wfn.org | LWF General Secretary Urges Australian Teachers to Educate for

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

LWF General Secretary Urges Australian Teachers to Educate for a
Non-Exclusive World
"Cross Currents - Charting a Course in a Sea of Diversity"

ADELAIDE, Australia/GENEVA, 30 September 2004 - The general secretary
of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, has urged
Australian Lutheran educators to equip their students for life in a
global village that "excludes no-one." 

In a keynote address to delegates attending the Second Australian
Conference on Lutheran Education (ACLE II), Noko noted that while
inclusiveness did not come naturally or easily, the church's voice
against the exclusion of some groups of people must be grounded in "our
oneness in Christ - and in compassion, rather than in mere sympathy." 

Nearly 700 delegates and visitors attended the ACLE II at the Adelaide
Convention Center, September 27-29. There are 111 Lutheran schools and
early childhood centers in Australia, with a combined enrolment of
around 30,000 students. Noko presented an overview of global trends and
challenges, with a view to helping the conference delegates prepare
their students for life in a 'sea of diversity.' The conference's
theme was "Cross Currents - Charting a Course in a Sea of Diversity."

Exclusion Has Many Faces: Poverty, HIV/AIDS, Racism

The LWF general secretary cited global social issues that could foster
and compound non-inclusive attitudes and actions. Economic globalization
had contributed to the rapidly growing gulf between the rich and poor
worldwide, Noko said. He urged the ACLE II delegates to consider how
they might act in ways that were consistent with the petition 'give us
our daily bread,' stressing this as a community prayer that asked for
food to be delivered to all tables, "not just our own."

"HIV/AIDS in one part of the world is HIV/AIDS everywhere," Noko
said. "If Christ is our model and guide, how will we respond to those
who our societies have rejected because of their HIV status - with
acceptance and compassion, or with judgment and exclusion?"

The LWF general secretary reminded the ACLE II delegates that racism
was not defeated with the fall of apartheid, but it was still a powerful
and persistent undercurrent in all human societies. He drew attention to
"subtle and often equally pernicious" forms of racism that continued in
parts of Africa - in particular the current conflict situations in
Darfur, western Sudan, as well as in the southern part of that country -
in Israel-Palestine and in many Asian countries, where racism against
foreigners was an unacknowledged but obvious reality. 

'Religious Wars' the Result of Constructed Enemy Images 

Noko spoke of his conviction that there was no such thing as a
religious war in the contemporary world. Instead, religious diversity
was being manipulated for other - usually political - ends, he said.
People of one community have been actively encouraged to see all those
belonging to the other community as enemies. These constructed 'enemy
images' were the real source of conflict, he stressed. "My fear in the
current global context is that we, the peoples of the world, our
political [as well as] religious leaders, have permitted extremists to
hijack the course of our history."

Deeply-rooted human prejudice was re-appearing in many new guises and
with many different pretexts, according to the LWF general secretary.
"The terrorist attacks and atrocities perpetrated by certain Arab Muslim
groups and individuals have encouraged prejudice against Arabs, as well
as feeding anti-Muslim sentiment," Noko said. He also noted that "the
most objectionable actions" of the Government of Israel in the occupied
Palestinian territories had given increased credibility to anti-Semites.
"The undoubted difficulties of fulfilling international commitments with
regard to refugees and asylum-seekers have served as rationalizations
for policies that are, quite frankly, racist."

Living Together in Diversity, Charting a Way Forward

Noko pointed out that educators held the key to a world where
interfaith encounters and personal relationships would build bridges of
peace. He noted the highly multi-cultural nature of Australian
population, with an increasingly number of Asian and African students,
in particular, enrolling in schools and universities there. This
diversity in the student population presented educators with
opportunities to prepare young people for the challenges of global
citizenship in the 21st century, he said.

But while this existing diversity provided the raw materials for
building an inclusive "good society," Noko cautioned the chance would be
lost if educators were not intentional in pursuing the goal. "A clear
focus must be given to the creation of curricula, structures and
processes that present and explore this diversity and that promote
encounter, while at the same time containing the initial fears and
anxieties that might arise," he concluded. (757 words)

(By Linda Macqueen, editor of The Lutheran, magazine of the Lutheran
Church of Australia.)

(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.]

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