WELCOME TO THE KAIROS
EUROPA WEBSITE IN ENGLISH
Kairos Europa is a decentralised network of justice, peace and creation
initiatives working in collaboration with ecumenical networks, churches, social
movements, trade unions and non-governmental organisations both in and outside
Europe, for a more just and tolerant society.
It is the European
manifestation of the Kairos process, which started within the Anti-Apartheid
movement in
It is a process
that provides a platform on the European level for a more holistic approach at
addressing the injustice, the violence, the destruction of creation and the
general decay of society adopting a non-single issue perception and favouring a
dual strategy of local and global action, with a decentralised and bottom-up
methodology.
KAIROS is a word from Greek
mythology and means: “Moment of truth, decisive time to take
action”.
WHO WE ARE
…
KAIROS
EUROPA is a European ecumenical grassroots network committed to justice, peace
and the integrity of creation (JPIC).
Members are individuals, grassroots groups and non-governmental organisations.
Kairos Europa was founded in May 1990 in
KAIROS
EUROPA is a registered non-profit association whose activities are recognised
as charitable. Membership
subscriptions, donations, collections and the co-financing of specific projects
by churches, church-related services, foundations and public institutions provide
the financial resources for our work. Our activities, mainly building on the
voluntary commitment of individual persons and groups, are coordinated by the
executive committee and an advisory board.
Our
activities focus on sharing development-related information and analysis, and
on educational and advocacy work. We cooperate with the World Council of
Churches (WCC), the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF), churches as well as ecumenical partner organisations of
countries both from the South and
…
AND WHAT WE STAND UP FOR
Our vision is expressed by our name: the Greek term KAIROS means a decisive moment
for conversion and a new beginning in
the face of severe crisis. Human history has seen many of these decisive
moments – the ending of apartheid, for instance, is one of the most
recent – where people’s persistent protest against suppression and injustice brought about
fundamental transformation.
Today,
more than ever before, the whole world is being confronted with such a KAIROS
– a life-threatening crisis offering opportunities for liberation from
the yoke of an ever more unregulated capitalism. The present world economic
order is directing the signs of our time
towards the simultaneous impoverishment of the many and enrichment of the few,
towards more violence and war and towards the destruction of our environment.
We want to counter these devastating developments by promoting alternatives and
struggling for their implementation. We will not give up our aim of a life in fulness for all. In other words:
we believe that “Another world is possible”.
OUR MAIN
AREAS OF ACTIVITY
Our current
activities focus on the world-wide ecumenical process “Economy in the Service of Life / AGAPE” which
coordinates the churches’ approach of “recognising, educating and
confessing” in relation to neo-liberal globalisation from the perspective
of faith. This process was initiated by churches from countries in the South.
Their fundamental criticism of the unjust global economic structures has not
been taken up with the necessary attention by European churches. For this
reason KAIROS Europa is committed to making
the voice of the South heard and to countering the ambivalence of our
churches by mobilising from below for
a clear stance on economic globalisation.
The 9th
General Assembly of the World Council of
Churches in
KAIROS
EUROPA has taken up this proposal – hoping that the merger of the two processes will contribute to a broad revival
and a creative adaptation of the conciliar process for justice, peace and the
integrity of creation.
KAIROS EUROPA AND THE ECUMENICAL PROCESS
Together
with other ecumenical groups and organisations in
For all
those interested in the ecumenical processes “Economy in the Service of
Life” and “Decade to Overcome Violence”, we can offer the
following:
● Answers to questions
and queries
● The preparation of the
latest and background information in the form of circular letters, information
materials, etc.
● Organizing and holding
lectures, seminars, workshops, etc.
● Passing on useful
contacts, speakers, etc.
● Ideas and support for
activities relevant to your particular circumstances
● The realization of
campaigns or other activities likely to achieve a high degree of publicity
Give us a call or send us an e-mail!
RELATED KAIROS EUROPA PUBLICATIONS:
● Churches in the
Ecumenical Process for Globalizing Justice
Information
material for congregations and grassroots groups, 24 pages, Heidelberg 2002
● The
Economy and Finances as a Question of Faith
Information
material for congregations and grassroots groups, 22 pages, Heidelberg 2001
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE ECUMENICAL PROCESS:
● World
● Letters and Messages from Churches in the South and
the East to the Churches in the North and the West:
-
Bangkok/Thailand 1999: Message to the Churches in the North
- Budapest/Hungary 2001: Serve God, not Mammon
- Buenos Aires/Argentina 2001:
To our Sister Churches, Agencies and
Church Institutions in the Northern Hemisphere
● World
A Continuing
Journey towards Confessing Movement for Economic Justice and Life on Earth
● Letters from the Western European Consultation
“Economy in the Service of Life” in Soesterberg/The Netherlands
2002:
-
Accompanying letter from the General Secretaries of WCC,
WARC, LWF and CEC
- Letter to the Churches in Western Europe
- Letter to the Churches in the South
- Letter to the Churches in Central and Eastern
Europe
● Speeches given at the Western European Consultation
“Economy in the Service of Life” in Soesterberg/The Netherlands
2002:
- Anna Karin Hammar,
Three Theological Paradigms in the Context of
Neo-liberal Economic Globalisation
- Susan George, attac
- Ulrich Duchrow, Kairos Europa: Signs of hope
● Lutheran World Federation, Winnipeg/Canada 2003:
Message
from the 10th Assembly - Transforming Economic Globalization
● World
Covenanting
for Justice in the Economy and the Earth
● World Council of Churches, World
Life-Giving
Agriculture is possible!
● World
Women
and the Accra Confession
● World Council of Churches, Leilem/Indonesia
2005:
Message
from Asia Pre-Assembly Meeting
● World Council of Churches, Justice, Peace and Creation
Team, Geneva 2005:
Alternative
Globalization Addressing People and Earth (AGAPE) - A Background Document
● World Council of Churches, Porto Alegre/Brazil 2006:
Alternative
Globalization Addressing People and Earth - AGAPE: A Call to Love and Action
● World
Living
out the Accra Confession
● Lutheran World Federation, St. Paul/USA 2007:
Confessing and
Living out Faith in the Triune God: Being the Church in the Midst of Empire
● World Council of Churches, Dar es
Salaam/Tanzania 2007:
The
Dar es Salaam Statement on Linking Poverty, Wealth
and Ecology in Africa
● World
Africa
Consultation on the Accra Confession calls for Stand against World Disorder
● World Council of Churches, Central Committee, Geneva
2008:
Proposed
Statement on Eco-Justice and Ecological Debt
● World Council of Churches & Latin American Council
of Churches, Guatemala City 2008:
Links
between Poverty, Wealth and Ecology: Ecumenical Perspectives in Latin America and
the Caribbean
History of Kairos Europa
Kairos as a process began in
After the success of the Kairos process in
At the first Ecumenical Assembly of European Christian
Churches held in
1991
– 1993: Mechanisms of Indebtedness and Impoverishment
The first phase of the Kairos Europa process was from
1991 to 1993. It focussed on building Kairos Europa as a network of grassroots
groups and movements. This process culminated in a “People’s Parliament”, held in
The assembled delegates represented those living on
the margins within
There were three plenary sessions of the
People’s Parliament, with all 800 delegates, from which an agreed
statement was released. On the final day, the participants took to the streets
to march and demonstrate, calling for action for a more just, tolerant and open
Europa.
Other campaigns during this period included a counter-celebration
of the 500 years since
Related Kairos
Europa publications:
1994 – 1996: Alternatives to the Dominant Financial System
In 1994, the European Union (EU) was moving towards monetary union. With its convergency
criteria, it was applying the same pressures on national economies within the
EU as the World Bank and IMF were applying to countries of the South through Structural Adjustment Programmes. The
results were more or less the 
same –
increased unemployment and a reduction in social services, especially health
and education.
Kairos Europa campaigned against these financial
mechanisms during this time, a process which culminated in a number of Action Days in
Kairos Europa activity also included a campaign
entitled “50 Years is Enough”
against the policies of the Bretton Woods organisations – the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund – and calling for reform. In
addition, Kairos organised four “Mobile Seminars” educating
travelling delegations comprising people from 15 countries to the negative
results on their lives of the dominant financial systems. These mobile seminars
operated in
Related Kairos
Europa publications:
● Economic
Alternatives - Responding to the Fifty Years of the Dominant Financial System
37
pages,
● The Political
Responsibility of the EU for the International Financial Order in View of Sustainable Development and Social
Cohesion
Documentation
of a Kairos Europa hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels, June 27,
1994, 68 pages, Heidelberg 1994
● Towards
a Rational European Tax Policy: For More Jobs and a Better Environment
Open Letter to the EU Governments,
Heidelberg/Strasbourg/Brussels 1996
1997 – 1999: People’s Alternatives to Neo-Liberal
Globalisation
The 2nd Ecumenical Assembly of the
Working alongside the World Council of Churches (WCC), Kairos actively campaigned for a
new development model, under the leadership of representatives from social
movements and churches in
In October 1999, the three year programme culminated
in a week long event in
Related Kairos
Europa publications:
● European Kairos Document
49 pages,
2000 – 2002: Development Needs a New International Financial Order
At the beginning of the new millennium, Kairos turned
its attention to the need to get rid of tax havens and to regulate the
financial markets. A German branch of attac was founded by Kairos, in
cooperation with WEED and Pax Christi, and Kairos worked closely with attac in
proposing a Tobin Tax on all international currency transactions. This campaign
was a partial success in that it put the Tobin Tax on the agenda of the G8 and
the EU. Our objectives were in direct conflict with the interests of the rich.
This was evident in the compromises reached in the conclusions of the UN
Conference in
During this time, Kairos intensified its cooperation
with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the World Alliance of Reformed
Churches (WARC) who had invited their member churches to engage in a
“committed process of recognition, education and confession regarding
economic injustice and ecological destruction” (processus confessionis).
Workshops, seminars and meetings were organised, leaders from within these
churches were trained, and awareness raising handbooks were published and
distributed.
In October 2002, this work culminated in a week of
activities in
Related Kairos
Europa publications:
● Next Steps towards a Comprehensive
Jubilee - An Invitation to
Churches and Ecumenical Groups in Western Europe
Edited
in cooperation with the World Council of Churches and the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches, 17 pages, Heidelberg 2000
● International Currency
Transaction Tax ("Tobin Tax")
Information
material for congregations and grassroots groups, 7 pages, Heidelberg 2001
● The International
Financial System - Functional Failures and the Need for Basic Reforms
Information
material for congregations and grassroots groups, 15 pages, Heidelberg 2002
● The
Political Co-Responsibility of the European Union for a Sustainable Global
Financial Architecture
Documentation
of a Kairos Europa hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels, October 14,
2002, 33 pages, Heidelberg 2002
Contact Addresses:
KAIROS
Europa / Heidelberg Office ● Hegenichstr. 22 ●
D-69124 Heidelberg ● Germany
Phone: +49 6221 716005 ● Fax: +49 6221
716006 ● E-mail:
KAIROS Europe / Brussels Office ● Avenue
du Parc Royal, 3 ●
B-1020
Phone: +32 2 4799655 ● E-mail:
francois.gobbe@belgacom.net