August 7, 2009 in Evry, in the Paris area, testified to that. They then suggested to collect testimonies from all those who wished to express them.

This huge wealth of testimonies coming from all over the world is now gathered in the form of a book to be published soon (in French for a start, then probably in English). We call on all the former and current YCW members to disseminate the book:

• By registering for the purchase of the book and/or making a donation for those who are unable to buy it;

• By providing us the names and addresses of former YCW members who knew Sergio and whose contact details we don’t have.

Please send your donations to :

JOC Internationale aisbl

Bank Account No. 068-2290840-18

Bank: Dexia

Iban: BE50 0682 2908 4018

BIC: GKCCBEBB

Note: For the contribution via the Internet, please follow instructions of Paypal: