WCC NEWS: WCC central committee plans for innovative, inspiring communications

The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee approved a communications strategy that focuses on innovative and inspiring ways to tell the story of the global ecumenical fellowship. 25 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland: Procession enters the church as the World Council of Churches central committee – gathered in Geneva on 21-27 June 2023 for its first full meeting following the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe in 2022 – joins local congregants at the St Pierre Cathedral in central Geneva to celebrate the 75th anniversary since the founding of the Council in 1948. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 26 June 2023 The communications strategy, refined in the months following the WCC 11th Assembly, builds on earlier strategic decisions by WCC governing bodies and does not contain any major changes in terms of communication strategies. “It relies on the same solid communication philosophy as before, in which credibility, accountability, relevance, and consistency are key pillars, all in a spiritual context,” notes the text. The plan expands details related to how WCC communications will be inspiring and innovative in ways that pursue justice, reconciliation, and unity. “The goal and purpose of WCC communications are to raise the profile and impact of the work of the WCC,” reads the report. “This is done through a variety of means which reflect the core Christian and ecumenical values of the WCC.” The report describes relevant, credible, transparent, and well-coordinated communication. “The WCC audience is international, including the WCC membership, its committees, commissions, and the churches and the public at large,” reads the text. “The WCC must be a catalyst for change – for a world with unity, justice, and peace at its heart.” Its communication must consequently reflect this mission. “The WCC aims to inspire and invite its member churches to work together, actively lending weight to the churches’ common voice. The member churches are the heart of the council,” reads the text. "Communications from the WCC must thus be inclusive and have participation and hope at their core, both in content and in methodology.” Ultimately, communications should ignite and sustain hope for a better world. “Human dignity and equality must permeate all communications,” reads the text, which explains how the WCC communication strategy also draws inspiration from the “New Communications Paper for the 21st Century,” received by the central committee in February 2022. “WCC communication will seek innovative ways in which the council’s digital communication platforms and methodologies can be used in ways that promote inclusion, accessibility, equality, and respect.”   Report of the Communications Committee, 2023 WCC Communication Strategy Photo gallery of the WCC Central committee meeting WCC Central committee meeting, June 2023 24 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland: Communication Committee pictured as the World Council of Churches central committee gathers in Geneva on 21-27 June 2023, for its first full meeting following the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe in 2022. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland