A reform of global governance and a commitment to safeguarding the future of the planet and its inhabitants: that is what civil society organizations, including LWF delegates, are discussing as they look ahead to the UN Summit of the Future
The LWF delegation taking part in the UN civil society conference in Nairobi, Kenya Photo: LWF/LOWC
LWF delegation is attending the civil society conference in Kenya in the lead up to September’s Summit of the Future
(LWI) - A commitment to strengthen international cooperation to safeguard the future of the planet and the wellbeing of all its inhabitants. That is the ambitious goal of government leaders coming together at the United Nations in New York in September for the Summit of the Future. Together, they plan to sign a pact calling for better global governance that can address the many interrelated crises affecting the world today.
As part of the process leading up to that summit, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is participating in a civil society conference in Nairobi, Kenya, on 9 and 10 May. The gathering brings together some 1,500 participants to share their aspirations and to innovate the way that civil society can engage with these international processes.
Delegates are discussing key issues that they would like to see included in the Pact of the Future, as the outcome of the September summit will be called. It will contain a pledge by governments to recommit themselves to a more effective system of global governance that can tackle the current crises related to the search for peace and security, financing for development, intergenerational justice and challenges related to the rapid pace of technological progress.
Multilateral processes, like the Summit of the Future and its outcomes, must lead to stronger and more concrete commitments by governments and other stakeholders.
– Girma Gudina, LWF's country representative for Kenya and Somalia.
“Multilateral processes, like the Summit of the Future and its outcomes, must lead to stronger and more concrete commitments by governments and other stakeholders to support and accompany the most vulnerable among us,” says Girma Gudina, country representative for World Service in Kenya and Somalia.
Alongside Gudina, the LWF delegation in Nairobi includes Christine Mangale, director of the Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC) and main UN representative in New York, Deacon Erin Brown a youth leader from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Isaiah Toroitich, LWF’s Head of Global Advocacy.
“As a global communion of Lutheran churches, in partnership with other faith and civil society actors, we are keen to ensure that the rights and dignity of all people are safeguarded through concerted efforts to address the multiple and intersecting crises that directly affect their lives,” Mangale says. “Some of the most visible examples are humanitarian emergencies, displacement of people and violence, including gender-based violence.”
Delegates gathered at the UN civil society conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: LWF/LOWC
Since its foundation after the Second World War, the LWF has worked through its member churches and World Service country programs to strengthen humanitarian responses, development work and advocacy on behalf of vulnerable communities. Today, it counts climate justice, human rights, gender justice and peace among the top priorities of this work, including a strong focus on youth leadership and engagement.
“LWF's work and advocacy on intergenerational justice has inspired many young people across the world and I am very glad to see that youth and future generations are included in all the discussions leading to the summit and the Pact of the Future,” says Deacon Brown.
