Department of Religion and Theology

Ecclesiology and Ethics: The State of Ecumenical Theology in Africa

Wednesday 3-Friday 5 June 2015

Venue: Library Auditorium, University of the Western Cape

The confirmed plenary speakers include 

Ezra Chitando, Ernst Conradie, Musa Dube, Genevieve James, Nico Koopman, Andre Karamaga, Tinyiko Maluleke, Sarojini Nadar, Nelus Niemandt, Isabel Phiri, Jerry Pillay and Vuyani Vellem

The Department of Religion and Theology at UWC will be hosting a major international conference on the state

of the current debate in ecumenical theology in the African context. 

This conference will address the deeper divides within Christianity in Africa and explore the possibility of a common social agenda. It will engage the current generation of African theologians and ecumenical leaders on this theme. It may be understood as a follow-up to a conference on "African Christian Theologies in Transformation: Respice et Prospice" that was held at UWC in June 2003 and as the culmination of a series of think tanks and public conferences on selected themes related to the interface between ecumenical studies and social ethics that have been hosted at UWC since July 2012.

Practical details:

• Prospective participants may register for the conference by contacting Ms Heather Griffiths to obtain a

registration form (hgriffiths@uwc.ac.za) or download that from the UWC website (www.uwc.ac.za, follow the

links to Faculty of Arts, Department of Religion and Theology and Events).

• The conference fee amounts to R400 per person and includes lunch on Wednesday, Thursday and

Friday together with teas. There is an option of attending the conference dinner at UWC on the Thursday

evening (a further R200). Instructions for the payment of the conference fee are provided in the registration

form.

• Registration will close by 25 May 2015. Please note that participation in the conference will be limited to

200 persons given the capacity of the venue.

• A provisional conference programme will be available at the conference website by 1 February 2015.

The format of the programme will include invited plenary papers, a formal response to each paper and a

closing panel discussion including voices from outside of Africa and from other religious perspectives.

There will be no parallel sessions and thus no call for papers, but ample time for open discussion.

• In planning your travelling, please take into account that the conference will start at 1 Oh30 on

Wednesday 3 June and conclude by 15h00 on Friday 5 June 2014.

• Participants will be responsible for finding their own accommodation and transport to the UWC campus.

are numerous options available in and around Cape Town (but unfortunately not on the campus

itself). If you need recommendations, please contact Ms Heather Griffiths in this regard. Please note that

the UWC main campus is very close to the Cape Town international airport.

The conference will be preceded by a colloquium on Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 June 2015, with "emerging

voices" engaging each other on the conference theme and their current research projects. For further inquiries

in this regard, please contact the departmental chairperson, Prof Ernst Conradie (econradie@uwc.ac.za).