Healing of Memories
Cape Town, South Africa
Performance of Wozani Theatre Group, South Africa, at the international launch of the Decade to Overcome Violence.Southern Africa will be the first African region to host a training and consultation on the healing of memories as part of a process that is co-sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
In Africa healing of memories is particularly crucial as it is a prerequisite for nation building and ensuring the rule of law. Virtually all African countries have experienced conflicts resulting from colonialism, racism or inequity and exploitation based on ethnic or religious identity. By developing an African "Healing of Memories" network, the organizers expect to strengthen the role of churches as channels of hope and reconciliation.
The Southern African Regional Consultation and Training Programme will be attended by some 40 representatives of churches in the region, with each church sending three delegates representing leadership, women and youth, respectively.
The event is hosted by the Institute for Healing of Memories in Cape Town, South Africa.
Similar consultations will take place in West and Central Africa in 2011 and East Africa in 2012. The continental process will feed into the AACC General Assembly in 2013 as well as the global work on healing and reconciliation of both WCC and LWF.
The training programmes, which will each be supported by one of the four subregional fellowships of churches in Africa, aim to clarify the concept of “Healing of Memories” and the role of churches in the process. They will enable the sharing of methodologies and key experiences from different contexts.
