By Tiziana Conti, Administration and Fundraising Coordinator, WACC-UK

WACC has recently become a member of the UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development, a group of UK based organisations which work together to understand and develop effective approaches to the problems created by the HIV epidemic in developing countries. The Consortium enables each agency to bring its own experience to be shared and used to help all the members improve their responses to the epidemic through information exchange, networking, advocacy and campaigning. The new membership will allow WACC to give input into the future development of the Consortium and to receive the latest news and research. WACC can also be involved in thematic working groups on faith, care and support, gender, children affected by HIV & AIDS and prevention, and TB/HIV. As a member of the Consortium, WACC is automatically a member of the Stop AIDS Campaign.

Geneva, Switzerland, 2 August 2011

The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, outside Geneva, Switzerland, is playing host 1-14 August 2011 to 17 students taking part in a Summer School on “Communication and Religion”. Jointly organized by the Institute of Christian Communication of the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremburg, Germany, the Ecumenical Institute Bossey of the World Council of Churches (WCC), and the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), the first day’s programme ended with fireworks as Switzerland celebrated its National Day on August 1.

WACC's General Secretary, Karin Achtelstetter, has sent a letter of condolence to WACC members in Norway. In it she said, “As the days pass and the real and full horror of what happened becomes clearer, WACC members around the world as well as WACC staff will continue to have you and the Norwegian people in their thoughts and prayers."

The letter emphasized that WACC stands for communication that builds understanding, greater awareness of other people and their beliefs, sensitivity to other cultures and, above all, tolerance for alternatives opinions and worldviews. The bombing and killings witnessed in Oslo are forms of non-communication, an expression not just of intolerance and hatred, but an extreme inability to communicate.

The Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development (Cordaid) is seeking nominations from organisations actively involved in the linking of community and formal health and care services for people living with HIV.

Cordaid intends to award two organisations - one Civil Society Organisation and one Faith Based Organisation - showing leadership, commitment and vision in this field. Awards of €10,000 each will be presented to the winning organisations. Deadline for submission is 1st September 2011.

Cordaid kindly ask you to support it by ensuring that as many relevant organisations as possible receive this information!

All documents can be found on the Cordaid partner website.

The Award Announcement, Rules and Procedures and Application Form are available in English, Français and Español.

WACC signs partnership agreement with Globethics.net

		WACC has signed a partnership agreement with Globethics.net, a global network that promotes the exchange of insights and research on ethics and values. The partnership agreement aims at creating synergies in responding to global ethical challenges. It will run for four years in the first instance. Globethics.net offers the leading global digital library on ethics, making available more than 700,000 full text articles free of charge. Through the partnership agreement, a WACC collection of publications and documents will be established in the library. They will include a series of articles from its international journal, Media Development, regional and national reports of the Gender Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), selected articles from its Centre for Communication Rights (CCR) and a wide range of publications and resource documents from its members and partners worldwide.
Professor Dr. Christoph Stückelberger, Executive Director and Founder of Globethics.net

By Teresia Mutuku, Communication Officer and Web Manager, WACC

The ongoing strategic planning process of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) has been commended by the Executive Director of Catholic Media Council (CAMECO), Dr. Daniela Frank, who visited WACC Secretariat in Toronto, June 27.

Frank recognized WACC’s global initiatives of promoting communication rights around the world and the wide range of stake holders involved in the strategic planning process.

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) calls for an end to violence in Syria and for respect and tolerance for peaceful freedom of expression. WACC hopes reform steps will lead to inclusive participation of all parts of society in decision making processes.

“At the recent pre-assembly seminar of the WACC Middle East region, WACC members highlighted the importance of freedom of expression in creating inclusive, democratic societies. We are therefore urging the Syrian government to respect the right to freedom of expression of the people of Syria”, says WACC General Secretary, Rev. Karin Achtelstetter. She also appealed to all parties to seek peaceful resolutions.

By Philip Lee, WACC Deputy Director of Programmes

Pray the Devil Back to Hell, an award-winning documentary about Liberian women peacemakers, was screened to enormous acclaim yesterday at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which is taking place in Kingston, Jamaica, May 17-25. It underlined the power of communicating alternative stories of peace and reconciliation. This documentary chronicles the remarkable events surrounding a group of brave Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Their actions led to the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the first African nation with a female President.

By Philip Lee, WACC Deputy-Director of Programmes

WACC is sponsoring a workshop on media and gender justice in Haiti as part of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) International Ecumenical Peace Convocation which began Wednesday 18 May 2011 in Kingston, Jamaica. In 2006 the WCC’s 9th Assembly decided that the 2001-2010 Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) would end with the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC). The IEPC aims to witness to the Peace of God as a gift and responsibility of the oikumene. It seeks to assess and strengthen the church’s position on peace and deepen a shared commitment to processes of reconciliation.

By Philip Lee, WACC Deputy Director of Programmes

WACC’s Strategic Planning Process is well under way and has been given a boost by a Roundtable Meeting of WACC partners that took place in Helsinki, Finland, 27-28 April 2011. Some twenty international participants addressed the challenges posed by participatory communication for development.

The Roundtable took place during a meeting of WACC’s Officers and was hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF). Those present were warmly welcomed by Dr Kimmo Kääriäinen, Director of the ELCF Department of International Relations and Rev. Juha Rajämäki, a member of WACC’s Board of Directors.

By Amany Latif Ebied - Secretary of WACC

		One of my favourite movies is “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde”. In the movie Elle Woods heads to Washington D.C. to pass a bill on animal cosmetic testing. She took it upon herself to have a “voice on behalf of those who couldn’t speak” and to outlaw animal testing. At the end of the movie she narrates a story which has lingered in my mind since then and I would like to share it with you on the occasion of the Easter celebration. While Woods was in one of the finest and most expensive beauty salons, she went through a particular hair process that ended in disaster – from the hair colour, washing shampoo, to the haircut, yet without protesting she paid a lot of money for it. This seemingly small and insignificant incident made Woods aware of her lack of courage to speak up and eventually turned her into an activist.
Amany Latif Ebied - Secretary of WACC