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The World Council of Churches (WCC) invites ecumenical youth to be stewards at the 2020 Central Committee in Geneva, Switzerland. With an application deadline of 1 December 2019, the Stewards Programme aims to bring together a dynamic and diverse group of 20 young people from all over the world on 12-25 March 2020. The invitation is open to people from a variety of backgrounds, churches and regions.

Our series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors highlights those who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Hanbeet Rhee, from the Presbyterian Church of Korea, is a member of the Ecumenical Youth Council in Korea. She is also a commissioner with the World Council of Churches (WCC) ECHOS programme, as well as a youth advisor for the WCC Central Committee.

"The best thought is one that always leaves a certain crevice for the possibility that everything is totally different at the same time" - Rev. Martina Viktorie Kopecka, moderator of the World Council of Churches ECHOS Commission, cites this as her favorite quote from Václav Havel, opponent to Czechoslovak’s communist regime and later president of his country.

The latest issue of The Ecumenical Review, the quarterly journal of the World Council of Churches (WCC), focuses on the Pan-African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN), a project of the WCC’s programme on Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE).

Formally established as a network in 2015, PAWEEN aims to celebrate, commemorate, and build upon the legacy of Pan‐African women in the ecumenical movement.

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Larissa Aguiar Garcia, from Igreja Metodista do Brasil, is a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) ECHOS Commission for young people.

As the Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity opened at the Yonsei University Chapel in South Korea on 18 September, participants were already learning to live into the theme “Stewards of Hope, Seekers of Harmony.” For the first time, the training includes not only young people from Asia but from across the world, and is being co-coordinated by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Programme for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, the Council for World Mission, and youth representatives from the ecumenical movement.

Promoting justice, peace and racial awareness, indigenous youth will gather in Osaka, Japan from 8-12 September. Collaborating with the World Council of Churches, the youth from around the world will continue to build on indigenous youth leadership initiatives begun in the past few years, affirming the growing visibility and presence of indigenous youth leadership in the ecumenical movement.

Twenty years after the signing of the landmark “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Roman Catholic Church in 1999, the latest issue of The Ecumenical Review, the quarterly journal of the World Council of Churches (WCC), focuses on the achievements and challenges of contemporary ecumenical dialogue.

At the most glorious moment in her career, Rev. Prof. Dr Sang Chang discovered that society is not always friendly and that politics can be devilish. But thanks to God, she got over it. Without bitterness and even more determined in her fight for gender equality and social justice.

After three intense days with deep discussions and productive sessions, the bi-annual meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) ECHOS Commission came to an end on Thursday. Fourteen young committee members and staff from 20 different countries all over the world had gathered in Seoul, Korea to further strengthen the WCC young peoples movement and continue the pilgrimage of justice and peace.

On International Youth Day, Azeez Sadeq, who now lives in Lyon, France, shared his personal story of being an Iraqi refugee.

"Have you ever thought that one day, you can lose everything?” he asked the young people gathered with him.

That's what happened to Sadeq when he was 18 years old, when the Islamic State Organisation, also referred to as Daesh, invaded his village.

Young people are trailblazers, pioneers, visionaries and leaders who have the potential to create a positive, sustainable legacy for future generations on a global scale.
On 12 August, International Youth Day, youth led a TED-style talk and discussion in Geneva, with five young speakers from different parts of the world, four virtually and one live. The stories and experiences shared connected them to theme “Transforming Education,” while inspiring the audience for a call to action.

In light of International Youth Day on 12 August, the World Council of Churches (WCC), Lutheran World Federation and the World Student Christian Federation invited youth to celebrate the day at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva. The event promoted a shared understanding of inclusion, acknowledging the gifts and addressing the common concerns and challenges of young people around the world.

On 12 August, International Youth Day, World Council of Churches deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri greeted young people gathered in Geneva, Switzerland.
International Youth Day, Phiri reflected, takes place in a time of increased international tensions, looming climatic deadlines, increasing disparities of income and wealth, and great rents in the social fabric of our societies.

On the occassion of the International Youth Day (IYD) on 12 August the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites media to attend a youth-led day jointly prepared with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

From 6-12 August, young people from all over the world will meet in Korea and embark on a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, as their counterparts at the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva walk alongside them, thousands of miles away but side-by-side in spirit.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), Lutheran World Federation and World Student Christian Federation will be observing International Youth Day on 12 August, and they invite all people of good will to join in celebrating a generation that will carry the ecumenical movement forward with spirit and determination.

Twenty-seven young ecumenists from across Asia are currently attending the month-long Asian Ecumenical Institute organized by the Christian Conference of Asia. The programme aims to provide ecumenical formation and leadership development training for prospective church and ecumenical leaders. It is being held at the Christian Conference of Asia headquarters in Payap University Campus in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted a Sikh-Christian dialogue on 5 July with the theme “Pursuing Peace in a Pluralistic World” to commemorate the 550th birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first guru of the Sikhs.

How much is the mission of the church related to people with disabilities? These days we talk a lot about inclusive societies and churches. But, have we arrived there? Are our societies and churches taking seriously the problems and challenges that people with disabilities face on a daily basis? People with disabilities find themselves quite often at the margins of the societies and even of the churches.