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The WCC held the 1st consultative meeting on ecumenical global health strategy in Maseru, Lesotho on 27 February 2017. A second consultation takes place in Geneva on 24 May, to reinforce the unique contribution of the ecumenical movement to global health issues, and to strengthen the coherence of the ecumenical global health strategy being developed.

Europe is experiencing a new situation: while a majority of its populations have enjoyed decades of relative peace and stability, millions of people from conflict regions beyond its borders have sought refuge in various European countries. These global migration movements have profoundly tested societies on the European continent and prompted serious questions: How do we want to live together? Which values are our societies based on?

During a visit to the Ecumenical Centre, where the WCC has its offices, His Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, will speak about issues concerning the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, the ecumenical movement, the protection of the environment and the protection of children. A livestream of the lecture will be available through the WCC website.

This interactive panel aims to build awareness and momentum within the Human Rights Community around the new targets for children and adolescents set in the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free Framework, and in the 2016 Political Declaration on AIDS. In addition, participants will discuss how the rights of children living with HIV can be mainstreamed into the work of the human rights mechanisms.

The Global Ecumenical Theological Institute 2017 is an ecumenical-theological initiative for education and encounter for advanced theology students from all over the world who are studying in Europe. The concrete encounter and joint studies will contribute to a European network of contacts and strengthen the mutual perception of European and migration churches. Participants shall study and experience horizons of an ecumenical theology and ecclesiology.

The Ecumenical Institute at Château de Bossey invites applications for the Certificate in Advanced Studies – Interreligious Studies, 2019. Intended for an international audience of young people interested and engaged in interreligious dialogue, the Ecumenical Institute's Certificate of Advanced Studies in Interreligious Studies includes lectures, courses, workshops and study visits to places of interreligious interest, and is accredited by the University of Geneva under the Swiss Higher Education Programme for Continuing Education.

Intended for an international audience of young people interested and engaged in interreligious dialogue, the Ecumenical Institute's Certificate of Advanced Studies in Interreligious Studies includes lectures, courses, workshops and study visits to places of interreligious interest, and is accredited by the University of Geneva under the Swiss Higher Education Programme for Continuing Education.

The Central Committee is elected by the Assembly from among its delegates and serves as the chief governing body of the WCC until the next assembly, meeting every 2 years. It is responsible for carrying out the policies adopted by the Assembly, reviewing and supervising WCC programmes and the budget of the Council.

The Central Committee is elected by the Assembly from among its delegates and serves as the chief governing body of the WCC until the next assembly, meeting every 2 years. It is responsible for carrying out the policies adopted by the Assembly, reviewing and supervising WCC programmes and the budget of the Council.

The WCC will receive the visit of the renowned water activist Dr Maude Barlow at the Ecumenical Centre to welcome the WCC into the “blue community”.

The impact of the global refugee crisis in Europe and European churches’ responses: From 14 to 16 June church representatives from across Europe will gather in the Netherlands to address the challenges relating to refugee arrivals in Europe. Through prayer, discussion, and solidarity visits, participants in the three-day consultation will examine the churches’ response and collaborate on future action.

Hosted by the Sami Church Council (Church of Norway), the World Council of Churches will convene a conference on the theme “Reconciliation Processes in Indigenous Contexts” in Trondheim, Norway, on 20-21 June. The conference will centre on two thematic focuses, “Truth and Healing” and “Reconciliation and Transformation."

Without falling into the trap of ideological self-contained reminiscences, we shall be asking what has contributed to the idea of a "European identity", whether it be conceived as an existing identity or as one still coming into existence, in what terms it can be described, and what has given rise to the ideal of European unity that can then be expressed in political form.

The year 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. A chain of commemorative events, starting in Geneva, will connect cities in the Netherlands, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia, Ireland and Germany. Each stop-over will last 36 hours: regional and ecumenical partners will invite people to a festive occasion with numerous activities, in order to discover local traces of Reformation history.

The multi-cultural and multi-faith realities Christians live in today are confronting them, in their witness and praxis, with common challenges along with on-going differences among various Christian confessions. In a world of post-modern values and concepts, the voice of the churches remains often unheard and is hardly understood. In these contexts, the faithful members of the congregations across all confessions are getting aged and their number decreases. Other faith communities living in such contexts go through a similar experience.

From September 1st to 4 October, Christians around the world are praying and caring for creation. It’s the “Season of Creation”. The beginning and the end date of Season of Creation are linked with the concern for creation in the Eastern and the Western traditions of Christianity, respectively.

The church today is confronted with migration issues as they affect its own members and the society in which it acts. The biblical message calls it to accompany people in their quest of and in their fears of the loss of belonging. The church addresses migration primarily in diaconal and social-political perspectives. However, this commitment, and migration issues as a whole, have until now been only scarcely reflected upon from a theological viewpoint. This conference offers the opportunity for such a reflection.

"What can we, as people of faith, do to respond and to overcome the pressing challenges of our time, such as violence and conflict, and build together mutually accountable societies based on respect and cooperation?" This is the question up to 30 young adults from around the world are to explore during a study course at the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Institute in Bossey.