decolonization

Racism, Land, and Food

Warm greetings from Geneva!

On behalf of our colleague, Dr. Manoj Kurian, Coordinator of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) of the World Council of Churches, we are happy to share with you an invitation to attend an upcoming webinar on Racism, Land, and Food.

New York, Bogota 09:00-11:00; London 14:00- 16:00; Geneva 15:00-17:00, Johannesburg 16:00-18:00, Nairobi 17:00-19:00, New Delhi 19:30-21:30, Bangkok 21:00-23:00

Objectives for the Webinar:

• Explore the intersections of food, land and racial injustice.

• Discern key lessons from initiatives and good practices that work to overcome the impact of racial injustice and inequity on food sovereignty.

• Reflect on how the Holy Scripture can assist and guide in bringing justice, dignity and rights to marginalised communities with regard to food and land

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvduGspj4iHtceXhhER9aLh9wJeRPv1hB1

Background documents: https://seafile.ecucenter.org/d/d35a42625eaf40b29c9b/

Languages: English and Spanish

Brief description:

Worldwide, communities are increasingly experiencing poverty due to severe climate changes and lack of access to fertile farmlands and the deploying of fertile farmlands for cash crop farming at the expense of food production. In fact, in many countries, especially, former colonies, the most productive farmlands are shared by the very rich, normally descendants of the colonisers/ other privileged classes and castes and some indigenous elites, while the masses continue to try to eke out a living from their inherited but tired lands that have been farmed without rest over decades if not centuries. In some instances, the rich have used their access to financial and material resources to coerce poor farmers to plant and grow cash crops for the export market at the expense of growing staple crops, however, the rewards from cash crops are great for the merchants and exporters while starving the poor farmers who are left without any significant returns from their cash crops and without food.

This webinar seeks to explore the intersection of these two injustices across the globe. It helps to consolidate the analytical, advocacy and practical resources, to explore, understand and expose the effects of the combined force of food, climate and racial injustice.

Resource persons

· Rev. Chebon Kernell, Indigenous Perspectives  Executive Director, Native American Comprehensive Plan, United Methodist Church, USA 

· Dr. Fransina Yoteni, Gereja Kristen Injili Di Tanah Papua (GKITP)- Evangelical Christian Church in Tanah Papua, Member of the Central Committee of the WCC, West Papua, Indonesia

· Dr. Betty Ruth Lozano Lerma, Director of Research, Fundación Universitaria Bautista (Unibautista), Colombia

· Dr. Mervyn Abrahams, Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group, Republic of South Africa

· Mr. Angelious Michael, Coordinator, Partnership and Youth Desk at Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church, Orissa, India

· Rev. Elton Williams, Pentecostal Minister championing Food sovereignty, Antigua and Barbuda

· Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith, Senior Associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement, Bread for the World. Member of the Central Committee of the WCC, USA

Moderators:  Ms. Katlego Mohuba (South Africa) & Mr. Tsiry Nantenaina (Madagascar)

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. 

Celebrating Family Holiday Traditions

You are invited to join the NGO Committee on the Family for a time of Celebrating Family Holiday Traditions!

Many different cultures and religions celebrate holidays around this time of year, and the family plays a unique role in preserving and passing on these traditions. Many families create their own family customs as well, which are then passed on to the next generation, which can preserve and adapt them. These may shift and blend through the years, yet they create intergenerational links, fostering a sense of identity and self in the young who feel connected to those who came before them. In an increasingly global world, these traditions provide a connection to the past and guideposts for the future.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for cultural exchange and community experience discussing family and culture in a holiday context. Attendees will have a chance to share their own holiday traditions during the general discussion. Online participants can share in various ways, such as showing a favorite holiday treat, describing a holiday tradition, or showing your holiday decorations via webcam. As culture and food are closely connected, committee members will bring holiday refreshments from their family and cultural traditions, and in-person attendees who would like to do the same are invited to bring a dish to share. 

Please RSVP by 6pm EST on December 15 at bit.ly/NGOFamilyHoliday

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on the Family-NY is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. For information about collaborative work of NGOs on the issues above and related matters, visit the substantive committees related to CoNGO. 

Remembering Past Massacres: Honoring the legacy and resilience of the victims | EUROPE

The webinar is part of a series of regional webinars organized by the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with the WCC Spiritual Life.

It is part of the many virtual events organized this year to mark the 75th anniversary of the CCIA.

Realizing that several of these massacres have lost relevance over the years, or are simply forgotten, the purpose of these regional webinars is to reflect on how these fallen heroes and heroines are remembered and honoured today.

Moderator: Rev. Karin van den Broeke, WCC Executive Committee member

The following speakers will share country perspectives:

  • Dr. Geraldine Smyth, Northern Ireland
  • Rev. Assoc. Prof. Habil. Cristian Sonea, Roumania
  • Eugenia Koukoura, Greece
  • Rev. Prof. Dr Konrad Raiser, former WCC General Secretary, will also be on the panel, and will bring insights the role of healing of memories.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-a7AJvGURAeQmQ5DiQx05Q

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. 

Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

Dear colleagues,

I hope that this message finds you well and safe.

With apologies for the lengthy delay, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is pleased to inform you that your organization’s request for accreditation to the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has been provisionally approved, subject to a final decision by the Review Conference.

As you may know, the NPT Review Conference will be held from 4 to 28 January 2022, per notification from the President-designate to all States Parties dated 25 October 2021.

Next steps:

Between 1 and 14 December, each participant from your organization must complete the registration form at https://indico.un.org/event/1000162/registrations/. Online registrations must include the accreditation request letter, including the name of the participant. Additional representatives may be included in a revised accreditation request letter, which should be submitted to diane.barnes@un.org by no later than 14 December 2021.

Kindly note that as a result of public health restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in the Tenth Review Conference by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is expected to be fully virtual.

It is tentatively expected that open discussions will be viewable on UN Web TV. Accredited organizations wishing to deliver a pre-recorded video presentation to the Review Conference may coordinate with the NGO point of contact, Ms. Allison Pytlak of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

For additional details, kindly refer to the attached draft information note.

Please contact diane.barnes@un.org with any questions concerning registration.

Kind regards,

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. 

Women on the Front Line: Healing the Earth, Seeking Justice

Women are on the front line of the climate emergency so therefore they need to be at the forefront of the climate response. This is a critical year both for climate justice and for progressing a just recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. We must seize the opportunity to address these intersecting crises through transformational action to protect both the planet and the people who live upon it. We need a renewed global social contract that delivers on the Paris Agreement, human rights, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Christian Aid’s new report calls for a feminist and decolonial approach to climate change that shifts power and resources to women and the Global South, and delivers co-benefits for gender, climate and environmental justice. Please join our event and hear inspiring speakers who are making this change happen, including:

  • Amanda Mukwashi, CEO, Christian Aid
  • Kavita Naidu, human rights and feminist climate justice advocate
  • Ikal Angelei, politician and environmentalist
  • Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT Alliance General Secretary

We will also be showing a short film about women’s climate activism in Kenya, and recorded messages from climate activists in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea

Please note, tickets for the live event are limited, but you can also join online. Links will be shared with people registered for the online event before the meeting.

Register here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-on-the-front-line-healing-the-earth-seeking-justice-tickets-194519772877

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women – Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. 

Transforming Climate Finance to Radically Transform Societies: The Case of Green Climate Fund Funding

Join CIDSE on Nov. 4 for an expert panel discussion on “Transforming Climate Finance to Radically Transform Societies: the Case of Green Climate Fund Funding.”

In the context of COVID-19, climate ambition entails not only lowering greenhouse gas emissions, but also recovering effectively by addressing climate impacts, food security, poverty and inequality holistically. Climate change has a direct impact on communities, (small scale) food producers, and civil society organisations (CSOs) operating at the local level in many developing countries.

Because they are based on local realities, including the needs and knowledge of local actors, locally-driven, innovative climate-response measures are highly effective in promoting climate adaptation and resilience, ecosystem recovery, low-carbon emissions, and sustainable development.  The scaling up of climate finance will be a pressing issue at COP26, with the review of the second commitment period being particularly important.

The GCF has committed to becoming a paradigm-shifting and transformative fund for low-emission and climate-resilient development, dedicated solely to climate financing in developing countries, with a focus on both mitigation and adaptation. However, our studies have shown that barriers for CSOs to access GCF funds exist and are systemic, massive. Our studies also show that agroecology receives minimal support from the fund while it is now recognized to be key to food system transformation we dramatically need and to cope with the multiple crises we face. Addressing, reducing and overcoming these barriers as well as increasing the quality of funding for agriculture will be essential for the Fund to fulfill its mission of transformative change-making.

Learn more & register here.

For further relevant reading, see this CIDSE study: “Improving civil society’s limited access to the Green Climate Fund.”

With questions about the event, please contact Lydia Machaka, CIDSE Climate Justice Officer, at machaka(at)cidse.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. 

Episcopal Church Climate Advocacy at the UN: COP26 Kick-Off with Bishop’s Delegation

Dear UN faith-based and civil society partners in climate action at COP26,

You are warmly invited to “Episcopal Church Climate Advocacy at the UN: COP26 Kick-Off with the Presiding Bishop’s Delegation,” this Thursday, October 28th, 1 – 2:30 pm Eastern, as well as our subsequent events on November 6th and 12th.

Find all the information here: The Episcopal Church’s presence at COP26.

Kind regards,

Lynnaia Main |  OFFICER, EPISCOPAL CHURCH REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS  | Mission | The Episcopal Church

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. 

What the world religious leaders are doing about the climate crisis

Hosted by the Temple of Understanding, on Oct. 28. Rev. Fletcher Harper and Rev. Brian McGurk will dialogue about the recent “Faith and Science Toward COP26” meeting convened by Pope Francis with 40 world religious leaders and also comment on the Interfaith program called “Faith Plans for People and the Planet” which aims at leveraging religious groups’ assets and investments.

The Rev. Fletcher Harper is an Episcopal priest and the Executive Director of GreenFaith, a global multi-faith climate and environmental justice network. An internationally recognized author, speaker, and pioneer of the worldwide religious environmental movement, he has been a leading voice in the faith community’s response to the climate crisis for the last two decades. He has worked with diverse faith leaders around the world, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Rev. Harper is the co-founder of “Shine”, an international campaign that brings together bold innovators to overcome the threat of entrenched poverty and climate change, and to achieve universal access to affordable and reliable energy. He spearheads the faith-based fossil fuel divestment movement around the world, is one of the faith leaders of the “People’s Climate Marches”, and plays a leading role in the “Interfaith Rainforest Initiative”, a campaign organizing religious communities to fight tropical deforestation and protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Rev. Harper is the author of “GreenFaith: Mobilizing God’s People to Protect the Earth.”

Rev. Brian McGurk has served as the Rector of St. Christopher’s Church, Chatham, since 2003, and as the Dean of the Cape Cod and Islands Deanery (2004–14). In the Diocese of Virginia he was the Chairman (of the Board) of the Peter Paul (Children and Youth) Development Center (Richmond); Co-chair of the Virginia Diocesan Commission for South African Partnership; a member of the Overseas Mission Committee and the Diocesan Executive Board. He has led and participated in several mission trips to South Africa and Kenya, and is a graduate of Trinity College and Yale University Divinity School.

ECO JUSTICE FOR ALL interviews and dialogues are ongoing programs produced by the Temple of Understanding, incorporating our outreach in the area of environmental awareness and advocacy. We present a diverse range of perspectives, from scientific to spiritual views, on the climate emergency and offer a variety of solutions that we can all do easily and effectively in our everyday lives. World religious and spiritual visionaries, Indigenous leaders, scientists and social scientists, environmental activists, artists, musicians and writers, youth and elders, local and global people, all come together to address the urgency of the climate crisis through these ongoing interviews and dialogues.

Register here!

__________________________________________________________________________________________CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit facebook.com/groups/1637987226437203. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com.

Remembering Past Massacres: Honoring the Legacy & Resilience of the Victims

Dear ecumenical friends,

The WCC/CCIA (Commission of the Churches on International Affairs) series of regional webinars focussing on REMEMBERING PAST MASSACRES: HONORING THE LEGACY AND RESILIENCE OF THE VICTIMS will take us this time to the Pacific. We hope you’ll join us! Please share in your networks.

Date: Monday 18 October 2021

Time: 9:00 – 10:30 AM CEST (i.e. 8AM Lagos, Nigeria / 2PM Bangkok, Thailand / 7 PM Suva, Fiji / 8PM Nakualofa, Tonga)

Speakers:

  • Rev. James Bhagwan, General Secretary, Pacific Conference of Churches
  • Danity Laukon, University of the South Pacific Marshall Islands
  • Taaitulagi Tuioti, Methodist Church in Samoa
  • Rev. Billy Wetewea, Protestant Church of Kanaky New Caledonia

Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_auNIo99OSg2-BSipSLGTMA

Learn more via Twitter or Facebook.

Objectives of the webinar:

This series of regional webinars is organized by the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with the WCC Spiritual Life. It is part of the many virtual events organised this year to mark the 75th anniversary of the CCIA. Realizing that several of these massacres have lost relevance over the years, or are simply forgotten, the purpose of these regional webinars is to reflect on how these fallen heroes and heroines are remembered and honoured today. Each webinar will be a moment of lament and will explore among others, the following questions:

  • How do we recognised these tragedies, and celebrate the survival, resistance, resilience, and heroes of these communities?
  • How do we honour their martyrdom?
  • What is done to prevent them from falling into amnesia or denial?
  • How do we memorialise these tragedies?
  • How do we transcend these past massacres and move towards healing?
  • How do we ensure that future generations learn from the past, ensuring that history will not be repeated?
  • What of reparations to descendants of these victims?
  • Are monuments sufficient even though they can be perceived as a reminder of trauma, and as memorials of symbolic reparations?

We offer these regional webinars in the hope that we will be empowered to elicit a promise and a pledge to ensure the non-recurrence of such human atrocities even as we celebrate the legacy of those who have survived these massacres.

Dates of regional webinars:

  • 27 August 2021: Africa
  • 27 September 2021: Spanish-speaking Americas
  • 11 October 2021: Asia
  • 18 October 2021: Pacific
  • 18 November 2021: Middle-East
  • 6 December 2021: Europe

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

Geneva Peace Week 2021 “From seeds to systems of peace: Weathering today’s challenges”

Dear Colleagues,

It is our great pleasure to invite you to the eighth edition of Geneva Peace Week that will take place online from 1 to 5 November 2021. The Week is jointly organized by the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The theme of this year’s Geneva Peace Week is: “From seeds to systems of peace: Weathering today’s challenges.”

Geneva Peace Week 2021 (GPW21) aims to galvanize leadership, build trust and contribute to transforming international cooperation. Over five days, Geneva Peace Week will be the umbrella for 30 Online Workshops and a Digital Series (podcasts and videos), brought together by over 100 partner organizations.

Topics for discussions will include:

  • Creating a climate for collaboration: Ways forward for environment, climate change, and peace
  • Moving beyond securitization: What risks (and new horizons) for peacebuilding?
  • Harnessing the digital sphere for peace
  • Confronting inequalities and advancing inclusion, peace, and SDG16

The full programme of Geneva Peace Week is available at genevapeaceweek.ch and attendees must register to participate. We would also like to invite you to three main sessions which will take place in-person (Maison de la Paix) and online:

  • The Opening Ceremony on 1 November at 4:00 p.m.
  • The Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address on 4 November at 6:00 p.m.
  • The Closing Ceremony on 5 November at 1:30 p.m.

Geneva Peace Week provides a common framework for peace-related workshops for which the respective organizers retain full ownership. Please note that Geneva Peace Week events do not necessarily reflect the views of UNOG, the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform or the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. We encourage you to share information widely and look forward to welcoming you and your colleagues to Geneva Peace Week 2021.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

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