News
By Henrike Müller (*)
Free photos available - see below
In a joyous procession of hope after the opening worship service of an ecumenical youth event preceding the World Social Forum (WSF), some 50 young people dance, clap and sing Por isso vem (God calls us for a new moment, so come and join the circle!) - a Brazilian song of hope for a better world.
Hosted by the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Rio Grande do Sul, organized by the World Alliances of Young Men’s and Young Women’s Christian Associations and the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), and supported by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the 23-26 January youth pre-event in Porto Alegre, Brazil, brings together young people from Latin America and other parts of the world.
Participants are discussing issues related to the 26-31 January WSF, worshipping and participating in Bible studies, and exchanging experiences from their different contexts under the overall WSF theme “Another world is possible”. After the four-day meeting, the young people will join an ecumenical coalition at the Forum.
“This meeting is an ice-breaker on our way to proclaim and build a different world,” WSCF former secretary general Nana Brew says in his opening remarks. “Once the event is over, I hope that each one of us will have learned something new and will do something different. We are not only preparing for the World Social Forum - we are even more preparing for what we will do afterwards in our everyday life.”
An exposure visit to a YMCA children’s day nursery on the outskirts of Porto Alegre contextualizes the meeting's theoretical reflections for the participants. Here, at Morro Santana, some 100 children aged between 6 and 15 are taken care of by 25 volunteers and professional social workers. Funded both by the YMCA and by donations, the project aims at keeping the children off the street.
In the poor areas of Porto Alegre, children are often forced to earn money to support their families. Begging at the traffic lights through open car windows is one way of getting at least a little bit of money. Drug addiction is the most serious among the many dangers for children spending their days on the street.
“We try to give the kids basic cultural knowledge and offer them an alternative to living on the streets and to drugs,” explains Ana Paula Alves, a social assistant and the project coordinator.
One entry requirement is that the children attend a public school. They spend their afternoons in the day nursery, where they have help with their homework, can engage in sports and music and enjoy a safe space for recreation.
On this sunny morning, the young people from the ecumenical youth event join the singing and dancing, and watch presentations of songs and the traditional Brazilian capoeira. They are enthusiastic about the social work that begins right where help is needed.
“You don’t have to be a hero to make the world a little better,” Gustavo Andrade, coordinator of the YMCA Rio Grande do Sul youth department, says. “This visit inspired all of us to look out for the needs in our own countries.”
The energy to work towards a better world is what Costa Rican professor of theology Elsa Tamez considers as one important thing theologians can learn from committed ecumenical youth. In a Bible study focusing on the economy, she calls it the “lack of prudence”: “Theologians are too often afraid of connecting the gospel to social issues. Young people, however, have the courage to say whatever they want. Theology must become more courageous.”
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(*) Henrike Müller, a curate in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, is working in the Media Relations Office of the WCC in Geneva.
Cf. WCC press update PR-05-04 of 24 January 2005
cf. WCC press releasePR-05-62 of 19 January 2005
High-resolution photos from the forum are available on our website:
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/photo-galleries/meetings/possibleworldtheology.html
Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing credit is given to the author.
Media contacts in Porto Alegre:
Susanne Buchweitz [email protected] +55 (0) 51 3342 2627 +55 (0) 51 3225 9066
Henrike Mueller [email protected]+55(0)51 8114 7833
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"Affirming life in dignity: enhancing justice and rights in a globalized world" is the overall theme for the World Council of Churches' (WCC) participation in the 5th World Social Forum taking place 26-31 January in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The WCC delegation is participating with others in the framework of a global ecumenical coalition, including the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), and other world-wide ecumenical organizations.
The fifth edition of the annual World Social Forum will be an open meeting place for non-governmental organizations, social movements and civil society groups to debate alternative ways to build a world in solidarity and justice.
More information about the WCC participation in the 5th World Social Forum is available on our website at:
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/wsf-2005-e.html
Media contacts in Porto Alegre:
Susanne Buchweit[email protected] +55 (0) 51 3342 2627 +55 (0) 51 3225 9066
Henrike Mueller [email protected] +55 (0) 51 8114 7833
