LWF Delegation at 7th World Social Forum Key Concerns Include Refugees' Repatriation, Human Rights and Water
NAIROBI, Kenya/GENEVA, 22 January 2007 (LWI) * A Lutheran World Federation (LWF) delegation comprising church leaders, program coordinators, and staff of the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) field offices from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, is participating in the 7th edition of the World Social Forum (WSF) in Nairobi, Kenya, 20 - 25 January.
"The best thing the WSF can be is a forum for meeting others who are working in similar issues to yours and making contacts with resource people outside our family - people who can be useful to your work," Mr Peter Prove, Assistant to the LWF General Secretary for International Affairs and Human Rights told the 40-person LWF delegation at a briefing in Nairobi on 20 January.
He pointed out that the LWF does not "set up a common theme for our delegation" and urged the representatives of LWF member churches and DWS field programs to follow issues that relate to their work so as to obtain maximum benefits from "this enormous [market place] for civil society networks." Church-related groups are presenting their events under an ecumenical pavilion.
Under the WSF theme "Another World Is Possible," members of the LWF delegation will participate in debates focusing on poverty, HIV and AIDS, environment, human rights, economic globalization, governance issues, debt cancellation, repatriation and the rights of women, among others. Activities that are co-organized by the LWF and its partners include a 22 January discussion on human rights, universality and culture. On 23 January under the topic "Human Rights and Mobility and Citizenship Challenges," some of the LWF delegation members will contribute to a discussion on the implications of refugees' repatriation.
Some of the delegates hope that the WSF would provide an opportunity to strategize on crucial concerns at national level. "The issue of social justice which calls for national leaders to turn national resources to development and education instead of war is very particular for me, as I come from a war-torn country," Bishop Sumoward E. Harris of the Lutheran Church in Liberia told LWI in Nairobi.
Mr Kishore Kumar Nag, associate director of the Division of Social Action, United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI), said the UELCI wanted to establish more networks with groups concerned with indigenous peoples' land rights, interfaith dialogue and the water crisis. "Many multinational corporations are involved in this [water] business. It is becoming a big commercial issue. Ordinary people are losing their water," he said.
Bishop Dr Paul K. Fynn, Evangelical Church of Ghana, said he hoped for a good forum where "we will talk about our joys, as well as problems like HIV and AIDS."
Since the first WSF in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001, civil society movements and activists worldwide engaged mainly in advocacy for economic justice gather annually in the January forum which provides a people-center ed alternative to the Davos (Switzerland) World Economic Forum. The 2001-2003 and 2005 WSF editions were held in Porto Alegre, while Mumbai, India, hosted the fourth edition in 2004. The 2006 edition was held in different cities - Caracas, Venezuela; Bamako, Mali; and Karachi, Pakistan. Over 50,000 delegates are attending the Nairobi forum. (538 words)
(Reported for LWI by Nairobi-based journalist, Fredrick Nzwili.)
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of 66.2 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
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