Rolling Up Our Sleeves at HubFest 2024

During a time of increasing global unrest, polarization and anxiety about the future, the Initiatives of Change HubFest 2024 brought our international movement together in an act of reconnection, inspiration and fellowship. From 11 to 13 October, participants from the IofC network gathered online to hear from various IofC initiatives and thought leaders, sharing ideas and discourse against the backdrop of the event’s theme, Community Building: Rolling Up Our Sleeves. 'Our common purpose at IofC is to strengthen the moral and spiritual foundations of our society,’ said IofC President, Prof Gerald Pillay, in his opening remarks. ‘That’s why we do all this, why we meet.'

Global Fellowship

Initiatives of Change is active around the world, with each national and regional team adapting IofC principles and methodologies to local circumstances. The HubFest 2024 event was a unique opportunity to hear updates from many of these teams and to compare commonalities and challenges experienced in their work.

As national teams shared updates, the spirit of fellowship was apparent. For instance, for IofCs Syria and Lebanon, the need to bridge geopolitical and cultural divisions has led to the development of Towards Healing, a programme that focuses on the role of educators in facilitating peace, healing and trust. In Cameroon, the IofC team is newly implementing the Trustbuilding Program in their work to bridge two historically opposing communities of Francophones and Anglophones. In their most recent initiative, the Trustbuilding Cafe, the team is focusing on peer-to-peer dialogue between student communities, finding ways to support displaced Anglophone students.

During the HubFest, participants also attended an inspiring session, called Living History, which featured Christoph Spreng, a long-time leader and builder of global community initiatives with IofC, in conversation with Dr. Laurie Johnston, Professor of Theology at Emmanuel College in Boston. The topic centered on community and the complexities involved in fostering it, especially in politically polarized environments. The session was characterized by personal stories, and the idea of ‘passing the torch’ was especially poignant — It resonated with the need for continuity and the importance of mentoring new generations in any community or organization.

Culture of Care

The HubFest 2024 concluded with a session of the IofC Culture of Care, a series of online conversations meant to honestly examine dynamics and unresolved issues within the IofC movement, with the goal of improving interpersonal relationships. These deeper discussions focus on various 'hot topics' within IofC, both historically and in today’s context, with the aim of creating shared understanding and common actions for the sustainability of our fellowship. The Culture of Care segment at the HubFest welcomed guest speaker Camilla Wilhelmsen Nelson, a member of IofC's Scandinavian team, and was co-facilitated by Dr. Afaf Badran, member of the IofC International Culture of Care Conversations team, and Betty Nabuto Mulyalya of IofC's Creators of Peace programme in Uganda.
 

The Culture of Care conversation emanated the reflective and collective nature of the three-day HubFest event. When asked what is most important for building a cohesive community, participants aligned on several core qualities, including love, transparency and respect.

As the HubFest 2024 drew to a close, it reinforced the importance of community building across IofC’s global initiatives but also reaffirmed the movement’s commitment to fostering unity, understanding and trust, essential for overcoming the challenges of a divided world. ‘Fellowship means living in community, at peace,’ Prof Pillay concluded. ‘It means listening to each other, caring for each other and praying for each other.’