wfn.org | Former LWF General Secretary Stalsett Named Co-chairperson 16th

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

Former LWF General Secretary Stalsett Named Co-chairperson  16th
International AIDS Conference

GENEVA, 20 December 2004 (LWI) - Norwegian Lutheran Bishop Dr Gunnar J.
Stalsett, has been appointed co-chairperson of the Leadership Program
Committee for the 16th International AIDS Conference (IAC) to be held in
Toronto, Canada in August 2006. 

The first religious leader to hold such a key position for the conference,
Stalsett, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF),
1985-1994, has been bishop of the Diocese of Oslo, Church of Norway since
1998. 

A press release from the Geneva-based Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) says
the IAC Global Conference Organizing Committee named Stalsett after reviewing
all nominations for the appointments of co-chairpersons for the three main
Conference Committees * Scientific, Community and Leadership.

Stalsett, 69, was nominated by Norways ecumenical aid development agency,
Norwegian Church Aid, with letters of support from the EAA and World
Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP). 

Co-chairpersons provide guidance and oversight of the respective IAC
committees in developing the content and raising high public awareness of
each program. The Leadership Program is designed to bring global attention to
the role and concrete contribution of leadership, from all sectors and all
parts of the world, in response to HIV and AIDS. 

Upon his return home after serving with the LWF, Stalsett became Rector of
the Practical Theological Seminary, University of Oslo, until his appointment
as bishop. He has twice served on the Norwegian Nobel Committee, 1985-1990,
and 1994-2003. Currently Stalsett is an International Co-President of the
WCRP and Co-Moderator of its affiliated European Council of Religious
Leaders, as well as Chairperson of the Niwano Peace Price Committee.

Stalsett attended the 15th International AIDS Conference held in Bangkok,
Thailand in 2004, and was a speaker on the panel of religious leaders in a
satellite session on the role of religious leaders in combating stigma and
discrimination.

The LWF is a member of the EAA, a broad international network of churches and
Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV and
AIDS. (334 words)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138 member
churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of nearly 65
million Lutherans. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of
common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

*    *	   *

LWI online at: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html 

LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30 
Editor's e-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org