The Assembly of the European Region of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) has called for a new social and moral covenant for Europe. "Openness to re-negotiating and sharing public communication space will be the first signs of this new covenant, and shared ownership and editorial decision-making its inevitable consequences", participants in the 10-13 March 2005 WACC Europe Assembly in Strasbourg, France said in their final statement.

The estimated 50 Christian communicators from 15 European countries were drawn from church and secular media.

"Communicating identities and valuing differences in a changing Europe" was the theme under which participants discussed issues such as the head scarf as a religious attire in France; the crucifix in public spaces in Italy; the growing use of religious imagery in popular art and culture in Germany; and the changing attitude towards tolerance in the Netherlands, after the murder of film director, Theo van Gogh.

The participants stressed that "identities are a powerful means of uniting communities, but at the same time they have great potential for division". In this framework, "valuing differences is not enough. It also requires people to overcome hostility and to work towards the reconfiguration of the cultural landscape. This will only happen if we learn to see as others see and to listen attentively to each other's stories. A plurality of identities demands a plurality of story-telling that offers meaning rather than simplistic answers".

The assembly's programme included a key-note presentation and two round tables, with media representatives from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania and Poland. The key-note speaker was Rev. Dr Hans Ucko, from the Interreligious Relations and Dialogue Team of the World Council of Churches (Geneva, Switzerland). He challenged communicators to critically assess how they construct and represent others. "The self and others are interdependent", he said, "others are often our own construction and projection".

The Assembly honoured Dr Albert van den Heuvel, the Netherlands (73), for his continuous efforts in the field of communication and ecumenism with a Faithful Communicators Award.

The WACC Europe Assembly was hosted by the Church of the Augsburg Confession and the Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine. Participants also visited the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.

The Assembly elected a 12-member steering committee: Piet Halma (the Netherlands, President), Juha Rajamäki (Finland, vice-president), Luca Negro (Switzerland/Italy, secretary), Karin Achtelstetter (Switzerland/Germany, treasurer), Oddbjörg Aasen Bjöordal (Norway), Séverine Boudier (France), Nicolae Dascalu (Romania), Chris Doude van Troostwijk (France/the Netherlands), Claudia Padovani (Italy), Milja Radovic (Serbia), Meelis Süld (Estonia), and Karsten Visarius (Germany).

WACC Europe is part of the World Association for Christian Communication, a global NGO, which supports communication projects mainly for people in the margins in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The international headquarters of WACC are in London. Internet: www.wacc.org.uk

The Editor-in-chief of the Adventist Press Service (APD) is a personal member of WACC.