wfn.org | WCC 9th ASSEMBLY: One more week to apply for media

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

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

ONE MORE WEEK
TO APPLY FOR ACCREDITATION AT THE WCC 9TH ASSEMBLY

Dear press colleagues,
Warm greetings from Geneva!

Since we have received a number of requests, the deadline to apply for
media accreditation in order to attend the upcoming 9th Assembly of the
World Council of Churches (Porto Alegre, Brazil, 14-23 February 2006) has
been postponed until 10 October 2005.

We have now some additional information about hotel rates (per night per
person):

3 star hotel
Single room: 40 to 50 USD
Double room: 25 to 35 USD

4 star hotel
Single room: 55 to 75 USD
Double room: 35 to 45 USD

5 star hotel
Single room: 80 to 120 USD
Double room: 45 to 70 USD

You will be able to choose the kind of accommodation you prefer later on
during the registration process (you might also book your hotel yourself,
but in that case we don't provide transportation to and from the Assembly
venue).

Those interested in the Exposure Programme to the Brazilian reality will
find a first version of it at the bottom of this message.

Additional information about the accreditation process as well as the
accreditation and registration forms are available at:
http://www.wcc-assembly.info > News & Media > Accreditation

That's all for now. Should you have any questions and/or comments, please
do not hesitate to contact us.

Looking forward to working with you in Porto Alegre.

Sincerely yours,

Juan Michel
WCC Media relations officer
media@wcc-coe.org
+41-22-791-6153 (office)
+41-79-507-6363 (mobile)

THE BRAZILIAN REALITY: EXPOSURE PROGRAMME

The WCC media relations office will coordinate visits to these projects
and organizations during the days before the 9th Assembly. Please get in
touch with us if you are interested in the programme. Note: This list is a
work in progress and therefore non-exhaustive.

>>> Support Centre for Small-Scale Farmers (CAPA)
Operating for 27 years, CAPA works with more than 3,000 farmers organized
in eleven cooperatives, 102 ecological food production groups and
associations, and 27 alternative health groups that produce natural
products. The programme has set up 13 community agro industries and one
seed distribution unit, including the criolla, unique in Brazil. CAPA's
objective is to encourage family farming, cooperative partnerships and
environmental sustainability. It is supported by the Lutheran Foundation.

>>> Children's Pastoral Committee
Internationally renowned, the Children's Pastoral Committee, based in
Porto Alegre, is present throughout Brazil. It focuses on health,
nutrition and children's education. It is committed to eradicating family
violence, and works with the family and the community. Today, it has more
than 200,000 volunteers and is involved in 33,000 communities, accompanying close to 1.6 million children in 3,600 municipalities. It is a Catholic
institution.
http://www.pastoraldacrianca.org.br

>>> National Movement of Recyclable Garbage Collectors
This movement brings together low-income families, the majority in the
metropolitan region of Porto Alegro, who try to eke out a living by
gathering garbage that can be recycled. In September, a deposit was
inaugurated to meet the needs of the population from Vale do Rio Prado and
surrounding areas. The project is an alternative that generates income and
helps poverty-stricken workers organize. It has the support of the
Lutheran Foundation.

>>> Landless Workers Movement (MST)
This is one of the world's most important movements struggling for land
rights. It emerged in Rio Grande do Sul at the end of the 1970s when a
group of farmers were evicted from their land and decided to camp along
the roadsides. Over time, these camps became a type of protest, while land
occupations in non-productive haciendas pressured the federal government
to promote agrarian reform in Brazil, where the concentration of land
ownership in the hands of a small minority is one of the highest in the
world. The land obtained by members of the MST - who are organized on a
national scale - is generally farmed by cooperatives. The camps as well as
the settlements and the travelling schools created by the MST can be
visited. The MST has the support of several churches.

>>> Carnival
The Porto Alegre carnival is a smaller version of the spectacular Rio de
Janeiro carnivalwith the same music and creativity. In fact, even before
the sambista dancers step into the sambodromo (Porto Alegre has its own),
rehearsals on the streets are already attracting attention. One unique
element is a parade of street children that evolved thanks to the
relationship between the Porto Alegre School - where many of them study -
and the Girassol circus - the first state circus school, that has
significant social involvement. During the parade, the school presents a
juggling show.
http://www.circogirassol.com.br

>>> Quilombolas
The quilombolas represent the descendents of slaves who were part of the
communities of black resistance - called Quilombols - during the slavery
era. The Quilombolas movement struggled from the outset to obtain the
legal right to land, to preserve their cultural legacy and to maintain
ethno-sustainability. It is supported by diverse entities and churches.

>>> Indigenous Movement
Brazil's indigenous populations were, for the most part, exterminated and
their culture decimated. In southern Brazil, the three main surviving
peoples are the Guaraníes, the Caigangues, and the Choclen. Countless
projects work with indigenous people, and it is possible to participate in
guided visits to urban tribes who live on the periphery and in surrounding
cities. In the Cantagalo barrio (33 kilometers from the city centre) there
is a Guaraní villlage, and a Caingangue tribe lives in Lomba do Pinheiro
(15 kilometers from the centre) . The Guaraníes recently invaded a hill
in the city where they believe there is a cemetery where their ancestors
were buried. The Caingangues are involved in a strong movement to recover
their culture. Various churches and civil society institutions participate
in the indigenous struggle.

>>> Morro da Cruz to life
The Del Morro da Cruz to Life project was developed by a group of young
people who live in Morro da Cruz, one of the largest favelas, or shanty
towns, in Porto Alegre. The young people are seeking to change the image
of the neighbourhood and the relationship among its residents, turning it
into a centre of culture and a community of greater participation and
solidarity. To this end, they have created cultural workshops (hip-hop,
percussions, pagode, graffiti, music, dance, sports, among others). They
publish a community paper and promote educational activities such as free
movies, a community library, seminars, debates, cultural fairs, fairs for
bartering, and income-generating initiatives. Those promoting the project
are linked to the Leonardo Murialdo Institute, a school in the area.

>>> Boca de Rua Daily
The daily Boca de Rua (Voice of the Street) was created five years ago by
the Free Agency for Information, Citizenship and Education (ALICE), and
has a print run of 12,000. The daily is produced and sold by "homeless"
people from Porto Alegre. More than just a source of income, it is a
project that allows participants - the majority of them HIV-positive, with
low education levels, drug dependency and criminal records - to develop
their citizenship. Together with the daily, the group produces a video,
runs a photographic exhibit, and offers fun and educational workshops for
street children and adolescents (who produce the supplement Boquinha).
Boca de Rua is part of the International Network of Street Publications.

>>> Grassroots Legal Promoters
This organization, formed by nearly 1,000 community leaders trained in
justice and human rights issues, is present in eleven Brazilian states. It
works with abandoned women, the victims of violence and misinformation,
through Women's Information Service (SIM) centres located in poor
communities in the city. The idea of training leaders in the periphery
came from three lawyers from Rio Grande do Sol, founders of the non-governmental Themis - Legal Advice and Gender Studies organization. It is
currently working with adolescents so that they raise the awareness of
other young people from their communities.

>>> Justice and Human Rights Movement
This one of the oldest human rights defence movements in Brazil. It
emerged in the 1960s to denounce torture and abuse committed by the
military during the dictatorship, and has played an important role in key
moments in Brazil's history, such as the return to democracy, the amnesty,
the campaign in favour of direct elections as well as the movement in
favour of the constituent assembly, in support of agrarian reform, and the
battle against police violence. This latter action is currently one of its
focal action points.
http://www.direitoshumanos.org.br

>>> Tough Love
A drug dependency treatment programme inspired by family behavior therapy
that emerged as a reaction to the liberal education methods of the 1970s,
this programme operates nationwide and is present in several neighbourhoods in Porto Alegre. Parents are encouraged to act and not only to talk,
supported by the family and the community. Information about the programme
is spread on the city's buses by recovered young people themselves. It is
supported by the Presbyterian Church.

>>> Aldeas Infantiles SOS
This is an international entity without religious or political affiliation
which seeks to offer homeless children a family. It has been active in
Porto Alegre since 1967. All the children live in one of eight homes; in
each home, they are divided into small groups with a "mother" who is
dedicated to them on a full-time basis. As well as the home, the programme
offers a nursery, a school, a cultural centre, a transit house for young
people, a training centre, and a community for young people and young
adults.
http://www.aldeiasinfantis.org.br

>>> Children's Literacy
The Education, Research Methodology and Action Study Group (GEEMPA) is an
NGO created 35 years ago in Porto Alegre that relates a variety of
theories about education to real problems in the system. It trains
educators and advises public education networks. It created a three-month
adult literacy method. Its work is recognized internationally and is being
implemented in Colombia.
http://www.geempa.org.br

>>> Project Light Now
With immense rural areas, Rio Grade do Sul still has a high number of
families who live in areas without electricity. Project Light, supported
by the state government, promotes rural electrification at low cost using
an innovative system. The project has benefited more than 160,000
low-income people. Over time, the focus has extended to include the
ecological management of pasture land and solar energy.
http://www.ideaas.org.br

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 347, 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.