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The final stretch of the journey of LWF together

October 24, 2011 in Enviroment, Faith, Justice, LWF, LWF together - the earth needs you, Spirituality, Youth, Youth Ministry, Youth participation

A journey is nearing its end. Many of the participants are going to end it with prayer and a celebration.

It was a journey that brought together 100 groups of young people from different places in the world. There were many exchanges on biblical texts and how young people see current problems - surrounding the environment and justice.

This journey was not always easy. Some groups lost momentum and stopped meeting. The contact between groups was difficult in most cases; it is just not easy to communicate with people you have never met, in a language which is not your native one and using the Internet.

Next Sunday, Reformation Sunday, many groups are going to talk about LWF together in the worship services of their congregations. And they are all going to pray for the partner groups.

We are also going to use this week in order to discuss about the future of LWF together. Tomorrow, there will be a post on some ideas for next year’s program and your comments on it. Later this week, we are also going to invite applications for coordinators of the program.

So, stay tuned for a week of conversation about LWF together, leading up to the Reformation Day finale.

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Christians are Called to Justice

August 17, 2011 in Asia/Pacific, Justice

This is a guest post by Fernando Sihotang, Indonesia, a former intern in the LWF

Churches and Christians should be in the position to promote justice within the society and in the earth. To take responsibility for a sustainability of human lives and other creations has been given by God. Promoting economic equality, environmental sustainability, and justice of all forms must be regarded as a non-derogable task of both Christians and Churches.

Today, there are millions of people throughout the world facing obstacles as they try to gain justice. Read the rest of this entry →

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Failing to invest in youth is a false economy - UN High level meeting

July 26, 2011 in Justice, LWF, UN, Youth participation

Post by Daan Leker, the Netherlands.

The second day of the UN meeting is starting. Today we’ll get a summary of the panels yesterday and the outcome document of the High Level Youth Meeting will be approved. Yesterday we listened to an inspiring speech of His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon. As he said: he loves the youth and especially our sense of style. One of the sentences he said that really stuck with me was: ‘Failing to invest in youth is a false economy.’

It was an impressive and educative day yesterday. I was touched by the fact that all the delegates extended their sympathies to Norway and the Norwegian minister spoke about the attacks this week. It was good to see that even during this meeting Norway is on everyone is minds and so many people are sympathizing and praying with and for Norway.

Yesterday I ended up at the wrong side event, and was really grateful for that. The event was about Adolescent boys and young men’s participation in Gender Equality. The panel spoke about different ways to approach boys and men and teach them about gender equality. One example was a project in India where both parents as young boys get sexual education, separate from each other so there’s a save space for both. The project is a big success and changed for many the way they perceive equality in relationships and their ideas about sexuality.

One of the organizations involved in this and advocating and creating projects addressing gender based violence is UNFPA. Amongst other things they created an online game about gender norms, violence and behaviour. This game is a huge success.

Today the side event I will be attending is about the Millennium Goals and implementation of these goals. 2015 is approaching and it seems that goals will not be achieved. I’m curious what the panel of my event thinks about these issues. Tonight there will be a press conference of ICMYO (International Coordination of Youth Organizations) an organ we have been working together with during this meeting. The conference will be about the evaluation of the United Nations High Level meeting on youth.

I am looking forward to today. It’s quite an experience. Greeting in to the UN building already takes a while, going trough all the security, getting the right passes. And seeing all these high placed people speaking is really inspiring. Tomorrow we will have a last side event and then it will be over. We’ll keep you updated!

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Preparing for the UN high-level meeting on youth

July 25, 2011 in Justice, LWF, UN, Youth, Youth participation

Here are some reflections by Daan Leker, one of the LWF Youth delegates to the UN high-level meeting in New York. We had some first reflections on the outcome document here:

I’m sitting in my hotel room, it’s 40 degrees Celsius outside and I’m preparing for the High Level Meeting on Youth of the United Nations. About three months ago I heard that I was going to New York and I felt so blessed. To go to the UN and have the voices heard of so many young people from all over the world! That is, if I don’t melt this weekend…

This year is the year of the youth. Because of that the UN has decided to have a High Level Meeting on Youth. On the 25th and 26th of July we will discuss youth issues. There are opportunities to talk to each other.

There will be two thematic panel discussions. The first one will be on: Strengthening international cooperation regarding youth and enhancing dialogue, mutual understanding an active youth participation as indispensible elements towards social integration, full employment and the eradication of poverty. The second one will be on: Challenges to youth development an opportunities for poverty eradication, employment an sustainable development. Not the easiest topics I guess but a challenge to talk about and I’m very curious how my fellow participants think about these themes.

 

Next to that we will have plenary meetings. A few participants have been chosen to speak at these meetings. The outcomes from the two thematic discussions will also be summarized here. Also we’ll have the chance to go to different side meetings where youth issues will be discussed. In short, there will be plenty to do and no time to get bored!

I don’t know yet what to expect except for the fact that these will be a few really interesting days. Days in which the youth really gets a voice and the leaders of our nations will have to listen, and are willing to listen. Which I think already is a big step in helping and supporting youth. I hope I can contribute and give young people from al over the world a voice. I’ll let you know!

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