08414
May 28, 2008

World Student Christian Federation revives North American presence

by Toya Richards Hill
Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE – Young people in North America are longing to make a difference in the world, and the revival of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) in the region aims to help them do it, says the group’s regional secretary.

There is a “hunger” for a movement among college-age students and young adults focusing on global issues, said Luciano Kovacs, North American Regional Secretary for WSCF. Our challenge is to gather and work with that enthusiasm in order to bring about change, he said.

Also “to provide opportunities to young people ... to have a forum, to have a platform to share their own interests … share issues of faith and social justice, to understand the complexities of the world,” he said.

A global federation of Christian student groups that has been around more than 100 years, WSCF seeks to unite students ecumenically for grassroots work around various issues.

Local and national groups connected to WSCF operate in the six WSCF regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East and North America. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been active through one of WSCF’s affiliated members, the Council of Ecumenical Student Christian Ministries, Kovacs said.

Kovacs said WSCF’s North American region has been primarily dormant since the late 1960s, but in 2004 a decision was made at the federation’s general assembly to revive the regional office and rebuild its presence.

Now based in New York City, the North American regional effort headed by Kovacs is working to build a base of support, establish various committees such as programming and communications, and partner to address issues including immigration and trade.

“We are starting to shape the structure of the region,” he said. Plans also are in the works for the first regional event to take place in early 2009 in the San Francisco Bay area.

Globally, WSCF will hold its next general assembly in Montreal in August, and Kovacs also is seeking young people to serve as stewards for the gathering.

The Rev. Sylvia Wilson, the PC(USA)’s associate for collegiate ministries, said her office will support the upcoming general assembly by sponsoring up to two delegates to attend from the global south. Representatives from the Presbyterian student network also may serve as stewards, she said.

WSCF can offer “a unique opportunity … to be exposed to the global community,” Kovacs said. By meeting students from other countries, some of whom are personally struggling and “putting their lives on the line,” it might challenge ones own position of privilege, he said.