CONGRESS 2020

BRAZIL to Host 2020 BWA Congress

Right: Riocentro in Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, venue for the July 2020 combined congress and youth conference

had the effect of diverting attention of BWA staff from other pressing aspects of the BWA mission.” Callam provided statistics to back up

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his concern. The congress had more than 20,000 participants at the 1980 meetings in Canada; however, in 2010 in Hawaii, attendance was 4,400. The youth conference had an atten- dance of approximately 7,000 in Scot- land, in 1988 and 8,000 in the United States in 1998. In 2013, just about 2,700

he 2020 Baptist World meetings will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The decision was confirmed by the BWA Executive Committee at its meeting in March in Falls Church, Virginia, United States.

The meetings in Brazil will be the first to combine the

traditional Baptist World Congress and the Baptist Youth World Conference and is expected to undergo a change of names.. A report of a special commission formed in 2014 to consider the possible design for such an international meeting has been submitted. BWA General Secretary Neville Callam indicated that insights from that report will be shared with the committee that will plan the 2020 quinquennial (five-year) event. The decision to combine the congress and youth conference

came amid concerns of declining attendance at the two global events. “Over the years, attendance at these international events has been less than encouraging,” Callam said. “The relatively small attendance has severely strained BWA financial resources and has

youth attended the event in Singapore. Both meetings are expected to be transformed through the

combined event. “This transformation does not affect only the youth conference, but also the congress. The driving force behind this appeal is the firm desire to preserve the opportunities these two quinquennial events afford.” Callam said youth will be fully included in the planning committee for the event. A site visit was made to Rio de Janeiro where the suitability of

the proposed venue, Riocentro in Barra da Tijuca, was confirmed. Preliminary

discussions with Socrates Souza, executive

director of the Brazilian Baptist Convention, indicated that the full cooperation of Brazilian Baptists has been assured. All three BWA member organizations in Brazil – the Brazilian Baptist Convention, the Convention of Independent Baptist Churches of Brazil and the National Baptist Convention – have agreed to work together to assist those who will be responsible for planning the 2020 event.

HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD n HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD n HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD n HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD n HUMAN RWANDAN to Receive International Human Rights Award

Corneille Gato Munyamasoko, general secretary of the Association of Baptist Churches in Rwanda (AEBR), is the recipient of the 2015 Baptist World Alliance Congress Human Rights Award. The award, presented every five years, will be given in July in Durban, South Africa, where the 21st

Baptist World Congress

(#BaptistCongress15), the first in Africa, will be held. Munyamasoko, who has dedicated his life to peace and reconciliation and fighting the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, was born in exile in what was then Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to refugee parents who fled Rwanda in 1959 when outbreaks of ethnic violence shook regions of the country.

While working as a teacher in the DRC, Munyamasoko joined other youth leaders to bring various factions together, helping to overcome national rivalries and ethnic differences between Rwandans and Congolese, restoring harmony and reducing interpersonal conflicts. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda was a turning point for Munyamasoko and his family. The arrival of genocidaires from Rwanda (those who committed genocide in that country) led to killings of Tutsi people in the DRC.

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Munyamasoko and his family moved to Rwanda to participate in the reconstruction of the country. Munyamasoko had connections with the Association of Baptist Churches of Rwanda and was appointed as a high school principal in a region that bordered the DRC. Armed genocidaires made regular incursions across the border

from DRC into Rwanda. On one occasion the entire student body of a nearby boarding school was killed. Munyamasoko and his wife, Anne-Marie, opened their home to accept genocide orphans as their own children. Pastors of the AEBR recognized Munyamasoko’s leadership gifts and elected him deputy general secretary of the denomination. His responsibilities included pastoral duties in a congregation, regional church leadership and oversight of 51 schools. Munyamasoko was convinced the future of Rwanda depended on building a culture of peace among young people. The majority of adolescents had witnessed acts of violence during the genocide. Some students were Tutsi survivors. Munyamasoko launched peace and reconciliation clubs in each of the secondary schools under his jurisdiction and appointed school chaplains. He was appointed director of development ministries of the AEBR and participated in integral mission, training that