World Council of Churches: Decade to Overcome Violence
Decade to Overcome Violence
World Council of Churches
P.O. Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
http://overcomingviolence.org
The Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace 2001 – 2010 (DOV) is an initiative of the World Council of Churches that seeks to encourage and connect initiatives to prevent and overcome violence. The DOV highlights efforts by churches, ecumenical and interfaith organizations, and civil society movements, to prevent and overcome different types of violence. It seeks to establish points of contact with the relevant aims, programs, and initiatives within the United Nations Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
The DOV will culminate in an International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, to be held in Kingston, Jamaica, May 17 - 25, 2011 under the theme Glory to God and Peace on Earth.
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 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
VPA focal person
Rev. Hansulrich Gerber, Coordinator, DOV
Tel: +41 22 791 67 09
Fax: +41 22 791 61 22
mail: dov@wcc-coe.org
Hansulrich Gerber is a Mennonite minister from Switzerland. Originally a farmer, he trained as school teacher and catechist and worked in youth ministry, then studied theology in Elkhart, IN, USA and was pastor of the Mennonite Church in Bern, Switzerland. Community, peace and violence were his special interests. He then worked several years for the Mennonite World Conference, first as Executive Secretary of the International Mennonite Peace Committee, then as Secretary for Programs. Prior to joining the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence, Rev. Gerber served ten years as Europe Director for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). In that capacity he coordinated support for local efforts in community and peace building in areas of armed conflict across Europe. Rev. Gerber's special interest in his current work is on differentiation of conflict and violence, terms that are often used interchangeably.