The environment and the role of faith communities in responding to the effects of climate change took center stage at the third pre-forum meeting in Panama City, Panama. With the meeting taking place just a day after the G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20), participants underscored the need for the importance of a comprehensive response by faith communities and civil society to climate challenges.
Over 50 people attended the hybrid meeting, including GNRC coordinators and committee members from more than ten countries in the region. As participants discussed the themes of the upcoming GNRC Sixth Forum, they also reviewed the progress achieved on the 10 Commitments on Ending Violence Against Children made at the GNRC Fifth Forum, also held in Panama City, Panama, in 2017.
An estimated 40 million people have been reached globally through programs and interventions in response to the Panama Commitments. These interventions include regional initiatives such as the Alliance for the Protection of Children, which brings together faith-based and faith-inspired organizations and communities to protect children and advocate for the prevention and eradication of violence in the LAC region, specifically in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. However, more needs to be done. Father Eusebio Muñoz, a catholic priest, was among those who called for more concerted efforts by all stakeholders to end violence against children in the region and globally.
The pre-forum meeting was opened by Mr. Hamad Khatir, Vice President of the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities; Dr. Mustafa Y. Ali, Director, Arigatou International – Nairobi and Secretary General, GNRC; and The Right Rvd. Archbishop Julio Murray, representative of GNRC Panama and the organizer of the 5th GNRC Forum.
Panelists included Valeria Vergara Batista, who participated as a child in the 5th GNRC Forum and shared her learnings from the positive experience; Mr. Markel Mendez, a Social and Behavioral Change Specialist from the UNICEF Regional Office; Ms. Sara Rodriguez, an NGO consultant; and Ms. Yolanda Rodriguez, a member of the Bahai faith and a teacher, who shared the challenges of educating and teaching children in the current context.
