The World Council of Churches has announced an essay competition for youth who want to reflect on the theme “The Future of Interreligious Dialogue.” The contest marks the 50th anniversary of the WCC’s Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation.
The five best essays, chosen by a panel of judges comprising of World Council of Churches programme executives and faculty from the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, will be published in the 2021 issue of Current Dialogue, the World Council of Churches’ journal for interreligious encounter. Further, the prizewinning authors will have the opportunity to present their work in a conference on “The Future of Interreligious Dialogue” (either physically or virtually) that is being planned for 2021. At this stage it is likely that participation in this conference will be virtual.
“We hope that this essay competition will attract participation that will be wide in terms of its diversity, and deep in terms of its content,” said Rev. Dr Peniel Rajkumar, World Council of Churches programme coordinator for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation. “It is envisaged to be an exchange of opportunities. While young people will have the opportunity to share their gifts of vision and discernment with the worldwide ecumenical movement, the ecumenical movement will have the opportunity to be inspired and challenged by the hopes, fears and aspirations of our young people.”
All entries, should be 3,500-5,000 words in length (including notes), and be written in English, following the World Council of Churches style guide which is available upon request at Media@wcc-coe.org. Contributions must be the original work of the participants and should not have been published elsewhere.
The deadline for the competition is 15January 2021.
World Council of Churches, Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, Youth in the ecumenical movement
Image Credits: World Council of Churches