Skip to main content

The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC): Youth, Peacebuilding, and Development in Africa

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Religion, Peacebuilding, and Development in Africa
  • 111 Accesses

Abstract

Peacebuilding is a complex and multifaceted endeavor and it is part and parcel of the sustainable development Agenda 2030, particularly the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16. The relationship between peacebuilding and development is complex and multifaceted, but it is very clear that without peace, development cannot take place, yet there can never be peace without the conditions of development. Each of the past 11 General Assemblies of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) had a special interest in peacebuilding as a central developmental process for Africa and thus left the conference with a specific to fulfill as far as peacebuilding and development are concerned. This chapter discusses the role of youths in the All Africa Conference of Churches’ peacebuilding and development work in Africa. Youth have always been at the heart of AACC and a major stakeholder in the conference’s work on peacebuilding and development, and this chapter demonstrates their contributions to this work in the period of time between 2013, the year when AACC marked its 50th anniversary, and 2023, the year when the organization marks its 60th anniversary. The chapter was developed through a desk review of published literature on AACC’s past General Assemblies, published AACC General Assembly reports, and unpublished reports about AACC’s peacebuilding and development projects and activities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • AACC. (1963). Drumbeats from Kampala : report of the first assembly of the All Africa Conference of Churches, held at Kampala, April 20 to April 30, 1963. London: Lutterworth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (1970). Engagement: The Second AACC Assembly, Abidjan 1969. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (1975). The Struggle Continues: Official Report, Third Assembly of the All Africa Conference of Churches, Lusaka, Zambia 12–24 May 1974. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (1982). Follow Me … Feed My Lambs! Nairobi 1981: Official Report, Fourth Assembly All Africa Conference of Churches Nairobi, Kenya, 2–12 August 1981. Alliance Printing.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (1988). Lomé 87, You Shall Be My Witnesses: Official Report of the Fifth AACC General Assembly. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (1997). Seventh AACC Assembly Report: October 1997 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (2007a). Report of the Study on African Ecumenical Engagement with the Consultation Process Towards a Joint EU-Africa Strategy. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (2007b). Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs): Hopes, Fears and Challenges. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (2012). Africa Step Forth in Faith: The 9th AACC General Assembly Report. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (2015). God of Life, Lead Africa to Peace, Justice and Dignity: 10th General Assembly and Golden Jubilee Celebrations Report. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (2018a). From Kampala to Kigali: Condensed Report, 2013–June 2018. http://assembly.aacc-ceta.org/index.php/downloads?download=26:all-africaconference-of-churches-general-secretariat-condensed-report-2013-june-2018

  • AACC. (2018b). Report of The Youth Pre-Assembly Held on 2nd July 2018. Unpublished Document.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (2018c). Respecting The Dignity And God’s Image In Every Human Being (Genesis1:26–27), Report of the 11th General Assembly, Kigali, Rwanda, 01–07 July 2018. Nairobi: AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (2021). Annual Report, 2020. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • AACC. (2022). Report About the All Africa Youth Congress Held in Ghana from October 31 to November 5, 2022. AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • African Union. (2006). African Youth Charter. African Union: Addis Ababa. https://au.int/en/treaties/african-youth-charter

  • Bompani, B. (2015). Religion and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Overview. In E. Tomalin (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Religions and Global Development (pp. 115–127). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dehman, M. E. (1991). Peace, Development, and Human Rights: Complementary Perspectives – Complementary Content. The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 23(4), 49–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Englund, H. (2011). Introduction: Rethinking African Christianities: Beyond the Religion-politics Conundrum. In H. Englund (Ed.), Christianity and Public Culture in Africa. Ohio University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, J. (2005). Religion in African Civil Wars. In M. Hildebrandt & M. Brocker (Eds.), Unfriedliche Religionen?. Politik und Religion. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-80796-0_14

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, J. (2007). Religion and Development: The Ambivalence of the Sacred. In Religion and Development. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230589568_3

  • Khadiagala, G. M. (2021). The African Union in Peacebuilding in Africa. In T. McNamee & M. Muyangwa (Eds.), The state of Peacebuilding in Africa: Lessons Learned for Policymakers and Practitioners (pp. 197–214). Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2005). Attachment, evolution, and the psychology of religion. The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lado, L. T. (2021). Religion and Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa. In T. McNamee & M. Muyangwa (Eds.), The State of Peacebuilding in Africa: Lessons Learned for Policymakers and Practitioners (pp. 197–214). London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2016). 2016 information Note: The Right to Development and Peace. OHCHR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Okechukwu, O. A. (2012). Religion and National Development in Nigeria. American Academic & Scholarly Research Journal, 4(4), 1–6. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rakodi, C. (2012). A Framework for Analyzing the Links Between Religion and Development. Development in Practice, 22(5-6), 634–650. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2012.685873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakupapa, T. C. (2018). The Ecumenical Movement and Development: The Case of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), 1963–2000 (Part 1). Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae: Pretoria. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6837-0310

  • Sakupapa, T. C. (2019). Ethno-Regionalism, Politics and the Role of Religion in Zambia: Changing Ecumenical Landscapes in a Christian Nation, 2015–2018. Exchange, 48(2), 105–126. Brill, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sakupapa T. C. (2020). Reframing African Ecumenical Development Discourse: Case of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) 2000–2018 (Part 2). Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae. Pretoria. https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/6822

  • Seers, D. (1979). The Meaning of Development. Development Theory: Four Critical Studies. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (2000). Development as Freedom. Anchor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2022). Young People’s Potential, the Key to Africa’s Sustainable Development. https://www.un.org/ohrlls/news/young-people%E2%80%99s-potential-key-africa%E2%80%99s-sustainable-development

  • Utuk, E. (2007). Visions Of Authenticity: The Assemblies Of The All Africa Conference Of Churches, 1963–1992. Nairobi: AACC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uzondu, I. C. (2020). Education and Religion: The Harbingers of Peace Building in Africa Ignatius. In A. Ikechukwu & K. Ejikemeuwa (Eds.), Religion and Peace Building in Africa: Proceedings of the International Conference of the Association for the Promotion of African Studies on African Ideologies, Human Security and Peace Building, 10th–11th June 2020 (Vol. 1, pp. 1–22). APAS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ver Beek, K. A. (2000). Spirituality: A Development Taboo. Development in Practice. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614520052484

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Muyunga, B. (2023). The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC): Youth, Peacebuilding, and Development in Africa. In: Kilonzo, S.M., Chitando, E., Tarusarira, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Religion, Peacebuilding, and Development in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36829-5_29

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics