There is a famous statement by Malcolm X, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare today.” This statement is especially true for the ACT Alliance Youth CoP, as education and capacity building was a recurring theme in the discourse and dialogues on the third day of the 2021 ACT Electronic General Assembly. Fernanda Zúñiga, a young climate activist with LWF said, “mobilizing young people to be involved and empowering them to participate in negotiations and creation of policy will ensure knowledge is gained by listening and retained  by practising.”

Are there opportunities for youth In climate justice? The youth are especially excited by the commitment of Matias Söderberg, co-chair of the ACT Climate Justice Reference Group, who said the group is committed to work with the youth. This is a good place to begin; creating a network which will provide a platform for learning, exchanging ideas and participating. A good suggestion was brought forth to establish a programme in the ACT secretariat to involve the youth and member organizations in Climate Justice to drive this agenda and Climate Justice advocacy.

Marcelo Leites of WCSF said, “There is a need for a radical change, because young people are not only the future but the present.” As ACT identifies the opportunities to involve youth, “We have to establish that there is no climate justice without social justice” he said, “because young people are the most impacted by climate change effects and many times they are left with no dignity.”

It is a win that the youth are already doing the basics, “Planting trees, saving water, restoring water bodies and taking personal responsibilities to preserve and restore the environment.” It is a first step of many towards the change we want for planet Earth. 

There come moments in every generation, when the Lord reintroduces Himself to a generation and amplifies His message (William McDowell). For Climate Action, the moment is now. The youth are awake and aware of the need to be in the frontline and they will be instrumental, but only if guided and supported to channel their energy wisely.

In the 2021 assembly, we have laid the foundation through the intergenerational dialogues. Let it advance to intergenerational action with those that went before us mentoring us, imparting knowledge and creating space for youth on the boards, reference groups and communities of practice to strengthen youth engagement and build youth synergy. In Kenya, we say, “Umoja ni nguvu, utengano ni udhaifu,” which means, coming together as individuals, strengthens us to achieve what we set out to do.  Together we can make climate justice a reality!

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Irene Sebastian-Waweru. Youth Volunteer with Anglican Development Services a member of ACT Alliance Kenya Forum. Currently co-chair ACT Alliance Kenya Forum and ACT Africa Youth CoPs.

Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen reflects on her 3 years as ACT Alliance Moderator as her term comes to an end.  She is General Secretary of DanChurchAid.

Please share a few highlights from your 3-year term as Moderator. 

A regular feature of governance meetings included reflecting on the external context, and how the Alliance can adapt and respond in a rapidly changing world to remain relevant, cohesive, effective and accountable.  

ACT Alliance is in a very exciting time, where important changes are taking place in many areas and on many fronts. These changes range from new partnerships to a more proactive engagement in humanitarian response. At the same time, the Alliance faces financial challenges that need to be addressed. These challenges require ongoing revision of approaches, structures and procedures, all designed to promote cohesiveness, relevance and effectiveness.  This will benefit not only the Alliance, but also its individual members. 

The revised model for membership, also called the “engagement model,” came into effect January 1, 2020. In 2019 the Governing Board, with the support of the Membership and Nominations Committee and the Secretariat, began to further develop an implementation plan for the revised membership model. Although the new model improved members’ active engagement in the Alliance, it also presented some challenges. 

In May 2021, the revised ACT Humanitarian Policy was approved by the Governing Board. Planned improvements in enabling mechanisms, such as ACT Appeals, the Global Rapid Response Fund and the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans, are scheduled to roll out beginning in 2022.  

We also implemented a system of “reporting back” to respective regional members on important decisions made by the Governing Board. In this way, ACT members were given the opportunity to share views and insights on important matters affecting the life of the Alliance.  

One major decision was adding two Youth seats on the Governing Board, which I am personally very happy about. These were filled in the first half of 2021. 

What were some of the challenges the Board overcame during your tenure, and how? 

In June 2019 the ACT Secretariat started a discussion with key funding members of the Alliance to address its unstable and unpredictable financial situation.  

A revised funding model for the Secretariat was produced and presented to the CEOs of the member organizations. It provided concrete and constructive feedback and requested reconsideration of the ambitious timeline to put the new model in place despite the urgency of its critical financial instability and the inherent risk of the current funding model.  

The ACT Governing Board endorsed the direction of the proposal and encouraged continued discussions with funding members in order to have a sustainable and predictable model in place considering the financial challenges that the main funding members are currently facing. 

What advice do you have for the next Moderator? 

Recognise the competencies and skills in the Board – this is a joint effort, and everyone wants to contribute. 

And recognise the amazing work of the Secretariat – they work hard, find solutions to challenges, and demonstrate a high degree of responsibility. 

The 2021 ACT Electronic General Assembly, which began on 29/11/2021, was ACT’s first Electronic General Assembly in this format, an online meeting that guaranteed increased participation with member organizations able to invite more staff and workers to participate from around the world. This year’s assembly saw more youth participate not only as delegates but also as moderators, panelists and contributors.

The assembly included an intergenerational panel dialogue on the topic of Youth and Climate Justice, a cross-cutting theme running throughout the assembly’s programme. “We have diverse views on worship as a religion but as Christians, we have the same calling to environmental stewardship,” introduced Collins Shava, Executive Officer for Youth from the All Africa Conference of Churches, who was moderating the session. His statement was echoed by Patricia Mungcal, a youth climate activist from the Philippines, “Faith translates to values and values translate to action.” It is this action that the youth are demanding not only in words but also through activities including organized strikes such as the #fridaysforfuture.

“The Seas are rising and so are we”, said Patricia, the ACT global Youth CoP co-chair, as she gave a case study of the solutions she has witnessed in the Philippines where individuals in the grassroots are taking localized actions to adaptation and mitigation of climate change. She urged young people to “rise up from participating as a token to participating in decision making, policy making and strategies”. The youth bring energy and innovation and it can be channeled into positive outcomes in the fight towards climate justice but only when “the youth are educated and empowered with knowledge to equip them for Climate Justice work.”

Capacity building is vital to impart knowledge to the youth, as knowledge is power. Knowledge on policy or best practices is a lever for a youth in any part of the world to use as a climate justice champion. Romario Andrés Dohmann, youth coordinator of the Evangelical Church of Rio de la Plata in Argentina, said, “Climate change affects all but not the same way,” Romario is a member of the Young Reformers program of the Lutheran World Federation. He is responsible for the program Crece Selva Misionera, an initiative that aims at mitigating climate change effects with the reforestation of native rainforests, coordinated by Fundación Hora de Obrar. He continued, “there is no climate justice without social justice hence the need to put in place policies to protect the vulnerable.” Knowledge will help to elevate and empower the youth to participate in all levels of climate justice.

Matias Söderberg, co-chair of the ACT Climate Justice Reference Group said the group is committed to work with the youth and other member organizations and that “there is still hope, there is always a possibility to make changes. Let us lean on our faith in God as a people and an organization.” He continued, “Youth calling for action now gives me hope as it shows that they are engaged for today and for the future.”

Prof. Dr Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, ACT Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Justice, added “Let us spread the hope to the youth at the grassroots and in vulnerable communities who are in despair, to involve and mobilize them to participate in their own ways in their communities.”

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Irene Sebastian-Waweru. Youth Volunteer with Anglican Development Services a member of ACT Alliance Kenya Forum. Currently co-chair ACT Alliance Kenya Forum and ACT Africa Youth CoPs.

The Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance began its Electronic General Assembly on November 29, 2021. Over 270 representatives will elect a new governing board, officers, and membership and nominations committee for the alliance, as well as engaging in discussion on a range of issues.

There will be a particular focus on the issue of youth and climate justice, with an intergenerational panel discussion on the 29th kicking off further discussions through the week.

The assembly is taking place virtually, allowing for greater participation from around the world, including the opportunity for all 137 ACT members to send a youth observer to the event. The virtual nature of the assembly is by design, rather than in response to COVID-19 restrictions. ACT’s general assemblies take place every 6 years in person with a virtual assembly at the midpoint between presential assemblies. 2021 marks the first such virtual assembly.

“In the next days, our members will be gathered in this virtual space to discern, discuss and deliberate on issues that require our action as Christians and faith-based organizations,” said Birgitte Qvist-Sørenson, moderator of the ACT Alliance governing board. “And we do that when the world is affected by war and humanitarian crises, sectarianism and violent extremism, by poverty and inequalities, by climate change and environmental degradation.”

Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT Alliance’s general secretary, underscored the challenges facing the world but also ACT’s role in helping to address those challenges. “We are entering a unique window of opportunity to build a new social contract that honours the dignity of every human being, we cannot ignore the opportunity for faith-based organizations to offer insights and an ethical compass to help inform all those who are determining the future of humanity, global relations, and priorities of societies,” he said.

“When ACT Alliance was formed, many referred to the WCC as its parent,” said Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Souca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches in his opening remarks. “Today we are siblings, serving the churches side-by-side as an expression of unity and common witness.”

“As we look to the future, discerning together how best to serve God’s justice and peace in the world, I pray that the conversations during this assembly will inspire the members and sharpen the mandate of the ACT Alliance,” concluded Father Sauca.

The elections will take place on Friday, December 3, and the newly elected governing board will have its first meeting immediately after the closing plenary session.

Media contact:
Simon Chambers
Director of Communications
+1-416-435-0972
Simon.chambers@actalliance.org

ACT members discuss how farmers in Zimbabwe adapt to climate change in their lives and their work.

Climate change poses a huge challenge to Ethiopia and its people. One of the world’s most drought-prone countries, Ethiopia is faced with increasingly unpredictable rains, and in some years the complete failure of seasonal rains – occurrences that are linked to climate change.  Ethiopia is a country with large differences across regions, which is reflected in the country’s climate vulnerability. The lowlands are

This, combined with an increasing population and conflict, leads to greater food insecurity in some areas.  

Ethiopia is experiencing extreme weather variability with some areas experiencing drought, while others are impacted by flooding. Heavy rainfall is likely to occur in parts of eastern, southern, south-eastern, and southwestern Ethiopia.

According to the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC), seasonal flooding has so far affected 470,163 people, of whom some 301,284 people are displaced in Somali, Oromia, Afar, SNNP, Dire Dawa and Harari. The situation is particularly severe in the Somali region where more than 79 per cent of the flood-affected and displaced people are located.  

Floods have fully damaged the main bridges between Hudet and Negelle and between Mubarak and Filtu, Somali region. The floods also inundated planted crops and vegetables in Hudet and Mubarak woredas (the third administrative level in Ethiopia), Dawa zone. Similarly, 2,118 livestock deaths, the loss of 8,840 hectares of cropland and damage to 79 water pumps, and the destruction of road infrastructure were reported in Dollo Ado and Bokolmanyo woredas. Similar losses of livelihood and infrastructure are also reported in Moyale and Kadaduma woredas.  

An increase in food commodity prices has already been reported due to poor terms of trade in the flood-affected woredas, exacerbating the already soaring market prices resulting from COVID-19 restrictions. In Oromia, floods displaced more than 63,000 people, and damaged houses and public infrastructure, including schools and health facilities, across 17 kebeles (similar to wards) in Gelana woreda. Similarly, 57 houses were damaged, 151 hectares of cropland destroyed, and 21 goats killed in Liben woreda, Guji zone. Communities in Bale and Borena zones also suffered flood damages and livelihood loss. 

The Government of Ethiopia, humanitarian partners and communities are currently providing lifesaving assistance to the flood-affected and displaced people in most of these areas, albeit with limitations. Additional resources are urgently required to address unmet food and non-food needs, including emergency shelter and non-food items (ES/NFI), health and WASH services as well as early recovery support.  

Dawit Beza is the ACT Ethiopia Forum Coordinator and works with Norwegian Church Aid Ethiopia. He has an MSc in Watershed Management. Dawit has been an ACT Alliance delegate at COP26 this week.