ACT Development constituted by 55 churches and organisations
Sean Hawkey Communication Officer ACT Development sha@wcc-coe.org T +44 1273 454232 M +44 7930 334920
ACT Development, the new global alliance for development, has been officially formed after two years of consultations and planning. The alliance celebrated its first assembly on February 5-7 in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by the All Africa Conference of Churches.
By working collaboratively, the alliance aims to increase the effectiveness of ecumenical work on poverty, injustice and human rights abuse. The alliance brings together 55 ecumenical organisations and churches, collectively running programmes in 157 countries with more than 14,000 staff and with a combined budget calculated to be in the vicinity of US$1 billion.
Addressing the Assembly on February 7 the Rev. Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, explained that "there is a strong sense that we need each other as partners in the ecumenical movement?We have crossed an important threshold with this Assembly. There is now the promise of increased and more carefully targeted co-operation? this will lead to beneficial results for our partners at grassroots and national levels".
The Assembly considered the future direction of the alliance as well as its mechanisms and programmatic activities. It was agreed by the Assembly that ACT Development should continue discussions with ACT International, the churches global alliance for emergency response, to explore possibilities of a structural relationship between the two alliances. A close working relationship will also be maintained with the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance. By developing a global brand - using a shared family name among organisations in the alliance - ACT Development aims to enhance the visibility of the development work being carried out by the ecumenical family. It was unanimously agreed by the Assembly that the alliance should continue to work with branding consultants towards the sharing of one family name: ACT (Action by Churches Together).
Emphasising the importance of a global brand, Kobia told the Assembly that "a visible presence of specialised ministries at the international level is absolutely required? involvement in strategic global advocacy has become a must".
The Assembly affirmed that at the national level, a forum will be established by ACT Development organisations working in the country as the basis for collective discussion, learning, analysis and planning.
Executive Committee elected
A 12 seat Executive Committee was elected by the Assembly:
A.G. Augustine Jeyakumar (United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India); Hans Bruning (ICCO, Holland); Nora Coloma (Comunidad Cristiana Mesoamerica, Central America); Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel (Bread for the World, Germany); Eberhard Hitzler (Lutheran World Federation, Geneva); Elizabeth Kaseke (Christian Care, Zimbabwe); Dragan Makojevic (Philanthropy, Serbia); Rick Santos (Church World Service, USA); Humberto Shikiya (CREAS, Argentina); Atle Sommerfeldt (Norwegian Church Aid, Norway); Haftu Woldu Teshalle (Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Ethiopia). The twelfth seat was left vacant to be filled by a woman chosen by the new Executive Committee.
The World Council of Churches has played a key role in the formation of the alliance and will continue to chair the Executive Committee as well as hosting the Alliance Secretariat for an initial period. Member churches of the World Council of Churches, their development departments and other ecumenical organisations working in development are encouraged to take part in ACT Development. For more information please see:
www.actdevelopment.org
(photographs of the assembly and participants are available from sha@wcc-coe.org)
Organisations forming part of ACT Development at the time of the assembly are: All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC); Amity Foundation, China; Bishopric of Public Ecumenical and Social Services (BLESS), Egypt; Brot für Alle/Bread for All, Switzerland; Brot für die Welt/Bread for the World, Germany; Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR); Centro Regional Ecuménico de Asesoría y Servicio (CREAS), Argentina ; Christian Agency for Rural Development (CARD) India; Christian Aid, UK and Ireland; Christian Care, Zimbabwe; Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB); Christian World Service (CWS) Aotearoa New Zealand; Church of Sweden, International Mission and Diakonia; Church World Service, Inc. (CWS), USA; Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) Malawi; Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), India; Comisión Cristiana de Desarrollo (CCD), Honduras; Comisión de Acción Social Menonita (CASM), Honduras; Comunidad Cristiana Mesoamericana (CCM), Central America; Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (CLAI), Latin America; Coordenadoria Ecumênica de Serviço (CESE), Brazil; Coptic Evangelical Organisation for Social Services (CEOSS). Egypt; Council of Services and Development. of the Synod of the Nile Evangelical. Presbyterian Church, Egypt; DanChurchAid, Denmark; Ecumenical Association of Churches in Romania (AIDROM); Ecumenical Church Loan Fund, ECLOF International; Ecumenical Committee for Social Development (CEDES), Mozambique; Episcopal Relief and Development, USA; Ethiopian Orthodox Church: Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission; Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst e.V (EED), Germany; Federación Argentina de Iglesias Evangélicas (FAIE), Argentina; FinnChurch Aid (Kirkon Ulkomaanapu), Finland; Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission; Fundação Luterana de Diaconia, Brazil; Fundacion de Ayuda Social de Las Iglesias Cristianas (FASIC), Chile; HEKS/EPER (Swiss Interchurch Aid); ICCO, the Netherlands; Icelandic Church Aid; Iglesia Evangélica del Rio de la Plata , Argentina; International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), USA; Liberian Council of Churches; Lutheran World Federation (LWF); Lutheran World Relief, Inc., USA; Methodist Church of Great Britain; NCCA Christian World Service, Australia, Norwegian Church Aid,; Philanthropy Charitable Fund of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbia ; Presbyterian World Service and Development, Canada; Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, Canada; Social Health and Education Development (SHED), Bangladesh; Synodical Board of Social Services, Church of North India; United Church of Canada Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit; United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India; WCC Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation; YAKKUM, Indonesia.