Democracy and human rights are under pressure worldwide. Populism and authoritarian tendencies are weakening trust in institutions. Mission 21's partner organizations are countering this. They create spaces for dialog, strengthen civil society and combine faith with a commitment to justice.
In Latin America, fundamentalist movements use religion as a political instrument to undermine human rights and block democratic debate. The ecumenical campaign «Faith and Democracy» («Fe y Democracia»), supported by four partner organizations of Mission 21 in Peru and Costa Rica, opposes this trend. «Fundamentalist discourses want us to remain silent. We need to open up spaces to talk to people who think differently,» explains coordinator Natalia Serrano Álvarez from the Ecumenical Research Institute DEI in Costa Rica.
In Nigeria, Mission 21 is pursuing an approach that starts at community level: with education, peacebuilding and overcoming gender-based violence. The EYN Church of the Brethren trains project participants in finance, healthcare and trauma resilience. At the annual «Roundtable on the Right to Development», civil society actors and state institutions come together to develop solutions to the country's challenges.
Theologians from Hong Kong and other parts of Asia also report on how church institutions continue to work for peace, reconciliation and justice under changed political conditions. Read more about these approaches in the current issue of our magazine «begegnen».
The magazine "begegnen" is published by Mission 21.
The magazine "encounter" is Mission 21's donor magazine and is published four times a year. The magazine contains information and stories about Mission 21's projects and the people behind them.
