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The WCC celebrated implementation of its responsible water commitments in an event on 15 February in the Ecumenical Centre. The WCC became a Blue Community In October 2016. The special occasion was marked by the visit of Dr Maude Barlow from the Blue Planet Project, Canada, who awarded a “blue community certificate” to the WCC and raised awareness of the problems created by indiscriminate use of disposable plastic bottles and their negative impact on our planet’s ecosystem.

The WCC, along with the Geneva Interfaith Forum on Climate Change, Environment and Human Rights; Franciscans International; and Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University organised a public panel discussion on climate change and human rights from the perspective of ethics, spirituality and justice on 13 February at UN office in Geneva.

When the WCC joined the Blue Communities Project on 25 October, water and eco-justice advocates from around the world offered congratulations, while at the same time urging WCC member churches to join the quest for global water and sanitation rights.

Green Cross International has launched a new edition of The Future We Want photo exhibition for 2016 at the United Nations in Geneva. It features a number of its new partner organizations from around the world, including the WCC.

How can religion and faith communities contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? Setting out to address this very question, a panel of faith representatives gathered at World Water Week in Stockholm on 29 August, introduced by keynote speaker Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican. The panel was also welcomed by Rt. Rev. Thomas Söderberg, Church of Sweden.

Interview with Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches Central Committee at the Synod of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg, Germany.

More than 80 people from 23 European countries travelled to Helsinki for the 11th Assembly of the European Christian Environmental Network.

“Creation is God’s work, every day, according to Luther. Creation ultimately belongs to God. We are accountable to God for what we do as partners in God’s creation, as deacons of God’s creation. Do we bring hope for human beings and the whole of creation? This is the question we in the Christian Church must ask one another,” said WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

Between 7-27 March, more than 100 images with the hash tag #7Weeks4Water were posted by Instagram users who joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) contest. Most of them told stories about water justice, illustrating the Lenten campaign “Seven Weeks for Water,” promoted by the WCC Ecumenical Water Network annually since 2008.

Ecotheology, Climate Justice and Food Security was the focus for lively discussion at a consultation event hosted by the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, in Greece on 10-13 March.

When Fernando Enns thinks of water in a German context, he is reminded of thousands and thousands of refugees who have come to the country fleeing the conflict in Syria.

A 21 January World Economic Forum session on how food choices can become a catalyst for positive change became an opportunity for World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to present “Ten Commandments” of food to the gathered business and political leaders.

Climate-induced loss and damage is one of the key points being raised by faith groups during COP21. A discussion panel and a demonstration held at COP21 in early December brought to light many facets of this issue.

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.

During the 4th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights, the WCC, in collaboration with the ACT Alliance and Lutheran World Federation, organized a side-event on “Faith-based organizations’ contribution to the protection of communities’ land rights: lessons learnt and good practices from Africa, Asia and Latin America” at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

At the 42nd Committee on World Food Security in Rome on 12-15 October, the intergovernmental body continued its quest to coordinate a global approach to food security.

“It would be a scandal if the Climate Conference in Paris would not deliver what is needed,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, during a public event in Lengerich, Germany on 13 October.

The World Water Week is a “stepping stone” in accomplishing Sustainable Development Goals related to water and sanitation – and the faith communities must be actively engaged in achieving this vision, according to Dinesh Suna, coordinator of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC. Suna shared these reflections following his participation at the 2015 World Water Week Stockholm held in Sweden.

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.