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During a webinar on 25 April, young people shared their honest perspectives on “safe spaces” in faith communities. They talked about the characteristics of a safe space—and what churches can do better, particularly when working with issues related to HIV and reproductive health.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay sent a pastoral letter to Haitian brothers and sisters whose lives are lived in a land with hatred, violence, and suffering. “Although we might be physically distant, we are close to you in heart, in the spiritual sense,” wrote Pillay. “We all are children of God. We belong to one family, as Jesus Christ himself said.”

As World Heath Day—observed 7 April annually—approaches, the World Council of Churches is inviting people across the world to join in prayers and reflections. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC), in a submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC), welcomed a policy establishing accountability for environmental crimes.

The World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance, on 4 March, will host a 90-minute discussion on humanitarian needs. The purpose will be to hear and discuss the views of faith-based organisations on what constitutes “humanitarian need” and how best to prioritize between different needs and contexts.

During a webinar presented by the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) and hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), civil society and faith-based groups explored their shared commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

Though COP28 failed to produce a credible plan to phase out fossil fuels, there is still reason for hope that the world can move toward climate justice, said World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as COP28 concluded.

On 9 December, during a COP28 side event titled "Faith communities & resilient frontliners responding to the nexus of food-water-climate change,” 12-year-old Faith Sebwa had a clear message to the world. 

Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia, offered a keynote speech at the Christian Aid assembly in London on 20 November.

A symposium held on World Children’s Day, hosted by FELM, the World Council of Churches, and other partners, gave an overview of the Churches’ Commitments to Children programme, an initiative of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Churches and UNICEF. 

An online event hosted by Arigatou International, UNICEF, the World Council of Churches (WCC), and other partners lifted up young voices on the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children 2023—voices expressing grave concern about the impact of both war and climate change.

On 27 October Korean Theology Forum on Climate Crisis organized a conference “The Response of the WCC to the Climate Crisis and its Policy for Carbon Neutrality” for the formation of church leaders, pastors and students interested in ways to connect local activities to the global horizon. The conference was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of the Republic of Korea.

WCC progamme director for Public Witness and Diakonia Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata was part of a panel reviewing and reflecting on the book "White saviourism in International Development,” by Themrise Khan et al, at the 2023 Gothenburg Book Fair.

The Church of Ireland Bishops’ Appeal for World Aid and Development has launched a disaster appeal in response to the catastrophic flooding in Libya. The floods, which were triggered by a Mediterranean storm, were focused on the city of Derna where almost 4,000 people are known to have died and over 9,000 are missing after torrents of rain and debris swept away entire districts. 

Christian leaders in North Africa are expressing their grief, as the powerful Mediterranean Cyclone Daniel killed thousands of people in the province of Cyrenaica in eastern Libya.