The WEA Sustainability Center continues to guide the evangelical community in recognizing the church’s vital role as a stakeholder in shaping sustainable cities, towns, and neighborhoods so they are places designed for human flourishing, aligning with God’s vision of shalom.
The center’s most recent leadership role has been to co-host the groundbreaking Faith Pavilion at UN-Habitat’s World Urban Forum (WUF12) in Cairo, Egypt from Nov. 4-8. The Faith Pavilion is the fruit of over a decade of engagement with UN-Habitat led by Dr. Chris Elisara, director of the WEA Sustainability Center. The Faith Pavilion hosted four days of presentations and meetings, including an interview with Jonathan Reckford, the CEO of the Habitat for Humanity, who shared its Christian origin story and ongoing commitment to Christian faith, mission, and values.
On Nov. 7th the Faith Pavilion released an historic faith-based statement on cities entitled the Cairo Call to Action at a press conference at the UN Media Center. Dr. Elisara, who lead the press conference, remarked “The Faith Pavilion represents a historic step in faith-based urban engagement.” “We are demonstrating that faith communities are powerful partners in sustainable city-building, bringing moral clarity and a deep-rooted commitment to the common good.”
On Nov. 19the Faith Pavilion Cairo Call to Action was updated with an amendment supporting UN-Habitat’s own call to action released days after WUF12. Signatories to the Call to Action are currently being sought and a list of endorsers will be announced in early December. Read the Cairo Call To Action here. You can endorse the statement by filling in the form at this link.
Looking ahead, the Faith Pavilion and WEA Sustainability Center plans to host an Urban Thinkers Campus in Nov. 2025, setting the stage for an expanded presence at WUF13 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Sustainability Center is also planning to convene a cohort group focused on cities at the 2025 WEA General Assembly.