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A framework and criteria for a new financial and economic architecture will be discussed at an ecumenical conference in Brazil this week. These criteria will embrace ethics and justice to address ecological concerns. The debates at the event will highlight the concerns of millions of people affected by the financial crisis.
The conference is organized by the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Council for World Mission (CWM).
The conference will take place from 29 September to 5 October in Guarulhos, Brazil.
The event will showcase ethical stances spelled out by the churches promoting values of justice in economic and ecological concerns. The first day of the conference will feature opening addresses by the general secretaries of the WCC, WCRC and CWM.
The conference will bring together a diverse group of participants from churches and international organizations from around the world. Together, they will propose a framework and criteria for a new international financial and economic architecture, based on economic, social, climate and ecological justice.
The discussions will also revolve around the concept of “structural greed”, which has been central to AGAPE (Alternative to Economic Globalization Addressing Peoples and Earth), a study process developed by the WCC since 2006.
“The conference will raise ecumenical concerns critical to global economic justice,” said Dr Rogate Mshana, WCC’s programme executive for Poverty, Wealth and Ecology.
“The dialogue at the event will put forth concerns of the communities affected by the financial crisis, especially the impoverished. We will also address the neglect on the part of the international financial institutions and rich nations in responding to the economic, social and ecological challenges posed by climate change,” said Mshana.
At the end of the conference participants will produce a set of criteria and a framework to shape a new international financial and economic architecture, as well as create a panel that will propose an alternative vision to the current financial crisis.
The conference is inspired from the Report of the Commission of Experts of the President of the United Nations General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, prepared by the Nobel laureate Prof. Joseph Stiglitz in 2009.
More information on AGAPE study process
WCC’s work on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology
