Accra, Oct 10, GNA - Significant and far-reaching decisions to relocate and to re-direct the activities of the World Association of Council of Churches' (WACC) Central Committee were reached at a meeting held last week near the East Sussex town of Brighton in the UK.
A statement made available to the Ghana News Agency at the weekend said the former Central Committee, WACC's governing body, would be replaced by a Board of Directors comprising its President, Treasurer, General Secretary and 16 elected representatives from its eight regions. Internally, the Regional Development Sector would merge with the Global Studies Programme to form a single unit. This would pave the way for integrated global and regional programmes of studies, training, activities and resources on many communications issues.
The new Board of Directors approved the theme: "Communication for peace and social justice" for WACC's next international congress to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2008. Congress is an opportunity for WACC members and partners in social movements around the world to debate current concerns and priorities.
In a historic decision the Board of Directors also opted to relocate the global office of WACC from London to Toronto, Canada. WACC had been in the UK since its foundation in 1968. The move would lead to significant reductions in administrative overheads freeing up more funds for WACC's communication priorities. The Central Committee elected Dr Musimbi Kanyoro (Kenya), as President and Piet Halma, (Netherlands), as Vice-President, both re-elected for second three-year terms. The Rev. Cheon Young-Cheol, (Korea), was elected as Treasurer and Amany Latif, (Egypt), as Secretary. WACC's programme priorities in the next two years, among others, would include "Christian fundamentalism and the media", "Media and gender justice".
