September 30, 2004

ADELAIDE, Australia/GENEVA - Delegates attending an Australian conference for teachers in Lutheran institutions have enthusiastically supported a suggestion for a global summit for educators in 2006. In his September 27 keynote address to the Second Australian Conference on Lutheran Education (ACLE II), the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko had proposed the idea of a global gathering, stressing the educators' important role in the formation of a "good society."

Noko noted that while "the church, mosque, synagogue and temple all have the unquestionable obligation to educate for peace and co-existence," they tended to emphasize their own specific identities. In light of such limitations, he expressed hope in educational institutions saying they "have the potential to provide a context in which we can search for the common identity that binds us together."

The three-day conference attended by around 700 participants was organized by the Lutheran Education Australia (LEA), which operates on behalf of the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) in the field of education.

The LWF general secretary recognized the LCA's rich history in education and called on Australian Lutheran educators to share their gifts and experiences with their counterparts around the world. Participants in a global summit could seek ways to refocus Lutheran educational resources in order to better contribute toward a 'good society' and 21st century citizenship, he told the ACLE II participants.

Noko's challenge to consider a global summit was immediately taken up by LEA leaders at the conference, who worked with the general secretary to discuss the broad goals of such an event. "What can we learn from each other? How can we support each other? These are important questions that a global summit could address," according to the LEA Director, Dr Adrienne Jericho. "But, more importantly, such a summit should focus not just on how we can help each other, but also on how we can together help the world to grow together as a family in all its diversity." The LEA is part of a major network of Lutheran schooling worldwide.

Jericho said Noko's presentation had made it "patently obvious" that Lutheran educators have a great deal to contribute to the global village. "As educators it is our privilege and responsibility to equip the next generation for the challenges of 21st century living," he said. "We need to ensure that our policies and practices contribute to the goal of preparing our young people for a world that embraces all of humanity in the global family, excluding no-one."

Jericho paid tribute to Noko's thorough exploration of the conference theme, "Cross Currents: Charting a Course in a Sea of Diversity," saying the LWF general secretary had changed the focus of the gathering. "He lifted out sights from merely charting a course through diversity, to actually viewing the destination, that is, a 'good society' that celebrates the diversity of the global human family, without exclusion."

Lutheran World Information
By Linda Macqueen, editor of the LCA magazine, The Lutheran.