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Related events
Ecumenical youth pre-event (23-26 January)
World forum of theology and liberation on "Theology for another possible world"(21-25 January)

Participants in the 23-26 February 2005 youth pre-WSF event in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

"Affirming life in dignity: enhancing justice and rights in a globalized world" is the overall theme for the World Council of Churches' (WCC) participation in the 5th World Social Forum taking place 26-31 January in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

"Ecumenism has much that it can bring to the World Social Forum, including faith and cultural perspectives on the struggle for alternatives and the building of just societies," explains Dr Rogate Mshana, head of the WCC programme on economic justice.

WCC delegates are responsible for a series of seminars that affirm the dignity of life in a world suffering from the consequences of economic globalization. Amongst others, a panel on women's spirituality and dignity and their key role in resistance, a seminar dealing with peace and reconciliation, and a panel on ecological debt are being offered by the WCC.

The ecumenical presence is "a way to show the common witness of Christians in the world that does not claim to be better, but to be an authentic alternative voice," says Mshana.

In Porto Alegre this year, the WCC is acting within the framework of a global ecumenical coalition, including the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Caritas Internationalis, International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE), Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), World Student Federation (WCSF), National Children's Alliance (NCA), Ecumenical Forum in Brazil, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), Association of World Council of Churches related Development Organisations in Europe (APRODEV) and other world-wide ecumenical organizations.

Ecumenical participation at former World Social Forums:
Mumbai 2004
Porto Alegre 2003

WSF website

WCC/Ecumenical coalition seminars at WSF 2005:

Ecological debt - historical roots, continuing impacts and alternatives from social movements (Ecumenical Coalition)

Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff during a break at a 21-25 World Forum on Theology and Liberation that took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil just before the opening of the World Social Forum.