UK churches and communities mark One World Week
-31/10/05
Hundreds of churches across the UK marked the climax of the annual global education initiative One World week on Sunday, encouraging their members to make concrete promises, large and small, to build a better world in 2006.
One World Week (OWW) has been running for nearly 27 years. It is supported and sponsored by the members of the Churchesí World Development Network, but involves a wide range of people from all faith communities and none.
Each year the Week ñ which this year has run from 23-30 October ñ encourages grassroots community groups to organise cultural, social, educational, religious and lobbying events around a broad theme.
Over 200 events were officially registered in advance, though this is only a proportion of total involvement of what the organizers say are tens of thousands of people. Publicity tends to be local and regional rather than national.
In 2005 the OWW theme has been ëPromises, promisesí, focussing on the opportunities to combat world poverty and injustice provided by the Africa Commission, the G8 rich nationsí summit, and Britainís current presidency of the European Union.
However the idea is not just to look at what governments and NGOs can do, but also at what practical change-making pledges can be made in local communities, often around basic life-style issues.
One World Weekís 2005 ëpromise sheetí, which is certainly not limited to the time span of the event itself, includes 40 action ideas ñ from saving energy and using fairly traded products, right through to switching to a more ethical bank and supporting the UN. United Nations Day (24 October) falls within One World Week each year.
One World Week aims to enable groups at local level to work across boundaries such as culture, ethnicity, gender and creed, and to recognise commonality in combating inequality and discrimination.
It is also about stimulating imaginative activities which nurture values of ëubuntuí (an African term for ëactive togethernessí) and increasing the range and variety of voices heard in public life.
OWW is an active member of the Make Poverty History alliance, a supporter of the Development Education Association, and is involved in European Global Education Week.
Participants in the Churchesí World Development Network include Christian Aid, Tearfund, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD), the Methodist Relief and Development Fund, Traidcraft, and many other denominational, aid and mission bodies.
UK churches and communities mark One World Week
-31/10/05
Hundreds of churches across the UK marked the climax of the annual global education initiative One World week on Sunday, encouraging their members to make concrete promises, large and small, to build a better world in 2006.
One World Week (OWW) has been running for nearly 27 years. It is supported and sponsored by the members of the Churches’ World Development Network, but involves a wide range of people from all faith communities and none.
Each year the Week – which this year has run from 23-30 October – encourages grassroots community groups to organise cultural, social, educational, religious and lobbying events around a broad theme.
Over 200 events were officially registered in advance, though this is only a proportion of total involvement of what the organizers say are tens of thousands of people. Publicity tends to be local and regional rather than national.
In 2005 the OWW theme has been ëPromises, promises’, focussing on the opportunities to combat world poverty and injustice provided by the Africa Commission, the G8 rich nations’ summit, and Britain’s current presidency of the European Union.
However the idea is not just to look at what governments and NGOs can do, but also at what practical change-making pledges can be made in local communities, often around basic life-style issues.
One World Week’s 2005 ëpromise sheet’, which is certainly not limited to the time span of the event itself, includes 40 action ideas – from saving energy and using fairly traded products, right through to switching to a more ethical bank and supporting the UN. United Nations Day (24 October) falls within One World Week each year.
One World Week aims to enable groups at local level to work across boundaries such as culture, ethnicity, gender and creed, and to recognise commonality in combating inequality and discrimination.
It is also about stimulating imaginative activities which nurture values of ëubuntu’ (an African term for ëactive togetherness’) and increasing the range and variety of voices heard in public life.
OWW is an active member of the Make Poverty History alliance, a supporter of the Development Education Association, and is involved in European Global Education Week.
Participants in the Churches’ World Development Network include Christian Aid, Tearfund, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD), the Methodist Relief and Development Fund, Traidcraft, and many other denominational, aid and mission bodies.