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To promote open discussions on the theological and practical discourse, narrative and experiences on implications for the work of the multi-religious organizations on religion, violence and extremism, the WCC, along with the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church and the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists held a Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs.

Implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change sharpened discussion of the 2015 papal encyclical Laudato Si’ at a UN conference initiated by the Holy See and several permanent missions to the UN on 15 January in Geneva. Among the presenters were the president of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, the apostolic nuncio to the United Nations and the WCC general secretary.

At the start of a new year of work at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, respected German theologian Jürgen Moltmann led a day-long series of presentations and discussions as a guest of the WCC on Wednesday, 13 January. He also responded to comments and questions on his new book, The Living God and the Fullness of Life (WCC Publications, 2016).

Renowned for his friendly attitude and his inspiring speeches, nothing seems impossible for this man. He has faced a multitude of difficulties including severe illness and persecution. At age 62, he committed to rebuild the church in the only officially declared atheist state.

The Basel University honoured Ghanaian Methodist theologian Mercy Amba Oduyoye with a doctor of theology honoris causa.

Faith campaigners have presented a total of 1,780,528 signatures gathered worldwide calling for decisive action to curb global warming. The petitions were delivered to leaders of the United Nations COP 21 climate conference beginning its work in Paris.

Five religious leaders from Christian and Muslim communities in Cyprus have released a joint statement deploring all forms of attacks in the name of religion on their island, and in the whole world, saying they cannot be justified.

Violence in the name of religion echoed in the distance, demanding a response, through the November 2015 meeting of the 25-member Executive Committee of the WCC in Bogis-Bossey and nearby Geneva, Switzerland as it planned the work of the Council in the coming years.

The WCC “is moving forward on our common pilgrimage, even as we face many challenges,” general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit affirmed in his semi-annual report to the WCC Executive Committee.

In a recent statement, religious leaders called for an ambitious climate agreement, reminding all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction. They promised to continue working for climate justice, including divestment from fossil energy.

Well over 250 young people came to Taizé from 30 August to 6 September 2015 to participate in the first theological symposium on “Brother Roger's Contribution to Theological Thought”. Those invited to this time of reflection and sharing were theological students and young theologians under the age of 40 engaged in research as well as those preparing for service in the church or those already involved in ministry. A wide range of speakers from all over the world aroused a great deal of interest, with contributions offered from a Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic viewpoint, coming from Western and Eastern Europe as well as from Asia, North America, Latin America and Africa.

The moral imperative to end extreme poverty and advance proposed Sustainable Development Goals was the focus of an event hosted by the WCC on 24 September at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City, United States.

"Get up and go!" is the motto of an ecumenical pilgrimage for climate justice that will invite pilgrims to walk from Flensburg to Paris, where the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) will start at the end of November.

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.

Interview with the WCC general secretary, who is currently in Brasilia, about violence committed in the name of religion, human rights and climate justice in Brazil.

In Taizé, the week-long Gathering for a New Solidarity, for solidarity with the poor and excluded, reached its climax on the weekend of 15-16 August. The ecumenical community is celebrating in 2015 the seventy-fifth anniversary of its foundation by Roger Schutz, as well as the one hundredth anniversary of his birth (on 12 August 1915). Also 16 August was the tenth anniversary of his death.

Young participants in a WCC interfaith summer course representing Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions hope to make a strong contribution towards dialogue in their home countries. Dialogue can break down stereotypes and build up peaceful communities, they say.

“From the very beginning, women in the ecumenical movement have been raising the question of who is missing around the table and why,” said Dr Fulata Mbano-Moyo, speaking at the Latin American Congress on Gender and Religion.