A week-long World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) Congress ended 10 October with a call by General Secretary Randy Naylor to give peace a chance.

“War has had enough time. We have given war enough space in our publications, but as Christian communicators, the time has come that we give peace a chance. We should start writing about peace–peace that builds viable communities, inclusive communities,” said Naylor. 

The Congress--whose theme was “Communication is peace: Building viable communities”--began on 4 October and is the fourth since WACC came into being in 1975. This is the first time that it has taken place in Africa.

The World Association for Christian Communication’s congress ‘Communication is Peace: Building Viable Communities’ attracted some 300 communication and media professionals from 73 countries.  It took place 6 to 10 October 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa, a country that is still wrestling with the consequences of apartheid. Participants, both religious and secular, worked on ways to build peaceful societies based on justice and human dignity.

Enabling people to tell their stories and advocating for those stories to be heard are vital ways to overcome injustice and inequality.  A courageous woman living in the township of Gugulethu told participants, ‘I am HIV positive.’ A former political prisoner on Robben Island spoke of the importance of collective memory and reconciliation.  Such stories inspire and motivate change, but telling the stories can be difficult and dangerous.

Hamelink, who was awarded the membership 10 October at Congress, is an internationally recognized expert on mass communications and communication rights. In an interview, Hamelink shared his experience of growing up in a mainly Roman Catholic village in The Netherlands, where he attended a Protestant school. There was daily fighting between Protestant and Roman Catholic children.