The World Council of Churches (WCC) has selected a group of around 30 young people to participate in its Central Committee 2009 Stewards Programme.

For two weeks in August these young people from all around the globe will gather in Geneva, Switzerland to live, learn, work and pray together.

The programme consists of two main parts: the first is for ecumenical leadership training, which includes devising an ecumenical project to be implemented in the steward's local situation; the second is to help facilitate the Central Committee meeting, which is one of the WCC's main decision bodies.

We here at the WCC Youth Desk would like to thank all those who applied. We received more than 200 applications and were very impressed with quality and commitment displayed.

To find out more about the programme and future opportunities with the WCC youth desk please visit the youth page.

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance encourages young people around the world to take action to help children living with HIV. The action guide, “Prescription for Life”, provides information and resources for schools, families, faith groups and communities to empower young people to write letters to pharmaceutical companies and governments asking them to improve testing and treatment for infants and children living with HIV.

For more information and how to be involved visit e-alliance.ch.

As part of the process towards the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC), a drafting group has put together an "Initial Statement Towards an Ecumenical Declaration on Just Peace".

This initial statement, which provides the basis for a more extensive ecumenical declaration on peace, firmly rooted in an articulated theology, is to be examined by member churches with comments to be returned by the end of 2009.

The statement covers topics such as just peace, the Responsibility to Protect, the role and the legal status of non-state combatants and the conflict of values. It is available in English, French, German and Spanish and can be viewed on the Decade to Overcome Violence website.

The final declaration on just peace will ultimately be adopted at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation 2011 to be held in Kingston, Jamaica.

The Ignite Change Now, Global Youth Assembly is a social forum for young people aged 16-28. Held in Edmonton Canada from 30 July to 2 August, it is a chance for young people from around the world to move from awareness to action.

With workshop themes ranging from community building to social work through hip-hop, it promises to be an intriguing event for young poeple interested in being agents of change in their community.

For more information and to apply visit youthassembly.ca.

Multi-faith and multicultural contexts have become the evident marks of our time all over the world. People of different faiths, cultures and races live side by side and struggle together with the many challenges.

The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland is hosting this interfaith seminar from 6-31 July 2009. The goals of the seminar are: learning about each other; and to challenge and overcome stereotypes, while fully respecting and affirming each particular faith identity.

For more information and to apply please visit the Bossey website.

The Youth Peace Summit held in Nairobi Kenya from 13-18 April was attended by Emily Davila on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation. 

"We had the meeting to talk directly about the post-election violence that happened in Kenya largely perpetrated by youth in 2008", said Davila. 

The meeting, which included a sizable peace procession, brought together 200 youth from Kenya as well as Tanzania, Uganda, DRC and Rwanda.

For more information please visit lwfyouth.org.

Ruki Fernando from Sri Lanka, the former Coordinator of the International Young Christian Students (IYCS) Asian Team, has been awarded the Tji Hak Soon Peace and Justice Award given in memory of the late Bishop Tji Hak Soon.

This is an award presented annually to people and/or organizations who stand up against oppression, in pursuit of peace, justice and respect for human rights. 

Ruki has been given the award for peace activism in the midst of the current violence in Sri Lanka. To read more visit iycsasia.org.

With five months remaining before the deadline of voter’s registration in the Philippines, the Ayala Young Leaders Alliance (AYLA) has gone on tour to encourage voters to register.

The Register and Vote (RV) bus has already visited the towns of Tayabas, Lucban and Lucena City and will visit more in the coming months.

For more information on AYLA and the RV bus please visit ayalayoungleaders.ph.

The Asia Pacific University YMCA (APUY) is hosting a conference that aims to empower young people, using the themes of leadership and social entrepreneurship.

The objectives of the conference are to:

• Inspire and empower participants to be servant leaders impacting their local and international community.
• Provide a platform for participants to come together and interact with one another.
• Enhance leadership, promote volunteerism, and increase awareness of social responsibility of University YMCAs (Uni-Y) through YMCA service in the community.

Participants must be a member of a Uni-Y and aged between 18-25.

For more information and to apply please visit asiapacificymca.org.

The Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe (EYCE) held it's 37th General Meeting (GM) in Ķekava, Latvia from 4-10 May 2009.

It gathered EYCE member organizations, delegates and guests from EYCE's partner organizations: the World Council of Churches and the World Student Christian Federation. Those present reviewed the work of the council over the past two years and worked to shape the future thematic work of the organization.

To find out more please visit eyce.org.

From 1-3 May 2009, 8 000 young people attended a meeting organized in Vilnius Lithuania by the Community of Taizé in collaboration with the youth centre of the archdiocese.

Young participants and townspeople gathered in various locations for workshops on very diverse topics: in the cathedral they were invited to reflect on God’s call; in the Lutheran church, on the role of singing in faith; in a museum dedicated to the memory of the Soviet regime, the weight of the past in contemporary society.

All this amidst prayers, readings and worship Lithuanian, Polish, Belarusian and Latvian.

Read more at taize.fr.

The Ecumenical Network for Youth Action (ENYA) is facilitating a seminar entitled, 'Overcoming Violence of Young Roma Women', to be held in Palics, Serbia from 24-30 July 2009.

This Roma only seminar, will bring together 24 young women and men (aged 18 - 30) from Eastern and Central Europe countries for 6 days of innovative and creative training. Applicants will need to  make a commitment to be involved in an electronic networking group/forum, local community projects, other training seminars, team visits and internships.

For more information and to apply please contact Cath Moss.

The World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) brought together four Israeli and four Palestinian youth leaders in January in Paris. The participants, from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim backgrounds, discussed the current challenges, discerned shared concerns and proposed common action.

The consultation consisted of reflections on the impact of the war in Gaza and Southern Israel, a difficult discussion on the root causes of the present conflict and planning ways to encourage dialogue in Palestine Israel.

Read more at religionsforpeace.org.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) invites member churches and related organizations to join a week of advocacy and action for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. From 4-10 June 2009, those who share the hope of justice are invited to take peaceful actions, together, to create a common international public witness.

We here at the WCC Youth Desk invite young people from around the globe to encourage their churches/ecumenical organizations to:

1. Pray with churches living under occupation, using a special prayer from Jerusalem.
2. Educate about actions that make for peace and about facts on the ground that do not, especially, settlements in occupied territory.
3. Advocate with political leaders using ecumenical policies that promote peace with justice.

To find out how you can be involved please visit worldweekforpeace.org.