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Church leaders and human rights advocates are amplifying calls for justice after the death of Zara Alvarez, a health worker and human rights defender in the Philippines. Alvarez, who was killed on 17 August, worked closely with churches in a common quest for human dignity and rights.

Am 6. August hat die interreligiöse Gruppe eine „Gemeinsame Erklärung anlässlich des 75. Jahrestages der Atombombenabwürfe über Hiroshima und Nagasaki“ veröffentlicht und darin erneut auf die existenzielle Bedrohung der Menschheit durch Atomwaffen hingewiesen.

On 6 August, a “Joint Interfaith Statement on the 75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” was released, reaffirming the existential threat to humanity that nuclear weapons pose.

As Rev. Dan San Andres Sr, known as a defender of human rights, was arrested a week after the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act was passed in the Philippines, the World Council of Churches (WCC) joined with the bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in calling for justice.

August 2020 will mark 75 years since the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - attacks which devastated those cities and killed or injured several hundred thousands of people. Many more suffered for years afterwards, from having been exposed to the deadly radiation released into the air and water on those days.

In a video greeting, WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca offered warm greetings to the Communion of Churches in Indonesia on its 70th anniversary.

Hope, solidarity and a spirit of service are recurring themes in Easter messages received by the World Council of Churches from many of its member churches and partners.

As of January 2020, the WCC has relaunched its Sarah Chakko Scholarship Fund. The fund was first established in 1998, at the end of the Ecumenical Decade of Solidarity with Women, aiming to promote the education of women for leadership competencies for the ecumenical movement.

Mehr als 40 Kirchenleitende und Fachleute für Diakonie aus 15 asiatischen Ländern haben an einem Seminar über ökumenische Diakonie und Entwicklung teilgenommen, das der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen (ÖRK) vom 4.–7. Dezember in Chiang Mai, Thailand durchgeführt hat.

More than 40 church leaders and diakonia specialists from 15 Asian countries participated in training in ecumenical diakonia and development organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 4-7 December.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) continues to amplify the voice of the indigenous Papuans in Indonesia, who are oppressed by racism and discrimination.

Concerned about the escalating crisis of violence, racism and discrimination against indigenous Papuans in Indonesia, a side event co-sponsored by the WCC was convened during a fall session of the UN Human Rights Council to discuss patterns that are oppressing and displacing Papuans.

During a visit from World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, WCC member churches in Japan received expressions of appreciation from the WCC for hosting various visits and forums that strengthened ecumenical ties.

WCC members in Japan reported a deepening spirit of koinonia as well as more involvement in the programmatic life of the WCC, particularly as the ecumenical movement sets its sights on the upcoming WCC 11th Assembly in 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit is gravely concerned by the deteriorating situation in West Papua (the Indonesian provinces of Papua and Papua Barat), especially in light of reports from church partners in the territory that peaceful anti-racism demonstrations by Papuan students have been attacked with lethal force by Indonesian military forces and armed settler militias. In other places we have learned about horizontal violence between Papuans and non-indigenous residents.

Twenty-five ecumenical theologians and leaders gathered for public lectures coordinated by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Tokyo, Japan, on 17 September under the theme “Global Manifestations of Racism Today”.

Lectures and responses reflected on racism as a major concern of the ecumenical movement. Reflections focused on understanding global manifestations of racism today, and reaffirming the intersection of race and ethnicity with other determining characteristics．

As more and more people in the Philippines lose their loved ones to extrajudicial killings, and are falsely accused of crimes by the authorities, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is increasing its support and accompaniment of people fighting for human rights in the Philippines.
On 16 September, concerned colleagues and guests gathered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva to attend an event entitled: “Defending the Sanctity of Life and Dignity of Creation: The Human Rights Situation in the Philippines”. The event gave a platform to four different speakers from victim, human rights and church perspectives.

In a gesture of solidarity with marginalized minorities in Japan, a pilgrim team with participants from around the world gathered in Tokyo, Japan, on 12 September to encourage, empower, support and walk alongside minority communities for four days.

Twenty-seven indigenous and ecumenical youths gathered together for a five-day World Council of Churches (WCC) event this week in Japan’s third-largest, western city of Osaka. Participants gathered under the theme, “WCC Continuing Formation on Youth and Racism Awareness in Asia & Indigenous Youth Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.”

Zum Abschluss des 4. Ökumenischen Seminars für Leitung, Wirtschaft und Management (Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics and Management), das bis zum 30. August in Bogor (Indonesien) stattgefunden hat, haben die Teilnehmenden aus 15 Ländern und ganz unterschiedlichen Kontexten über ihre Erfahrungen und Erlebnisse während des zweiwöchigen Seminars nachgedacht, das ihnen „die Augen geöffnet“ hat.

As the 4th Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics and Management for an Economy of Life concluded on 30 August in Bogor, Indonesia, participants representing 15 countries and coming from diverse contexts reflected on the two-week, “eye-opening” experience.

Participants at the annual Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics and Management are exploring how an Economy of Life is a key pillar of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. The school is running from 19-30 August in Bogor, Indonesia. “We hope the Governance, Economics and Management School will empower participants to act, lobby for change and even influence socio-economic policymaking,” said Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches.