AACC Christian Communicators Workshop
15-18 September 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya

Communiqué

Thirty-five Christian communicators from churches, church organizations, and councils of churches, from 16 countries, have met in Nairobi under the auspices of the AACC, to share insights, learnings, and challenges from our work, and to plan for our future ministries.

The 9th AACC General Assembly
We are enthused by the plans for the forthcoming 9th AACC General Assembly and commit ourselves to publicise the Assembly in our own countries. We will seek to engage our churches and the national media in the task of communicating the issues and significance of the Assembly.

The role of a communications department in our churches and organizations
Without communication, the work of any organization, church or council is like a lamp lit and put under a table. Often the communications function in our churches and councils has been relegated to a secondary role. It is communication however that drives the strategy of an organization. As communicators ourselves, we consider that the communications function requires the status of having a departmental head at managerial level, and that the function needs to be part of the planning, decision-making, and implementation of the church or organization. Moreover, developing a communications strategy is a key to the future of our organizations. Decision-makers must also budget properly for communications staff, equipment, website design, access to the net, maintenance, etc. To achieve this, one way is for all programmes to have a communications component incorporated within their plans and budgets.

The new ‘information age’
It is not just that many of our churches and councils have in the past tended to marginalize the role of communications. We are in a new ‘information age’. In this regard, we urge our leaders at council and denominational levels to recognize the critical importance of understanding the new media, so that we can communicate effectively to younger generations and new constituencies. To do this, we must value and update our communication strategies and make effective use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). This will require extra commitment of resources and personnel.

Relations with the mainstream media
Often we lament that the mainstream media ignores the churches and their communications offices. Frequently our bureaucracies are too slow in producing press releases or statements. We urge church leaders to make timely responses to queries and requests from their communication departments so as not to lose the media moment.

In our attempts to influence those in power and in order to build positive relations with the mainstream media, the importance of interpersonal communication is critical. Moreover, we need to engage with the secular media as responsible and indispensable partners in the ministry of our churches and councils. If we are to be successful in this, we need to focus our media messages not as issues of relevance to the church only, but rather as people-centred.

Our commitment
As Christian communicators, we recognize that working in the communications sector is a vocation. Remembering that our loyalty is always to God, we commit ourselves to pursuing justice, truth, and fairness in our work. We are called to engage all people with ministries of the gospel, regardless of gender, social or educational status, regardless of ethnicity or faith, or of physical ability or disability. In particular, we commit ourselves to developing a strategy of listening to the voices of the voiceless. We will communicate their stories and claims to the rest of society and especially to the powerful in order to transform situations and structures of poverty and injustice.



Recommendations to the AACC

We urge the Conference to:
• Seek ways to facilitate the awareness-raising of church and council leaders on the critical importance of developing and updating communication strategies (especially with regard to the new media - ICT) in the implementation of church and church-related programmes.
• Work with other agencies to identify, make available, and increase opportunities for training in communications.
• Work with other continental and global organizations to build a network to support and advocate for the rights of journalists who are arrested or treated unjustly as a result of reporting the truth.

We are grateful to the AACC for having brought us together during these two days to learn from one another. We are committed to building on this experience, and to creating a continental network for Christian communicators. We request the AACC Communications Department to facilitate this.

Africa Christian communicator’s workshop begins in Nairobi, Kenya


16th September, 2008 Nairobi, Kenya- ‘stand-up against the communication challenges of time, to remain relevant’- was the message from Mr. Bright Mawuodor Finance Director at the AACC at the opening of the Christian communicator’s workshop in Nairobi.

He lamented that- ‘the church is crying for Christian Communicators who wont report on past events’. The workshop brings together participants from 15 countries to Nairobi under auspice of All African Council of Churches to share learn and develop ways of addressing challenges facing Christian communicators in Africa.

In his opening devotion Dr. Lobule reflecting from Mathew 12:12 said-‘we need to reconcile diversity in ecumenical messages’. He went further to say that the biblical text touches all humanity irrespective of Nationality, race, culture. Adding that one part of the body in Christ cannot discard another. He urged communicators to be focused on co-operation to enhance unity within the ecumenical circles.

Dr. Lobule concluded by emphasizing the importance of communicators working together since we are all different but need each other.

Mrs. Mbare Kioni -AACC director for Communication, Advocacy and Research reminded the participants-‘global communication trend calls for new approach for communicating ecumenical stories’. Noting that appropriate communication is vital in communicating within our churches.

AACC Assembly starts in Maputo, Mozambique from 7-12 December, 2008 under the theme : Africa, step forth in Faith’.