WACC begins its Third World
Congress
"We are convinced that communication in the service of reconciliation is
communication in the service of truth and justice," the Rev. Carlos Valle,
Secretary General of the World Association for Christian Communication
(WACC) said in an address entitled "Community, Dignity and Reconciliation"
during the opening session of the organisation's Third World Congress.
The WACC Congress, which began last night in Noordwijkerhout, Holland, will
continue until July 7. The theme is "Communication: From Confrontation to
Reconciliation."
Also speaking at the opening session were Dr. Konrad Raiser, Secretary
General of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Eveline Herfkens,
Minister of Development for the Netherlands.
Dr. Raiser emphasised the relationship between the theme of the WACC
Congress and the Decade to Overcome Violence launched recently by the WCC.
He also mentioned the importance that the term "reconciliation" has
taken on
since it entered the public and political lexicon in the wake of World War
II.
Eveline Herfkens, Minister of Development for the Netherlands, welcomed the
participants and highlighted the importance of organisations such as the
WACC that seek reconciliation through communication. She also underscored
the need to fight to reduce poverty, achieve development and ensure active
participation by civil society in decision making.
The first challenges for communication in processes of reconciliation were
presented by Judith Vidal-Hall, of the London-based organisation Index on
Censorship. She described the forms that efforts toward reconciliation take
in modern society, with particular mention of courts and tribunals where
international crimes can be tried, truth commissions, amnesty and reparation
processes.
Among the most warmly received parts of the Congress are the times dedicated
to stories of reconciliation. One of the speakers during the first session
was Estela Barnes de Carlotto, President of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de
Mayo, an Argentine organisation that for years has dedicated itself to the
tireless search for children and grandchildren disappeared during the
military dictatorship in the South American country (1976-1983).
Carlotto explained how the grandmothers' resistance organisation was born
and their search strategy, which includes investigative work and legal
action as well as reconstructing the individual history of each disappeared
mother and father. She also described the role of the communications media
in their work and underscored the importance of the reconciliation that
occurs every time a disappeared child or grandchild is found.
"Reconstructing an interrupted history and restoring these young people's
freedom and identity is an act of love, peacemaking, justice and hope," she
said.
At the same session, Edgar Gutiérrez, Guatemalan Minister of Strategic
Analysis, who was director of the Project to Recover the Historical Memory,
described that work, which began in 1996 after the end of the country's
armed conflict. The project was particularly aimed at reconciliation,
education for peace, mental health and changing unjust and oppressive
structures.
Sessions during the coming days will focus on various issues related to the
main theme of the Congress: communication as an agent of reconciliation.
Besides keynote speakers and presentations of experiences of reconciliation,
ten smaller discussion groups will provide an opportunity for broader
debate and more in-depth understanding of the regions represented at the
Congress.
The WACC holds congresses every six years. This year's event has brought
together approximately 250 delegates from 83 countries, representing all
areas of the world.
Suecia Méndez,
WACC Press Team
Cliquez ici pour visiter le site de la WACC et avoir des plus amples informations sur le congrès :
