wfn.org | WACC begins Third World Congress

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

WACC begins its Third World Congress

"We are convinced that communication in the service of reconciliation is 
communication in the service of truth and justice," the Rev. Carlos Valle, 
Secretary General of the World Association for Christian Communication 
(WACC) said in an address entitled "Community, Dignity and Reconciliation" 
during the opening session of the organisation's Third World Congress.

The WACC Congress, which began last night in Noordwijkerhout, Holland, will 
continue until July 7. The theme is "Communication: From Confrontation to 
Reconciliation."

Also speaking at the opening session were Dr. Konrad Raiser, Secretary 
General of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Eveline Herfkens, 
Minister of Development for the Netherlands.

Dr. Raiser emphasised the relationship between the theme of the WACC 
Congress and the Decade to Overcome Violence launched recently by the WCC. 
He also mentioned the importance that the term "reconciliation" has taken 
on since it entered the public and political lexicon in the wake of World 
War II.

Eveline Herfkens, Minister of Development for the Netherlands, welcomed the 
participants and highlighted the importance of organisations such as the 
WACC that seek reconciliation through communication. She also underscored 
the need to fight to reduce poverty, achieve development and ensure active 
participation by civil society in decision making.

The first challenges for communication in processes of reconciliation were 
presented by Judith Vidal-Hall, of the London-based organisation Index on 
Censorship. She described the forms that efforts toward reconciliation take 
in modern society, with particular mention of courts and tribunals where 
international crimes can be tried, truth commissions, amnesty and 
reparation processes.

Among the most warmly received parts of the Congress are the times 
dedicated to stories of reconciliation. One of the speakers during the 
first session was Estela Barnes de Carlotto, President of the Grandmothers 
of the Plaza de Mayo, an Argentine organisation that for years has 
dedicated itself to the tireless search for children and grandchildren 
disappeared during the military dictatorship in the South American country 
(1976-1983).

Carlotto explained how the grandmothers' resistance organisation was born 
and their search strategy, which includes investigative work and legal 
action as well as reconstructing the individual history of each disappeared 
mother and father. She also described the role of the communications media 
in their work and underscored the importance of the reconciliation that 
occurs every time a disappeared child or grandchild is found. 
"Reconstructing an interrupted history and restoring these young people's 
freedom and identity is an act of love, peacemaking, justice and hope," she 
said.

At the same session, Edgar Gutiérrez, Guatemalan Minister of Strategic 
Analysis, who was director of the Project to Recover the Historical Memory, 
described that work, which began in 1996 after the end of the country's 
armed conflict. The project was particularly aimed at reconciliation, 
education for peace, mental health and changing unjust and oppressive 
structures.

Sessions during the coming days will focus on various issues related to the 
main theme of the Congress: communication as an agent of reconciliation. 
Besides keynote speakers and presentations of experiences of 
reconciliation, ten smaller discussion groups will provide an  opportunity 
for broader debate and more in-depth understanding of the regions 
represented at the Congress.

The WACC holds congresses every six years. This year's event has brought 
together approximately 250 delegates from 83 countries, representing all 
areas of the world.

Suecia Méndez,
WACC Press Team