ACT News - Page 15 of 95

Ideas for climate advocacy: new ACT Climate Justice publication

Ideas for climate advocacy, 40 pages of practical strategies for climate justice, is now available. “We must keep hope alive and I think this publication can help us,” says Mattias Söderberg, co-chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Justice Reference Group. “We can make a difference and achieve climate justice if we take action now!”

Divided into three sections, the book covers much of what Forums, members and regional climate justice CoPs will need to improve the effectiveness of their climate advocacy.

The first section explores ACT’s understanding of climate justice based on the foundations of our faith and as a faith-based alliance. It includes a summary of the most important scientific findings on the climate crisis drawn from the recent 6th Assessment Report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). It examines how past and future climate impacts threaten the sustainable development of all people, but especially those in the world’s most vulnerable communities. COP26 is studied in detail to introduce climate policy and the Glasgow Climate Pact. This section ends by exploring the climate policy challenges of the coming years.

The second section looks at advocacy practice. Using concrete examples, the publication shows how advocacy for climate justice at local, national, and international levels can be carried out in relatively simple ways. The aim is to raise the level of ambition in national and international climate targets, adaptation programmes, climate finance and in addressing climate-related Loss and Damage. This section also explains the basics of the Paris Climate Agreement and the resulting state obligations, and designing climate adaptation programmes to be gender responsive. Finally, it presents the Climate Justice Module of the ACT Advocacy Academy as the central training tool of our Climate Justice Programme.

The third section highlights the advocacy activities of ACT’s Climate Justice Programme. Three examples illustrate how ACT Communities of Practice (CoPs) from different world regions advocate for higher climate ambition. The examples illustrate the different priorities of ACT regions for climate justice. A bibliography and list of useful resources concludes the publication.

We wish you good and inspiring reading. Download here.

Revised humanitarian programme builds on ACT’s strengths

Marie Nusia, who lives with her four grandchildren, lost her home in Haiti’s 2021 earthquake. She is a community participant in rebuilding a new hurricane and earthquake resistant home. PHOTO: LWF Haiti

Niall O’Rourke, ACT Alliance Head of Humanitarian Affairs and Cyra Bullecer, Humanitarian Operations Manager, were interviewed for ACT’s 2021 Annual Report about ACT’s emergency preparedness and humanitarian response programme.

What is ACT’s Humanitarian Mechanism and how does it work?

ACT’s Humanitarian Mechanism consists of three pillars: Emergency Preparedness, Rapid Response and our Appeal funded work. It is mandatory for all ACT members and forums around the globe to have Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans (EPRPs). These plans set out how members and forums work together, coordinate, and share capacities before, during, and after humanitarian crises. In their preparedness plans, ACT members identify hazards and risks so that when a crisis hits, they can respond. These plans are linked to the wider resilience approaches used by ACT members to help communities mitigate risks and prevent disasters. For example, houses built in Haiti after a previous earthquake were designed to be stable in future earthquakes.

ACT’s Rapid Response Fund (RRF) allows local and national ACT members to respond in a timely and effective manner to small and medium-scale emergencies. Emergencies funded through the RRF can be rapid onset (such as an earthquake or flood); slow onset, requiring an early response (such as drought); or of a complex humanitarian nature (for example, conflict driven displacement). Through the RRF, local ACT members are resourced to be agile and respond to crises in their operational context in a timely and efficient manner, helping to save lives and respond to emergency needs.

The third pillar of ACT’s Humanitarian Mechanism is the ACT Appeal. ACT Appeals are designed to allow members to respond to large-scale humanitarian crises. ACT Appeals also seek to strengthen local response systems. This ensures effective delivery of humanitarian assistance alongside programme activities that strengthen local partners and communities.

ACT’s revised humanitarian policy was approved by the Governing Board in 2021. Tell us what’s new about it?

The revised ACT humanitarian policy builds on the strengths of ACT’s humanitarian work. Ensuring ACT members can deliver high-quality, locally led humanitarian response programmes is a strategic priority for the ACT Secretariat. We are doubling the emergency funds exclusively available to local and national members. The Rapid Response Fund allows local and national members to respond to small and medium-sized crises.

Local and national members can now access to up to $150,000 USD in any relevant humanitarian crisis. For example, members in Brazil were able to access $150,000 USD for the January 2021 floods, whilst members in Indonesia accessed funds for the earthquake that struck West Sulawesi.

In 2021, a total of 12 local organisations accessed the Rapid Response Fund to respond to localised and medium-level crises. Most of these organisations were linked to our member churches, many of which are already mobilised to respond to a disaster.

Increasing the level of funding available to local members is also consistent with the Grand Bargain of 2016, a set of commitments which major donors and humanitarian agencies have subscribed to. Localisation is central to the Grand Bargain, putting local communities at the centre of decision-making.

How does localisation benefit communities?

ACT understands localisation as a process of giving primacy to the humanitarian solutions of first responders, communities, and diverse forms of local civil society. Past experiences with international humanitarian aid have shown that when communities don’t own the humanitarian response, there’s a high chance of abuses of power.

Communities understand their own hazards best. If the community is at the centre of decision making before, during, and after a humanitarian crisis it can ultimately emerge stronger and better prepared for the future.

Join us in the ACT Youth Climate Caravan Campaign!

This year the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) on Climate Change will take place in Egypt. Yet, despite 26 years of climate negotiations, in 2022, the climate crisis continues to ravage communities, creating multiple and intersecting paths of destruction across the world.

As the ecumenical youth of ACT Alliance, the ACT Youth Participation Community of Practice seeks to develop a digital climate caravan that gives a platform for voices of youth from various parts of the world and highlights solidarity and action from within our ecumenical network.

We want to hear from you! (And particularly from the youth in your organization!).

Please share your stories with us – in the form of pictures, videos, arts or text – around how youth in your region are affected by, and fighting for climate justice in various ways. We seek to collect stories and testimonies from across the ACT Alliance network that will be published on our social media accounts.

Our objectives:

To raise awareness on the intersectional impacts and challenges caused by the climate crisis (with regard to gender, migration, conflict, and young people, among others) across different regions.
To strengthen and the ecumenical youth voice in the discourse on climate solutions.
To showcase international youth solidarity within the ecumenical network regarding the climate crisis.

Please find out more information in our concept note and share our posters (download here) with the youth in your organization.

Any questions, as well as photos, videos and other contributions can be sent accordingly to our regional youth contact persons (see poster)

ACT Alliance Youth Community of Practice
Youth Climate Sub-group
Emma, Patricia, Lauri, Dave, Brigita, Tova, Jeronim, Goitumetswe ,Brynne and Daisy.

ACT members responding to Pakistan monsoon flooding

Distribution of hygiene kits, jerry cans, and mosquito nets in Sindh province, Pakistan. Photo: RDF

Nishada, her children, parents-in-law and husband were rescued by an army helicopter amid heavy rains which have devastated Pakistan this monsoon reason. Nishada’s house was on the brink of collapsing. “We didn’t think twice, we just ran for our lives and caught on to the rope hanging above our house,” she said. “Every second counted at that moment, we could not get any of our belongings with us, we just had to save our lives.”

Massive flooding has impacted 73% of Pakistan’s districts, with over 1000 dead and more than one million houses destroyed, in addition to infrastructure and livestock. 6.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. These floods have been caused by monsoon rains that have almost tripled the 30-year average for Pakistan.

ACT members are responding to the needs of impacted communities through cash assistance, health care, security, food security, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter and winterization, and livelihood support. ACT’s emergency alert can be found here.

Nishada later discovered that their house had crumbled and everything they owned was washed away with the rain water. The plot where their house once stood was still under 2m of water two weeks later.

Nishada’s family is temporarily living in an army rescue camp. They have been given space in a large, empty, hall-like room, with seven other families. There are no beds, blankets or tents here. Families have been asked to move back to their villages since this was only intended as a transitory set-up amid emergency rescue efforts.

Nishida and her family were displaced by the monsoon flooding in Pakistan. Now sharing a room with 76er other families, they wish to go home, but their house, garden, and livestock are all gone. Photo: CWSA — Nishida and her family were displaced by the monsoon flooding in Pakistan. Now sharing a room with 7 other other families, they wish to go home, but their house, garden, and livestock are all gone. Photo: CWSA

“We have never witnessed or experienced rains of this intensity before. Yes, this area has been flooded before and in 2010 we were displaced too, but it is nothing like what it has been this year. The water just won’t wash away or go down from our village. We are scared of rains now.”

As a twenty-eight- year old mother of three young children, Nishada worries for their safety and hers in this camp. There is no privacy for the family here; toilets are shared by everyone with no gender segregation. But more than that, she worries for the days ahead – she knows they do not have anything to support their family with.

Nishada yearns to go back to her village, her home. But there is nothing for them there. Their livestock and small garden, which were their only source of income apart from her husband’s occasional daily labour jobs, have also been washed away. Very soon, this displaced family is going to be out on the streets, looking to set up camp wherever they find dry land, without food, safe shelter or warm clothes and blankets in the upcoming winter.

We must change the humanitarian “aid” model (and demand legally-binding climate law)

an interview with Patricia Mungcal, National Council of Churches in the Philippines

You are the Youth CoP coordinator and have been the excellent moderator for the new format launched in Karlsruhe the ACT o’clock. These gatherings were supposed to be thought-provoking conversations on difficult topics. What was the hardest and why?

The hardest was definitely approaching racism and decolonisation. These issues are deeply rooted in our daily lives, from the professional to the personal. For instance, by deciding to come to Karlsruhe I knew I could face discrimination. Whether we acknowledge it or not, these biases are embedded in our systems and also apply to churches, humanitarian relief and development organisations.

We get so much financial support from the global north that it’s difficult to bring this topic to the table preserving its dignity. When discussing “aid”, there is a high risk to sound or being perceived as a beggar.For instance, I don’t want to beg for climate finance! The climate and economic injustices that we have been seeing for decades are now systemic and are perpetuated by political systems that are responsible for creating the premises for these injustices.

Also, in these settings – when we have 30 minutes to discuss loaded topics- it’s a fine balance to preserve the dignity of the issues at stake and the history that many of us share; when for decades we have been treated like subjects to financial “aid” granted by the political whims of some.

Luckily, a conversation has already started. In ACT our churches are already working on it. We are looking at the problems in the face and we are not only acknowledging them but we are “repenting” and correcting our ways. But we need to dig deeper. The fellow panellists participating in the ACT o’ clock were so humble and willing to open up without hubris that it gives me hope.

You are involved in Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines and now that the climate crisis is unfolding faster than expected. Someone said today: Our future is on fire. Climate Change is having an impact on the most disadvantaged communities. I am thinking about Typhoon Haiyan or most recently the floods in Pakistan. What do you think we must do to advance the climate agenda and make communities more resilient and do you think that the Paris Agreement has failed these communities?

I want to talk about what we do at the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. Since Typhoon Haiyan happened we have ramped up our DRR and our climate programme. We have actively involved the local communities. Farmers who are most susceptible to drought; fishermen in Cebu who are bearing the consequences of the acidification of the oceans; and last June we also included indigenous communities to learn from them and share our knowledges. Since the Philippines is a developing country – and here I bring up the colonisation angle again – climate change is having a hard footprint on our chance to develop. We are trying to meet the basic needs of communities while confronting an uncertain future.

We are doing this by being aware that we “can’t simply “climate adapt” into climate justice”.

That’s why we need to ramp up the advocacy at national and international levels. We must stop open pit mining; the monopolies of crop farming; the fossil fuels. When it comes to the Paris Agreement, I would like to acknowledge the importance of the common but differentiated responsibilities. It was a win but it is not enough. Those who are most responsible for the climate crisis are not willing to share or be held accountable. As the common but differentiated responsibilities is not a legally binding agreement we are again subject to the whims of some. I think we need to add binding elements to the Paris Agreement – for instance on climate finance or loss and damage. But that’s the bare minimum.

There is much more we could think about. I think is time to consider this seriously and advocate for it.

As you know we are strongly committed to a localisation agenda which is not just tokenism but authentic. As a member of the ACT Alliance, what do you think the alliance can contribute more to supporting members at the national level and promoting a stronger locally-centred alliance?

ACT has been really serious on the localisation agenda. The alliance sees its importance and was one of the first to take a strong position. This is well and good, but to strengthen it further I think we also need to be serious and aggressive in mobilising the youth. We work at the grassroots level in all sectors. If you want to mobilise communities persuading and involving young people is a very important part of it. Pastors are already doing enough, but if you want committed people who have the energy, the time and the motivation to change the status quo that would be the youth.

Our future is on fire: It’s time to choose where to stand

ACT Alliance and its members came together to add their voices to the thousands of participants in the 11^th Assembly of the World Council of Churches taking place in Karlsruhe from August 31 to September 8, 2022.

This global gathering of 352 member churches is a key moment for the members of the WCC movement to analyse, discuss and propose new partnerships and initiatives for change.

This event is happening while a number of complex crises are unfolding globally.

As our General Secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria said on the plenary stage today, “the world seems to head towards multiple crises. There is a confluence of broken economic and social values that threaten life in all its forms. Social, political and economic fundamentalisms are eroding the global multilateral governance as we know it. And this bears the question if these structures and values are fit for purpose any longer”.

Another panellist provoked the audience with the thought that justice cannot be greenwashed.

The urgency of ensuring social and climate justice seems to be a key element of the discussions that we had in the past few days in Karlsruhe. The climate crisis is increasing the divide between rich and poor countries and communities; and the humanitarian consequences are becoming magnified and difficult to cope with.

De Faria concluded, There are two major blocs today that are confronting each other. Those who promote exclusion, inequality and blunt neoliberalism and those who promote the opposite: solidarity, equality and justice.

We have a choice to make.

MECC rolls out Season of Creation campaign

The Middle East Council of Churches translated the Season of Creation Celebration Guide into Arabic.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) has embarked on a wide-ranging Season of Creation campaign this year. Thanks to their efforts, the Season of Creation Celebration Guide has been translated into Arabic, and is available on their website along with Spanish and English versions. MECC is also planning a series of activities to mark the Season of Creation, which begins September 1, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and ends October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.

“Our campaign includes prayer services in the entire Middle East with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon as highlights,” says Rev. Dr. Rima Nasrallah of MECC’s Eco-Justice Unit and a member of ACT’s Governing Board. “There are also youth-oriented activities and forestation projects.” Short videos, podcasts and interviews will be aired on regional television and social media.

To find out more about Middle East Season of Creation activities, follow the hashtag #SeasonOfCreationME on Twitter (MECC, @MECChurches) and Facebook (@MECChurches). ACT’s Twitter account will share MECC’s Season of Creation activities.

The Season of Creation begins on September 1 with a global prayer service streamed on YouTube (English: ask to be notified here; Spanish; Italian and other languages). The Season of Creation Celebration Guide is available in several languages in addition to Arabic through the pulldown menu of languages on the Season of Creation homepage. Churches around the world are engaged in hosting activities, which you can read about here.

Statement: A world in crisis need bold action from Nordic countries

ACT Alliance Nordic members gathered in Oslo 25 August, and state the following:

In an increasingly fragile world, where billions are facing conflict, increased poverty, food insecurity and climate disaster, we urge the Nordic countries to be champions of joint and bold action for global solidarity and sustainability.

We are deeply concerned about the multiple crises facing us all but hitting the most vulnerable people in the world the hardest. The number of people in need of development and humanitarian aid is the highest since World War 2. Moreover, the increased pressure on human rights, gender equality, and democracy in many countries deteriorates the situation.

Therefore, we urge the Nordic countries to strengthen their cooperation, and unite to champion and protect values such as human rights, democracy, equality, and inclusion, values that are strong in the Nordic region, but are under immense pressure globally. We call for the Nordic countries to be brave and innovative and gather around increased, concrete and joint action to protect these values. The Nordic countries are already deeply committed to human rights, democracy, and sustainability, but increased joint action is needed. A rules-based, international world order, supporting human rights, accountability and multilateral cooperation, is essential to uphold, also for the Nordic countries.

We also urge the Nordic countries to uphold high commitment to development and humanitarian aid, ensuring that official development assistance is of high quality, predictable and with a strong commitment of leaving no-one behind in realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Also, we urge the Nordic countries to ensure that global common goods, such as vaccines, domestic refugee costs and climate financing is funded from other and additional sources, and not the aid budgets. Rich countries must be innovative in securing diversity in funding to handle national and global crises, focusing on engaging the private sector. Otherwise, the Global Sustainability Goals will not be met.

ACT Alliance Nordic members that participated in the meeting were Dan Church Aid (DCA), Finn Church Aid (FCA), ACT Church of Sweden, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Icelandic Church Aid (ICA).

See the ACT Alliance Annual Report 2021

A Toposa woman in Kakuta, a remote community in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State. PHOTO: Paul Jeffrey/ACT

The 2021 ACT Alliance Annual Report is now available in English, French and Spanish.

“The Alliance has a unique ability to hold space for difficult discussions within the ecumenical movement, and to listen deeply to communities which have been silenced,” says Rudelmar Bueno da Faria, ACT General Secretary in his message. “Our common ground is rooted in our diakonal involvement and our faith. This gives us the energy we need to face the challenges of our time.”

This issue features special interviews on ACT’s gender and humanitarian programmes along with reports on the Electronic General Assembly, ACT governing board elections, ACT Goodwill Ambassadors and youth engagement. Read about the work of the ACT regions and the 2021 activities of the Climate Justice, Migration and Displacement and other ACT programmes.

We hope you enjoy this review of 2021.

Download your copy here:

English

Spanish

French

ACT members continue to meet needs in Ukraine response

Six months ago, on February 24, 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. ACT members have been responding to the needs of those impacted by the war since the beginning. We’ve provided for the immediate and longer term needs of those displaced within Ukraine and those who’ve fled into surrounding countries.

The ACT Appeal for Ukraine has raised over $20M USD so far towards the $23.5M USD requested by the four members (AIDRom, HEKS, Hungarian Interchurch Aid and Lutheran World Federation) who are part of the appeal. ACT members are also responding bilaterally and through their own programming. To date, they have reached over 700,000 people through their programmes.

The impacts of the war are being felt around the world through the energy crisis and food insecurity brought on by the geopolitical situation. Tens of millions are at risk of starvation in Africa this year due to droughts and the loss of grain normally imported from Ukraine. ACT is calling on humanitarian actors and donors to support other humanitarian crises (Afghanistan, Tigray, Venezuela, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, and many others) just as robustly.The work in and around Ukraine has been strong. ACT members have provided shelter, food, clothing, employment support, legal and language support, psychosocial and spiritual support, and much more to many of the 13 million people displaced by the war.

ACT members’ expertise in refugee support enabled them to help assist third country nationals fleeing the escalating conflict. Ionut Zota, AIDRom staff in Iasi, was contacted by the Tunisian embassy to help 250 Tunisians return home. “They had to be gathered from all over, and then sent by bus from Iasi to Bucharest. We helped them find accommodation while they were gathering. The churches provided them with food for the three days they were in Iasi as well,” said Ionut.

Churches have been at the forefront of the response.. As part of the community, churches are engaged for the long haul and can respond quickly and in a sustained way to people’s needs. Clergy also meet people’s spiritual needs, offering prayer and support. Father Eugen Omu is a Romanian Orthodox priest who staffed a refugee welcome centre in Sculeni, Romania. “It is important to have priests here,” he said. “When someone sees a priest, it reminds them of God and gives them courage to face what is to come.”

ACT members will continue to support those displaced by the war as long as there is need. Plans are underway for key issues such as how to provide safe, warm, and dignified accommodation during the winter months. and ensuring children’s access to education while schools are being used as refugee and IDP shelters.

ACT members continue to be proactive in adapting their programmes to meet refugees’ current needs. Hungarian Interchurch Aid opened border welcome points in the early days for those driving and walking across the border, transitioned to supporting those arriving by train shortly thereafter, and have now opened a centralised refugee hub in Budapest to make it easier to meet refugees’ needs . They continue to analyze needs and patterns and adapt their approach to serve the refugees.

LWF has opened several cash support centres in Poland, providing refugee families with money to meet their basic needs. HEKS provides the basics of life (food, water, hygiene, etc.) to families in some of the oblasts where fighting remains intense, including Mykolaivska, Khersonska, Zaporizka and Kharkivska.

As the war drags on, the needs will not diminish in Ukraine, nor in other parts of the world. To support ACT’s appeals, please contact Niall O’Rourke, head of humanitarian affairs, at niall.orourke@actalliance.org.