WCC Media Advisory: INVITATION: “What Connects Us. Interests Need Common Ground”

World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm will be speaking during a special evening, “What Connects Us. Interests Need Common Ground.” We warmly invite you to join us for the discussion. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 12 October 2026 WHEN: Wednesday, 14 October 2026 | 5:00 p.m. (doors open at 4:30 p.m.) WHERE: DATA Space | Rosenthaler Str. 38, 10178 Berlin (courtyard)   WHY: The discussion will explore the place of solidarity, human dignity, and international responsibility in political decisions – particularly when resources are limited and priorities compete.   INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS AVAILABLE: Ahead of or during the event.   SPEAKERS: Opening:  (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in conversation with Dr Christoph Benn.    Martin Schulz, chair of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation   Discussion on “What does it cost to stand by our values?”    Niels Annen (state secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) Monsignor Prof. Dr Obiora Ike (Nigerian priest and professor of ethics) Dorothee Klüppel (vice-president of the Central Committee of German Catholics) Anna-Nicole Heinrich (president of the Synod of the Protestant Church in Germany)  Lisa Ditlmann (Germany director of the ONE Campaign)   Closing:  Former federal ministers Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul and Hermann Gröhe    Followed by music and a get-together.   For further questions, please contact the press representative below. We kindly ask you to register via the email provided below.   Press contact: Fiete Lembeck seebohm.berlin, on behalf of the organisers +49 176 70879215 F.Lembeck@seebohm.berlin   An event organised by Friends of the Global Fund Europe, ONE Campaign Germany, the Center for Global Health Diplomacy, and the World Council of Churches. 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 356 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 Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland