Between Burning Bush and Burning Planet

The U.N. Climate Conference, or Conference of Parties (COP27), took place at the desert resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt from 6 to 20 November 2022. It is located just a few hundred meters from the Red Sea and stretches across the arid expanse of the Sinai Desert. The words "Red Sea" and "Mount Sinai" evoke images of Moses and the experiences of the people of Israel several millennia ago… Read more…

Catholic Actors at COP27

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, is recorded as the biggest in COP history. COP27 brought together more than 45,000 participants, including indigenous peoples, local communities, cities, scientists, civil society, women, faith-based groups, youth, and children. The so-called “Catholic Actors” were among the participants actively present at the COP. They represented various national, regional, and international Catholic organizations… Read more…

Women at COP27: Bridging the Spiritual Divide

As a religious woman, I attended a Conference of the Parties on Climate Change for the first time last November in Egypt. Back in September 2018, I had the chance to take part in some events at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. The plush facilities and the immense variety of people were similar to what I witnessed in Sharm El Sheikh, but the active presence of women at COP27 was a total surprise to me.... Read more…

The Role of Faiths at COP27

The delegation of VIVAT at COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh once again participated in the activities of the Interfaith Liaison Committee (ILC). The ILC was established as a special group under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) during the 2013 Conference of the Parties (COP) to support the informal coming together of faith-based organizations (FBOs) actively engaged at the UNFCCC... Read more…

The African COP: Crises and Global Solutions

COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh was, in many ways, an African COP. There was broad participation from the Continent, including States, regional bodies, and vibrant civil society. Above all, it placed the issue of climate justice at the center: the countries that contributed least to the climate crisis are the ones paying the highest price. Those who pollute must pay their climate debt so that no one is left behind... Read more…

Decolonize Climate Actions

As VIVAT delegates at COP27, we met and interacted with the delegation of Indigenous Peoples, one of nine non-Party Constituencies recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Their presence and activities inspired me to do some serious soul-searching. Their message was simple and clear: we need to decolonize climate action! About 50 years ago, Indigenous Peoples were among the first to denounce climate change and its impacts... Read more…

Loss and Damage: A Compromise with Lights and Shadows

On July 28, 2022, the UN General Assembly declared “Access to a Clean and Healthy Environment” a Universal Human Right. States, international organizations, and business enterprises called upon to turn this resolution into reality have often contributed to the opposite, with many policies and actions wreaking havoc with the environment. In November 2022... Read more…

Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda for Climate Resilience

Mitigation and adaptation are vital ways to address climate change, according to the Paris Climate Agreement. While mitigation aims to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gasses or removing those gases from the atmosphere, climate adaptation is about adjusting to the current or expected effects of climate change. Climate adaptation efforts can be made in many ways, including preventing floods, ensuring freshwater... Read more…

Belgium: Human Rights Mechanism Workshop

From 11 to 12 October 2022, Father Andrzej Owca CSSp came from Geneva to give an interactive training workshop in French to five new members of the Belgian branch of VIVAT International. Two former members who had attended the first VI workshop in July 2016 also attended this new workshop which had been postponed several times due to the Covid epidemic. Father Andrzej first showed a short film… Read more…

Spain: Awareness-Raising and Orientation Workshop

The Vivat Spain Group, which has been present there since 2015 and fulfilling its programming, held, on October 22, 2022, a training day to raise awareness and make known the mission of Vivat International and Vivat Spain. It was a whole day to spend with each other from the group, the people from our congregations and lay people who accepted the invitation, and with Andrzej Owca, CSSp, who is currently working in the Geneva Office... Read more…

Italy: Welcome, Woman

On Sunday, November 6th, I was warmly greeted by Dr. Raffaella Bencivenga, a psychologist at Chaire Gynai. The peaceful green scenery and friendly welcome did justice to the project’s name, which means “Welcome, Woman” in Greek. Chaire Gynai, founded in 2018, is a Roman organization that supports migrant women and their young children. Comprised of 12 rooms, some designed to accommodate mothers and their young children, Chaire Gynai welcomes women migrating... Read more…

Geneva Office: Thank you, Andrzej, and Welcome, Kachi

Thanks to Andrzej Owca CSSp for his seven years of dedicated service as a member of the VIVAT Team and the Main Representative of VIVAT at the United Nations in Geneva. Best wishes to your new and future mission.

Welcome, Fabian Onyekachi Adindu CSSp as a new member of the VIVAT Team. All the best to your new ministry, representing VIVAT at the UN in Geneva.