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Anne, age 26, from Canada, reflected positive feelings about what she learned about the WCC and its partners organizations located in the Ecumenical Centre. “I learned about the history between religion and human rights which goes very far back and has a rich and fascinating story,” she said. “I also learned about the continued efforts of the WCC to support oppressed and vulnerable people around the world, in many cases saving lives.”
Anne added that she took with her a broader view on how religion can help harness communities and entities around the world to support human rights initiatives. “The staff at WCC were very welcoming and open-minded,” she said.
Morgan, age 23, from the United States, said she learned about how the WCC and other organizations further the fight for human rights.
“We wanted to learn about what a career in the human rights field could look like from the perspective of various practitioners,” she said. “The WCC allowed us a unique opportunity to explore the interconnectedness of religion, global politics, and human rights.”
Morgan added that she learned from this visit that churches all over the world have a role to play in various social issues. “There is consensus among my fellow colleagues and I about the WCC being one of the more memorable organizations we visited on our trip to Geneva,” said Morgan, adding that she and her colleagues were especially interested in how churches helped respond to the Ebola outbreak in Africa. “Learning about the strong level of trust that rural citizens have in their church and that it was an effective tool used to help contain the virus was fascinating,” she said. “It gave us all a new perspective on the importance of community origination.”
Visits to the World Council of Churches