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“The way we handle the refugee crisis, not least the settling in and integration process, will be of utmost significance, both for the attitude towards refugees and asylum seekers in the future, and for the long-term stability and sustainability of our own societies”, said Knut Vollebaek, ambassador and former Norwegian foreign minister, in his speech at the recent WCC/UN conference on Europe’s refugee crisis.

Following the WCC/UN High Level Conference on the Refugee Crisis in Europe, which took place at the Ecumenical Centre Geneva on 18-19 January, a statement has been issued entitled "Europe’s Response to the Refuge Crisis, From Origin to Transit, Reception and Refuge, A Call for Shared Responsibility and Coordinated Action”.

The Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe and the WCC have published a revised and updated edition of their joint study, Mapping Migration: Mapping Churches’ Responses in Europe. The 2016 text explores challenges and changes in the European church landscape in light of international migration.

“The political leaders of the world are speaking like preachers. May they continue as believers,” said the WCC general secretary at the opening of the UN climate talks in Paris.

The Executive Committee, a 25-member governing body of the WCC, is meeting from 13 through 18 November at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland to consider a series of programmatic reports and proposals for the criteria to be used in priority setting amid the continuing work of the WCC.

World leaders will meet at the crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) in Paris from 30 November to 11 December. Faith groups around the world are building awareness of the importance of reaching a binding and ambitious agreement at the talks. In October, WCC members have taken part in climate activities in Germany.

Women are virtually invisible in news reporting on peace and security issues in nations experiencing conflict.

In the wake of recent crisis with the refugees in Europe, it is “absolutely and critically necessary that all European states take their proper responsibility in terms of reception and support for people seeking refuge, safety and a better future for themselves and their families. This cannot be left only to the states where they enter first,” says the WCC general secretary.

Norway’s largest church festival took on a green tint this year. A presentation about the situation of a country deeply affected by climate change, a popular workshop on church engagement in climate justice, and a speech by the WCC general secretary were among featured events.

Church leaders from seven countries currently making historic choices for or against outlawing nuclear weapons will embark on a pilgrimage in early August to the two Japanese cities that were decimated by atomic bombs 70 years ago.

A delegation led by Thorhild Widvey, minister of culture in Norway, along with prominent Norwegian politicians and church leaders was welcomed on 30 September at the WCC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Scattered throughout the recent history of Indigenous Peoples are national treaties, declarations and laws that languish in obscurity or are brushed aside and ignored.

Berit Hagen Agøy, general secretary of the Council on Ecumenical and International Relations in the Church of Norway, is passionate about changing the world for the better and fighting the injustice that exists.

As the members of the WCC Central Committee return to their home communities, they will continue some key questions related to their pilgrimage of justice and peace.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit was appointed to a second five-year term as general secretary of the WCC on 3 July, during the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. The 53-year-old theologian and pastor from the Church of Norway has served as general secretary since January 2010.

The Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit addressed the theme “Free to speak, believe and serve” on 4 April at the Synod of the Church of Norway, held in conjunction with the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian constitution. The anniversary represents an important milestone for Norway as a nation and for the Church of Norway.

An “inter-generational dialogue on faith, culture, HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights” was initiated on 11 March in New York City by the World YWCA in partnership with the WCC and other international organizations. The dialogue was organized as a side event at the United Nations 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

“Among the many challenges that we face in the search for Christian unity is the need to overcome divisions and prejudices that exclude one another,” Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC said to the 22nd Pentecostal World Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.