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Bishop Mark MacDonald shared views on indigenous peoples and climate change in an interview with WCC Communications. "We are entering an era in which the public has a broader awareness of the rights of indigenous peoples," he said.

Violence against children was one emerging issue discussed at the Christian Conference of Asia's assembly. “It is still a sad reality in large parts of the world, but momentum to end violence against children is growing within governments and communities, amongst parents and religious leaders. This is a good thing since it takes everyone to make a change”, says Lauren Rumble, UNICEF’s chief of child protection in Indonesia.

Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, professor of ecumenical theology at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland and acting director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order, has been confirmed as the new Faith and Order director.

The WCC is hosting the annual meeting of an international group of people with responsibilities for ecumenical relations in several member churches of the WCC. The spring session of the gathering of the Ecumenical Officers Network is taking the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace” as the inspiration for learning, reflective study and discussion on current developments in the ecumenical movement.

Amidst the reality of tensions often fueled by religions, a group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish youth has formed a multi-faith community. As part of an interfaith summer course sponsored by the WCC, this community wants to work for the protection of creation – a concern they say is common to all faith traditions.

Rubem Alves of Brazil, one of the foundational thinkers behind Latin American “liberation theology”, died at the age of 80 on Saturday 19 July. This scholar, teacher, activist, psychotherapist and author is being commemorated by colleagues, former students, journalists and others, including heads of state.

Father Ioan Sauca of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Peter Prove, a Lutheran lawyer and international affairs expert from Australia, have been named to key staff positions in the WCC.

More than 200 international theology students of varied Christian traditions have commenced participating in the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI). An opening with a vibrant worship service at the Graduate School of Theology of Hanshin University marked the beginning of the GETI on 26 October in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

A global survey on theological education urges churches to put emphasis on Christian leadership formation, collaboration in theological education, support for scholarship programmes and development of capacity-building for theology students.

Through engaging speakers and discussions, participants at a recent consultation on mission and evangelism explored ways, in which theological education and training programmes on evangelism can relate Christian witness to the changing landscape of Europe.

The pre-assembly event of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) concluded in Manila on 27 March with spiritual reflections, prayer and a profound commitment to the churches' work on mission and evangelism.

The pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism saw churches' renewed commitment and different approaches to mission and evangelism in a context of rapid change in society, politics and church.

Since 1982 there has been only one official statement of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on mission and evangelism. Now in 2012 the WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) is preparing another statement to invoke new understanding of mission and evangelism amidst changing world and ecclesial scenarios.

Wilhelm Pierola Iturralde is the president of the Bolivian Association "Joining Hands for Life", an initiative of the Presbyterian Hunger Programme which works closely with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to address water problems in Bolivia. Iturralde was one of the participants at the Global Forum of the Ecumenical Water Network in Kenya, Nairobi.

Hendrew Lusey has never forgotten the words he first heard at a World Council of Churches (WCC) workshop on human sexuality in 2002. At that time, he had recently been appointed the regional coordinator for central Africa with the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA).

Dr Susan Parry has turned her vision of the “AIDS-competent church” into a reality that has helped thousands of people across southern Africa and the rest of the world whose lives are affected by HIV.

Church communication needs to be personal and authentic, and that is why it has traditionally been centred on face-to-face contacts.

by Juan Michel (*)

Resettlement of people displaced by the consequences of climate change was highlighted as a major concern for churches at a gathering of ecumenical representatives from Asia and the Pacific region.

Religious diversity is an unavoidable reality today – and an opportunity, according to the participants of an interfaith seminar held in July at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey outside Geneva, Switzerland.