Church of England utilises internet to unite world development campaigners

A new website was launched on Friday to help link up the Church of England's extensive national network of local campaigners on world development issues in a bid to amplify the Church's voice on crucial global topics.

The 'Partners in World Development' website provides parishes with up-to-date information on issues such as trade justice, debt relief and climate change. It also provides profiles of many Church of England dioceses, with overviews of the projects they have underway and details of their link dioceses overseas. These profiles also include contact details for each diocese's World Development Adviser, or similar - usually a volunteer who helps co-ordinate structured work to raise awareness of these subjects locally.

The site features a calendar of forthcoming local and national events, links to Anglican development agencies and other in-depth resources, including prayer prompts.

The Rt Rev Tony Robinson, Bishop of Pontefract, is the Episcopal Adviser for the Church of England's growing network of diocesan World Development Advisers.

"Exactly three months ago at the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Communion showed what impact a public commitment to work together on pressing world issues can have, when the bishops and their spouses walked through London to urge international governments to keep their promises on the Millennium Development Goals. And exactly one month ago, this call was echoed at the UN summit in New York," he said.

"This new site makes a vital contribution to the ongoing process of encouraging and resourcing such campaigning. It's inspiring to see the contributions that parishes and dioceses are making to building a world in which people everywhere can have an opportunity to flourish."

Design and development costs for the new website were met by the Archbishops' Council's Mission and Public Affairs Division.


On the web: www.wdanetwork.org.uk