wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Decade to Overcome Violence focuses on the Caribbean

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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 - 11/24/2008 10:45:26 AM

DECADE TO OVERCOME VIOLENCE FOCUSES ON THE CARIBBEAN

The Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) sponsored by the World Council of  Churches (WCC) has launched its 2009 focus on the Caribbean region with  the theme: "One Love: Building a Peaceful Caribbean".

The DOV's Caribbean focus aims to strengthen and resource churches and  movements working for peace in the region, and deepen the churches'  understanding of the violence involved in issues such as migration, human  trafficking, food security, HIV and AIDS, drugs abuse and trafficking,  amongst others.

"We want to convey the message that the Caribbean is not just sun, sand  and sea," participants at the launch stated in a report.

The launch of the Caribbean focus took place in Panama City at an 11-14  November gathering of representatives from churches and regional as well  as international ecumenical organizations. Four countries were identified  as requiring special attention within the region: Haiti, Granada, Surinam  and Cuba.

The gathering brought together some 30 participants from national councils  of churches, the Conference of Caribbean Churches, the WCC regional  Caribbean group. It was hosted by the Ecumenical Committee of Panama.

The Caribbean region will host the International Ecumenical Peace  Convocation that will mark the culmination of the Decade to Overcome  Violence. The Convocation will take place in Kingston, Jamaica in May  2011.

The Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010): Churches seeking reconciliatio n and peaceis an initiative of the World Council of Churches. It calls  churches, ecumenical organizations and all people of goodwill to work  together for peace, justice and reconciliation.

>Decade to Overcome Violence:
>http://overcomingviolence.org

International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (May 2011, Kingston, Jamaica):
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/iepc

>WCC member churches in the Caribbean:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4131

Additional information:

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

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness  and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of  churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,  Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million  Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman  Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from  the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.