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Besides the dangerous monopoly structures in the digital economy, there is a danger for liberty and justice as they are crucial for pluralistic democracies in the digital world, says Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. Bedford-Strohm is also chairperson of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany and was a keynote speaker at the opening of the symposium exploring challenges and opportunities for a more just digital future, in Berlin on 13-15 September, and co-organized by the EKD.

As a teenager growing up in East Germany in the 1980s, Dr Ellen Ueberschär learned of freedom of speech in her church parish and believes that fundamental digital rights will not prevail on their own or through voluntary commitments by corporations.

An upcoming international symposium, scheduled for 13-15 September, will explore some key questions to help us map a more just digital future, a future that “increasingly calls for deeper reflection and new thinking in philosophy, ethics, jurisprudence, and theology,” said World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Ioan Sauca.

Media and communicators are invited to an online “press club” event during which they can speak candidly on the theme “Digital instruments – Blessing or Curse?”

Philip Lee is general secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). Below, he reflects on some of the questions that will be explored during the upcoming international symposium “Communication for Social Justice in the Digital Age,” scheduled for 13-15 September. 

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca was among dozens of global signatories on a statement, “Together to #ENDviolence: Leaders’ Statement: Six game-changing actions to End Violence Against Children,” released 23 July.

Looking toward the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to take place in 2022, the July issue of The Ecumenical Review, the WCC’s quarterly journal, contains a set of articles that focus on the assembly theme, “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”

In times of involuntary isolation due to lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, online ecumenical retreats have emerged as an alternative place for spiritual dialogue. In Sweden, a series of four so-called “Quiet Days” retreats, where participants join online in a digital room to share a moment of stillness and reflection, were launched on the Eve of Pentecost. Initiated already last year under the headline “A spiritual dwelling for God,” by Lutheran Bishop Karin Johannesson from the Diocese of Uppsala, Sweden and co-hosted by Cardinal Anders Arborelius from the Roman Catholic Church in Sweden, the retreats have been expanded this year with English subtitles to also attract international audiences.  

Participate in a public dialogue about digital communication, or submit a case study that sets an example for the world: expressions of interest are invited for active participation in a symposium scheduled for 13-15 September 2021.