WCC NEWS: WCC presents Geneva Peace Forum panel on what faith brings to peacebuilding

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will host a panel at the Geneva Peace Forum on 15 October to explore the role of faith-based actors in peacebuilding.  Religious leaders and representatives of ecumenical organizations gather for a Talanoa dialogue at the eve of COP27 in Egypt, November 2022. Photo: Albin Hillert/Life on Earth 14 October 2026 “What Faith Brings to the Dialogue Table” will take place from 13:00 to 14:30 CEST in Plenary B at the CICG, Rue de Varembé 17. Participants can also join online. The event is co-organized by WCC’s partners ACT Alliance, Arigatou International, and Caritas Internationalis. In many places, religious leaders and faith-based organizations are the only authority trusted by all sides. The panel asks what makes faith-based peacebuilding distinctive, how these actors can be better integrated into the “peace ecosystem,” and how their influence can help counter the declining respect for international humanitarian law. The session will also draw on a 2026 Applied Research Project at the Geneva Graduate Institute, “Strengthening the Moral Force of International Humanitarian Law Through Faith-based Advocacy.”  Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, will moderate. Speakers include Jenny Neme Neiva, WCC special envoy for dialogue and political engagement; Wendyam Hervé Lankoandé, WCC, International Geneva Peace Fellowship; Rayane Baydoun, project officer in Emergency Response and Youth at the Adyan Foundation; and Mgr Héctor Fabio Henao Gaviria, director of FICONPAZ. Dr Rachel Tavernor, global advocacy and policy manager at ACT Alliance, will give closing remarks. Join the event online More information: genevapeaceforum.ch 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