World Association for Christian Communication Global News

Communication justice is vital to addressing the existential threats posed by climate change and environmental inequity in our digital world, Media Development editor Philip Lee writes in “Climate Justice and Digital Inclusion,” the latest issue of WACC’s journal. This means ensuring both that everyone has...

Media Development 2025-1 Climate Justice and Digital Inclusion Climate justice is an existential threat that demands concerted action at many different levels. It is vital for civil society to be seen and heard in public where climate-related issues affecting human rights and justice are under...

The  international   humanitarian organization Concern Worldwide says that, “Climate justice is more than a concept. It’s a movement to recognize that the effects of climate change are not felt equally – and that it’s usually those who have done the least to cause climate change...

N. Ramakrishnan In September 2024, the United Nations General Assembly unveiled the Global Digital Compact (GDC), a sweeping framework designed to shape the digital future.1 Heralded as a cornerstone of global governance, the Compact’s ambition is nothing short of revolutionary: to create a digital world...

Kunda Dixit In democracies, communication is essential in prompting action to redress environmental damage. The public and policymakers in government need to know what the problems are, and which interventions have worked, before they can start addressing them. In some authoritarian countries, a top-down approach...

Pie Mabanta-Fenomeno Amid the lush and vibrant landscape of the Philippines, where natural resources abound and the scenery become a perfect background for heartfelt narratives, one story is often overlooked: the story of its marginalized and indigenous peoples in the face of climate change. At...

Dina Gilio-Whitaker There is an old adage that the best way to really learn about a subject is to teach it. I would agree but with a caveat: one must begin with at least a baseline understanding of the topic at hand. Such was the...

Paula Kowal World leaders and international civil society gathered in New York on 22-23 September 2024 for the UN Summit of the Future. The following article takes issue with how the climate-gender-conflict nexus was not discussed in the lead-up to the Summit. Reviewing the summit...

The Green Digital Action (GDA) initiative aims to harness the transformative power of digital technologies in a collective fight against climate change and calls on the technology industry to take responsibility for its environmental impact. The GDA initiative was launched by ITU and over 40...

Jim McDonnell A year is a long time in the world of AI. Back in the halcyon days of the Bletchley Park Summit on Internet Safety in 2003, the great and the good of the AI world convened to discuss and debate the future regulation...

Championing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for advancing inclusive, safe, and reliable digital media spaces! As a global community of digital media makers – including independent media organizations, journalists, digital content creators and civil society groups using digital media for social impact – we recognize that AI...

WACC is pleased to announce the appointment of Rod Molina, a Chilean–Canadian social sciences researcher and practitioner, as project coordinator of our flagship Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP). Molina is tasked with guiding and strengthening the international research network of the GMMP – the largest...

The question has been raised internationally: who is going to rebuild Gaza and who will pay? As yet, no one knows. There may be three options: Israel, in which case Israel would likely take over the land and sell it to settlers. Saudi Arabia, in...

The right to freedom of expression alone is not enough to protect democratic communication and public debate, which are the cornerstones of society. This right, while essential, does not create avenues to address power imbalances in how people communicate and shape public opinion. A tech...

Should churches and NGOs be active on social media platforms or leave them entirely due to ethical and rights concerns? Should civil society be doing more to hold social media platforms accountable? Three prominent voices offered differing perspectives on the role of social media for...

WACC’s regional association in Asia is poised to renew its work to promote communication rights following a fruitful and engaging 3-day meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the end of November. Participants outlined five areas of activity for WACC Asia moving forward: Addressing the denial...

WACC partners met in Kathmandu, Nepal, last October to explore how communication rights are essential building blocks for social justice in our digital world. Here Forum participant Neema Majesia from KICTANet in Kenya reflects on her experiences and the event’s call to create a digital...

We expected 2025 to be a challenging year for human rights defenders, if only from the global political turmoil U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump is promising. For many, though, Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement on 7 January that Meta would replace fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram with...

WACC President Embert Charles and officers of the Regional Executive Committees in six of WACC’s eight regions share their greatest wish for communication justice in 2025. Watch WACC’s New Year’s message to hear the regional voices of Gregg Brekke, WACC North America Vice-President Sandra Clenem,...

AI is here to stay, and the imperative is to engage with it, and engage responsibly, participants concluded at the online discussion “Responsible AI for Faith-Based Organizations” hosted by WACC’s European regional association (WACC Europe) on December 17. The event featured presentations from Diakonie Deutschland...