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World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

For immediate release: 7 February 2005

WCC PARTNERS ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR A NEW GLOBAL ALLIANCE AGAINST POVERTY AND
INJUSTICE

Ecumenical agencies and churches working in the field of relief and
development have called for the creation of a new international alliance
of church-related organizations to address issues of poverty and injustice, provisionally named "ACT Global".

The consensus on the new international ecumenical initiative, which would
eventually cover humanitarian relief, development cooperation and advocacy
work, was elaborated during a consultation convened by the World Council
of Churches (WCC) at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, near Geneva, 4-5
February 2005.

Concluding the meeting, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
underlined the historic nature of the agreement. "This meeting is a
turning point in ushering in a new era of collaboration between churches,
ecumenical agencies and the WCC," he stated.

The gathering proposed that the establishment of the new alliance later in
2005 should be a first stage towards bringing together international
ecumenical work for justice under a common umbrella, probably using the
name of ACT (Action by Churches Together), which is already used for
ecumenical work in emergencies. According to Dr Daleep Mukarji, director
of Christian Aid (UK), the hope is for "a common instrument bringing
together relief, advocacy and development which can act quickly and
flexibly."

WCC member churches and agencies have struggled for years to find new ways
of working together to face global problems of injustice and poverty, but
have sometimes differed in their approaches. For those present, the Bossey
meeting offered a breakthrough in defining a common vision. "This meeting
affirms the role of WCC in helping all partners find a more effective and
common way of working," said Dr Baffour Amoa from the church fellowship
FECCIWA in West Africa.

Participants affirmed the central role of the WCC in taking the proposal
forward, and appointed a steering group charged with developing a
provisional structure and negotiating with other ecumenical organizations
already involved in these areas. The steering group may already initiate
ecumenical pilot projects among potential alliance members, for example in
post-tsunami development work.

Among those represented at the meeting were several major church agencies;
members of WCC's governing bodies; representatives of WCC-related ACT
International and the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance; and partners from
several regions working at the local level in diakonia and development.

The full statement of the meeting:
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/statements/20050205consultation_diakonia.html

Further information: Dr Elizabeth Ferris, Coordinator of WCC Diakonia &
Solidarity Team, +41 22 791 6224, diakonia@wcc-coe.org

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.