| Posted: May 13 2010,00:42 |
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Postal address of organization/institution
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World Council of Churches, P.O. Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
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E-mail address of organization/institution
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See email form on following website.
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Website address of organization/institution
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www.overcomingviolence.org
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Telephone of organization/institution
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(41.22) 791 67 09
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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
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TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity |
UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?
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See obstacles as reported in the Midterm report (see actions above)
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to
promote a culture of peace and nonviolence? |
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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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