The global LWF Peace Messengers network is growing, with youth mobilizing peace building activists in their communities. The training in Cambodia this week includes more participants from Asia.
Malva Rosenfeld leading one of the activities of the project “Where hope goes, peace follows.” Photo: Hanna Soldal
(LWI) - “Where hope goes, peace follows.” Ms Malva Rosenfeld chose this name for a project she leads to engage people in her congregation to help others integrate more easily into their communities and promote peacebuilding overall in Swedish society.
The Church of Sweden youth started preparing for the project in Nora congregation, Västerås Diocese, as soon as she got back home after participating in The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) international Peace Messengers training in June 2022, in Geneva. The project is among several initiated by more than 70 youth who have taken part in the training since 2017. Some of these peace building initiatives will be shared at the fifth Peace Messengers Training in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 1-6 May.
Swedish Peace Messenger Malva Rosenfeld. Photo: Pernilla Gustafsson.
More than 20 participants from 19 LWF member churches, mostly in the Asian region, are attending this week’s training. The first since the Thirteenth Assembly in 2023, it is being hosted by the Lutheran Church in Cambodia, which is in the process of joining the LWF.
One of the requirements for the LWF Youth program is that trainees start and lead small-scale projects locally. For Rosenfeld, this included lectures and workshops with confirmation candidates in her town and fellow youth in the Church of Sweden “Act Volunteers” group which advocates for human rights in the country.
The Training Manual for Participants serves as the main reference for the modules taught on peace building skills such as active listening, finding common ground, analyzing conflict to identify issues of power and human rights, and seeking creative solutions together.
“The purpose of my peace project was to engage the listeners, to inspire them to be a part of peacebuilding and share my experience from the training [in Geneva]. I believe that this is an important part in creating a better tomorrow. That all of us, regardless of where we come from, can be a part of change,” says Rosenfeld, referring to the several workshops she conducted in Nora.
To be an LWF Peace Messenger means being a role model, as we call it in Sweden ‘en god medmänniska’: like a good Samaritan, a fellow human being, who offers help to everyone ... and doesn't make a difference between people, regardless of who they are.
Ms Malva Rosenfeld, Church of Sweden
“To be an LWF Peace Messenger means being a role model, as we call it in Sweden ‘en god medmänniska’: like a good Samaritan, a fellow human being, who offers help to everyone, sees the people they meet, and doesn't make a difference between people, regardless of who they are,” explains Rosenfeld. She says the LWF training and her project have made her more aware of responsibility in spreading knowledge and being part of the solution rather than being the problem. “Being a peace messenger has given me even more knowledge and understanding of the world and the people in it and what it takes to create a world with peace,” she adds.
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