Now online: Webinar „People and Planet 2.0 – Can the Covid-19 tragedy be a historic reset?“

This webinar, hosted by the WEA Sustainability Center on Tuesday, 31 March 2020, is now available online.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. Since its outbreak in January in Wuhan, China, the world has increasingly been gripped by fear as the virus spreads. Normal life and societies in many places have been disrupted. Businesses, schools, and industries have been affected. Countries are on lockdown and large populations are under quarantine in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. This is a global challenge. We express deep concern and sympathy for all who are affected, especially those in parts of the world where this challenge is being most acutely felt, and our deep regret at the fatalities that have occurred.

The current outbreak of the COVID-19 virus and its quick spread has a lot to do with how humanity (mis-)manages and (mis-)uses the environment. It also has some very practical implications for creation care work around the globe – both on the advocacy and the implementation level.

The webinar wrestled with three key questions:

• Stepping back – What can we learn about humanity, our societies, and our planet from this crisis?
• Stepping out – In which way does the current COVID-19 crisis provide a historic chance to rethink and redo the "People and Planet partnership"?
• Stepping up – How can people of faith be inspiring voices of hope and helpful hands of good these days, spreading the positive virus of transformation globally?

Amid global crisis and suffering, the panel considered ways to find hope for humanity and the planet, and how we need to start communicating and acting now to make "People and Planet 2.0" a healthier, more stable new normal after COVID-19.

Speakers

• Matthias K. Boehning, Director, WEA Sustainability Center
• Dave Bookless, Director for Theology, A Rocha International
• Professor Katharine Hayhoe, Climate Scientist & Climate Ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance
• Ben Niblett, Coordinator of Renew our World, Tearfund
• Kuki Rokhum, Head of Training and Mobilization, Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR)
• Chris Elisara, Director, WEA Creation Care Task Force

Slides and further resources shared during the webinar, along with the Covid-19 Global Resources Platform of the World Evangelical Alliance, were made available to participants and speakers.