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Organization: World Council of Churches - Decade to Overcome Violence
The following information may be cited or quoted as long as the source is accurately mentioned and the words are not taken out of context.
Posted: May 13 2010,00:42 If you wrote this report, you will find a button here that you may click
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Postal address of organization/institution

World Council of Churches, P.O. Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

E-mail address of organization/institution

See email form on following website.

Website address of organization/institution

www.overcomingviolence.org

Telephone of organization/institution

(41.22) 791 67 09

PRIORITIES: All of the organization's domains of culture of peace activity

EDUCATION FOR PEACE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN RIGHTS
WOMEN'S EQUALITY
DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION
UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY
FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION
INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY

TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity

UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY

PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS: What partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace?

Already by 2005 there were over 200 organizational partners and the list has continued to grow since then.

ACTIONS: What activities have been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already made a report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included in the 2010 report.

Actions as of 2005 were listed in the Midterm Decade report

A representative list of actions since 2005 may be found in the DOV newsletters of 2008 and 2005, available on the Internet at http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en....er.html and excerpted below:

July 2008 newsletter

* The WCC's DOV office has joined the World Health Organization's Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA).  The VPA is a network of WHO Member States, international agencies and civil society organizations working to prevent violence. Its aim is to build commitment to violence prevention.

* World ecumenical bodies request international community to scale up efforts in Zimbabwe. Two international ecumenical bodies called on the UN, the South African Development Community and the African Union "to increase [their] efforts to address the rapidly deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe". Emergency aid, postponement of the run-off election and the responsibility of the international community to intervene in protection of the people are amongst the main concerns.

* Ecumenical solidarity team to visit Germany, share experiences on nonviolence "Living Letters" from member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Burundi, Brazil, Greece and the United States will come to Germany, 27 June - 4 July, for an exchange of experiences in overcoming violence.

* Seminars and Theological faculties around the world received invitations to write declarations on just peace and send them to the WCC.  This call is also open to churches, congregations and networks interested in participating in the consultative process towards the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC).

* World churches' initiative against violence focuses on the Pacific.  Churches around the world will pray for the peoples of the Pacific as an international church initiative against violence focuses attention on the region this year. Pacific churches themselves will pray and reflect together on how best to promote peace in their communities.

* Today in Jerusalem, at the launch of a worldwide week of action for peace in Israel and Palestine, different churches will come together for an ecumenical service giving thanks for "every church and parish around the world that is praying with us this day for peace"..

"Multifaith Walk Against Violence" represents a move to unite Canadians against all forms of violence. These include: child abuse, domestic violence, terrorism, wars, gangs, bullying and elder abuse. This walk will begin on April 20 th , 2008 from Halifax and is expected to end in Victoria , B.C. by the end of November, 2008. Canadians of all faiths will be participating in this walk. Leaders from the aboriginal communities, as well as leaders from Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism and other faiths and backgrounds will be part of this Canada wide walk.

* Asia Pacific Youth Network is organizing a photo and essay competition on decent work for Youth for young members of the Public Services International affiliated unions in Asia and Pacific. We want you to tell us the significance of "Decent work for Youth" to you in a story form. As the saying goes, "a photo paints a thousand words."

* Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham called on Asia's youth to assume the mantle of leadership and foster sustainable, peaceful and harmonious societies, at the International Youth Leadership Conference in Bangkok last week. The conference theme was developing youth networks for peace and achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.

May 2008 newsletter

* An international ecumenical team of church representatives returned from a solidarity visit to churches and ecumenical organizations in Sudan from 26 March to 2 April.  They shared many concerns and unease stories, but still filled with hope that the situation in Sudan will be resolved.

* Saturday 10th May 2008, from 4pm to 5pm in each time zone, the Youth for Unity of the Focolare movement present the 2nd edition of the worldwide relay race "Run4Unity", a sports event to promote and build peace together.  After the first edition that saw the participation of over 100,000 teenagers in 340 cities of 89 nations, teenagers of many cultures, races and religions will run united once again in prominent and significant locations around the planet in order to symbolically extend a rainbow of fraternity over the world.

* The fourth global Congress of the World Association for Christian Communication is scheduled for Cape Town South Africa, 6-10 October, 2008.  The five-day event focuses on the them Communication is Peace: Building viable communities and offers professional development and networking opportunities.

* Easter Monday saw a lively demonstration against the development of nuclear weapons at the heart of Britain's nuclear weapons programme - the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.. Five thousand joined the protest which, on the anniversary of the arrival of the first Aldermaston march, celebrated 50 years of anti-nuclear protest in Britain.

* In 2008, Alberta Council of Women's Council will host the 1st World Conference of Women's Shelters. This event will present a new opportunity for family violence workers in Alberta and around the world to learn from international experts and each other.  Too often, women's shelter work is overlooked in discussions on family violence, when in reality they are at the forefront of dealing with this issue. This will increase the capacity of shelters in Alberta, across Canada, and around the world to affect change in their organizations and their communities to better meet the needs of ethnocultural, multicultural and racial communities when dealing with family violence.

Youth Across Boundaries. Redefining the Culture of Peace.  

The Asia Pacific Student s and Youth Gathering (ASYG) is a regional platform where young people from various background, nationality, ethnicity gather together to learn, study and share their experiences and ideas of peace and peace-building in their communities and countries. The ASYG is a unique opportunity for young people to listen and learn from the experiences of other young people engaged in peace-building efforts and develop appropriate strategies in their own countries. ASYG is an initiative of young people coming from 6 ecumenical and Christian organizations composing the EASYNET (WSCF AP, CCA, IMCS, IYSC, AA YMCA, YWCA). The ASYG Process (which includes the NSYG) will culminate in a Regional Gathering of about 150 youth and students coming from different countries, cultures, denomination and faith backgrounds around Asia Pacific in Seoul Korea this coming August 25-31, 2008.
December 2005 newsletter

In the spirit of "Building Communities of Peace for All", the theme for this year's DOV Annual Focus, churches in Asia are finding creative ways to address violence in their contexts. This issue of the Overcoming Violence newsletter will highlight just a few of the many stories we are hearing as we learn of their struggles for reconciliation and peace.
Stories of communities addressing crime and punishment as well as violence in economics have been contributed by persons directly involved in this work. A recent inter-religious conference in the Philippines and an upcoming event on economic justice in Hong Kong are examples of initiatives by churches to engage civil and religious groups in dialogue and cooperative efforts. The Ecumenical Coalition for Tourism is passionately committed to raising the issue of violence in tourism. We have also included an insert based on a recent study of current trends in military spending.
The Decade is gaining momentum! In the midst of violence, churches in Asia are working diligently in search of peace for all members of society.

PROGRESS: Has your organization seen progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of action and in your constituency during the second half of the Decade?

See progress as reported in the Midterm report (see actions above)

OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?

See obstacles as reported in the Midterm report (see actions above)

PLANS: What new engagements are planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence?


GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and supported at the world level??

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Organization: World Council of Churches - Decade to Overcome Violence

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