222 days, 14 hours and 18 minutes. I checked the ACT Assembly website this morning and that’s what it said! In just 222 days, the ACT Assembly in Uppsala will be starting and the months (for some of us years!) of planning will be unfolding into an inspiring week together as ACT members. I can’t wait!
Now that registration has opened, the question that often drops into my inbox is “How can we get involved in the assembly?”. For ACT members across the world, there are many different ways that you can engage in the preparations and contribute to a piece of the ‘assembly jigsaw’. Below, I will highlight the main options for engagement and hope that it inspires you to also get involved!
Register: First, and most importantly – don’t forget to register! We’re hoping to have strong representation from every region so don’t forget to request your registration form from Penny and complete your form before 30th June to secure your place! Travel Subsidies are also available for some participants to support the cost of your participation – so we hope to see you there!
Stories of Hope: All through 2018, as well as during the assembly itself, we want to share Stories of Hope on the ACT Assembly website and ACT social media channels to celebrate the work of the ACT Alliance over the last four years. Be inspired by the stories already on the website and inspire us with your own stories of Hope in Action!
Hope in Action Exhibition: The Hope in Action Exhibition provides a great opportunity to showcase your work as part of the ACT Alliance at the assembly itself. Whether it’s work you’ve done in the local forum, innovative best practices to share with your fellow Alliance members, or work focused in a specific thematic area from climate to gender to humanitarian response, we’d love to give you the chance to share it with fellow ACT members! Spaces are limited though – so register early to secure your space!
Regional Celebrations: During dinner each evening, there will be an opportunity for each region to celebrate part of their culture and their achievements over the past 4 years to inspire and celebrate together with the other assembly participants. The regional celebrations will be a lot of fun and if you’d like to contribute towards your region’s presentation – get in contact with your Regional Representative or Secretariat Focal Point .
Worship: We’re looking forward to worshipping together at the assembly through a varied programme – starting with the opening worship in Uppsala Cathedral, followed by daily morning worship and evening prayer, and finally a closing worship held jointly with the WCC Executive committee on the last day. A simple way to get involved at the assembly is to support the worship team by offering, for example, to read a passage of scripture or lead a prayer. You can indicate your willingness to get involved in this way on your assembly registration form.
So there you have it! Lots of exciting ways to get involved in the build up to the assembly and at the assembly itself. The more of us that get involved the better it will be! And by the time you read this…the clock will have been ticking and the countdown to the assembly will be even closer – check out exactly how many days there are to go (as well as find all the latest information) on the ACT Assembly website now! See you there!
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Sarah Kambarami previously worked as Head of Programmes, and then Head of Alliance Development, at ACT Alliance in Geneva, and has worked in the humanitarian and international development sector for more than 15 years. Prior to working with ACT Alliance, Sarah worked for World Vision International, gaining significant experience in Angola before supporting work in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia as Regional Manager at World Vision UK. In recent years, Sarah has developed an increasing focus on quality, accountability and learning and has previously worked as an Associate Lecturer for the Open University in the Institutional Development module of the Development Management Programme. Sarah is currently coordinating the overall planning for the ACT Assembly to be held in Uppsala in October 2018.
