Faith in Europe Annual Conference

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Faith in Europe is the churches European relations network.  It aims to:

• Promotes contact and visits across Europe
• Encourages informed discussion and debate through regular Briefings
• Cooperates closely with other bodies with similar concerns and a similar agenda
• Publicises and encourages active support of believers in across Europe
• Keeps in advisory contact with government and non-government bodies,
  and in association with Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
• Continues to work for understanding and reconciliation between the Churches
  of Eastern and Western Europe

There are more aims and objectives on their website.  Details of their annual conference are taken from Faith in Europe's website.

This year's residential conference will be at Holland House Retreat Centre, Cropthorne, Worcestershire (between Evesham and Pershore) between Wednesday 5 and Friday 7 October.

This year's theme is Civil Society. This is a highly relevant and important topic in all parts of Europe today, both in the East, where emergence from communist rule and accession to the European Union have thrown up unique challenges, and in the West, where societies face civil unrest and difficulties in the context of economic downturn. It is an area where churches and faith organisations are making a distinctive and important contribution.

Building on the very successful formula at last year's conference, we are focusing both on the theoretical and the practical aspects of the subject, with a range of distinguished and experienced presenters. Geographically we shall range from Western Europe to Poland (as a recent EU accession country) and to Russia, and we shall be giving special consideration to the religious dimension. 

The speakers include:

Jonathan Chaplin (Director, Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, Cambridge): ‘Civil Society and Christian Social Thought.’ He will present an overview of contemporary theories of civil society and bring them into conversation with themes in Christian social thought.

Adrian Pabst (Lecturer in Politics, University of Kent), who will look at Civil Society developments in some eastern neighbours of the EU, focusing on Russia.

Julie Camacho (Lead Organiser, West London Citizens): 'Organising for Change': 'Citizens UK', the home of community organising.

Jane Winter from the 'Faith-Based Regeneration Network', the leading national multi-faith network for community development, presenting the findings of their research project 'Measurement, Quality and Reflection in Faith-Based Social Action'.

Jolanta Babiuch-Luxmoore (Associate Lecturer, Oxford Brookes University Business School), who will draw on her experiences as founder-director of Transparency International (the world's largest anti-corruption NGO) in Poland and her many other civil society contacts there. 

Adam Dinham (Director, Faiths and Civil Society Unit, Goldsmith's College): 'Summing Up and Looking Forward'. He will identify key current issues and challenges in keeping the civil society conversation going in faith-based contexts. 

The cost of the conference, including lunch on the Friday, will be £160 per person. Day visitors will also be welcome at reduced pro-rata rates.

A Booking Form is here as a PDF file.

Related articles

• Migration: Building Bridges or Barriers? (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• Europe Day at CTE (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)
• In Memory of Those Who Have Died at the Borders of the EU (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)