At a meeting of theologians in January of 2003, during the third edition of the World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, there emerged the idea of holding an event on liberation theology in connection with the WSF. In July of the same year, during the conference on "Christianity and Society in Latina America," which took place at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, there was a meeting with representatives of the organizations that promoted the conference in order to present that suggestion. The group decided to carry the proposal forward by joining forces with similar initiatives that existed in the area of Porto Alegre.

Thus, in a meeting held in Porto Alegre on December 11-12, 2003, where several organizations were represented, an Organizing Committee was constituted in order to prepare what was acquiring the shape of a "World Forum on Theology and Liberation" (WFTL) that should take place immediately prior to the following WSF. A Local Committee was also created, involving persons and organizations in Southern Brazil. This group took on the challenge of the logistic execution of the Forum on the basis of the goals, justifications, methodology and budget that were established at that meeting. The major lines were already given, and after the project was further developed, it would be sent to international organizations in order to set up the partnerships that would make the holding of the event possible.



At the set date, the participants came from all over the world, moved by the enthusiasm for the World Social Forum. The theological forum took place on the PUCRS campus, which was also the venue of the WSF in that year. Everything ran smoothly in terms of organization and program. The thematic and theological content was of an excellent level, offering a public space for the dialogue of liberation theologies. The good result of the meeting is documented in the Portuguese, Spanish and English editions of the book containing the 2005 Forum's conferences and panels.

After the gathering, the Permanent Secretariat continued to work on the event's reports and evaluations. In the first contacts maintained with the members of the International Committee (constituted at the end of the WFTL) the results were shared, which immediately encouraged the group to plan the next Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, for January 2007.



The challenge of the 1st Forum was to situate the contribution of liberation theology within the discussions of the WSF. On the basis of a comprehensive assessment by the participants of this first event, the goals of the WFTL were broadened and its methodology and the participants' profile were changed.

A vision for the WFTL was born: to carry forward a process that might contribute to the forming of an international network of contextual theologies that are inheritors of and/or identified with liberation theology in its different formulations and expressions. The goal also became more evident: to provide an open space of encounter for a vivid and conscious interaction of theology with contemporary society.

This vision guided the WFTL's International Commission and the group of organizations that took on the project's organization. The cooperation between the institutions that made up the network was essential throughout the preparation of the 2nd Forum in 2006.



The actual organization of the 2nd WFTL began by the end of 2005. In March 2006 Brother Luiz C. Susin and Father Sergio Torres traveled to some countries in Europe and to Kenya, in order to establish personal contacts with partner organizations, to hold the first meeting of the International Committee and to support the Local Committee in Nairobi. In Nairobi they had several meetings in preparation for the WFTL. The Local Committee was coordinated by Prof. Dr. Mary N. Getui and had the participation of the following persons: Dr. Philomena Mwaura, Sister Begoña Inarra, Prof. Adam K. Arap Chepkwony, Dr. Zacharia W. Samita, Prof. J. N. K. Mugambi, Beatrice Edel Churu, Alloys Otieno Ojore and Prof. Esther Mombo.

In July the activities of the Local Committee's Secretariat were started. It was located in the facilities of the Tangaza College. From then onwards the preparations for the Forum were made through a mutual cooperation between the Local and the Permanent Secretariats.

Two university institutions provided the physical structure for the Permanent Secretariat in Porto Alegre and the Local Secretariat in Nairobi:

Pontifical Catholic University of the State of Rio Grande do Sul

Tangaza College

The 2^nd WFTL took place on January 16-19, 2007, under the theme "Spirituality for another possible world." It gathered 300 people from all five continents, most of them from Africa. It was a space that really enabled an encounter and exchange of searches and accomplishments in terms of the affirmation of life, justice and dignity - on a planetary scale, but through an exposure to the appeals and invitations of the Kenyan context.

The meetings were held at the Carmelite Center, an institution located in the vicinity of the Tangaza College, in the district of Langata, Nairobi. Just as the 1st WFTL, the second one was held in the week prior to the WSF and, in general, received a very good evaluation from the participants and the International Committee. The diversity of expectations certainly divides and enriches the assessment of results, but there remains an explicit unanimity concerning the Forum's strategy of intervention and the importance of its contribution to the present theological reflection.

* For further details on the 2nd WFTL, see in www.wftl.org.



The whole set of evaluations made during the first half of 2007 indicated that the Forum held in Nairobi constituted an advancement in the process, clarified its goals and established aims to be reached. The methodology, the strategies of intervention and the content of the discussions matured in several respects and, at the same time, made the gaps that have to be filled more evident. These results imply excellent prospects for the 3rd WFTL in 2009, in the light of some important motivations:

1. Firstly, the WFTL must continue to bring its methodology close to the WSF's methodology, privileging the event as a space for the emergence of new intuitions and significant practices. It should, however, ensure its autonomy and theological specificity through a different methodology. This can be ensured by having a core group of theologians who make a methodological reflection in the Forum's process, picking up the intuitions and results of the interactions enabled by the event.



2. The second motivation has to do with the concrete insertion of the WFTL participants into grassroots realities that attempt liberating practices. This was the great novelty of the Nairobi Forum, and it had a strong impact on its later reflection. A few criteria for the methodology of this activity can be inferred from the following reflections made on the basis of this activity in Nairobi:

"Theology is a second act preceded by the first act of the liberating practice of faith - liberation comes before theology."
"A 'world forum' must not lose sight of the 'real world' (J. Sobrino) and, within that, the raw reality of the poor."
"It is not enough to propose inserting oneself into the world. It is necessary to ask oneself: In what world (G. Gutiérrez) does an evangelical perspective become possible that comprehends the totality of reality and generates a theology that is sensitive to the suffering of the poor?"
"It is in direct confrontation with the world of the crucified that our task of transfiguring everything that is distorted appears in a historical and concrete form."

3. The third motivation refers to a clearer definition of the WFTL's profile: a meeting place for theologians who work from the perspective of liberation; its purpose is to further interaction between liberating practices and their agents and theological reflection, Thus, the WFTL constitutes an effort of a public presence of theology in the midst of society, "coming from" and "going beyond" the ecclesial or confessional space. The intuition at the root of this vision is that in a globalized world theological production cannot be limited to the challenges of a given region. Likewise, globalization universalizes challenges and broadens the horizons of contextualized theologies. Therefore, it is necessary to listen to differences and to articulate a discourse that is more narrative, rather than merely analytical. It is time for theology to take a new look at pre-theological aspects - the liberating practices of faith, which have substantially changed in recent times.



4. The fourth motivation concerns the Forum's periodicity. The International Committee decided to hold the next Forum in two years in order to make it possible for its methodology to mature and to create a mindset that favors holding local and regional forums. On that basis, one might consider holding world forums at intervals of four years.

As far as the organization is concerned, like any initiative of this nature, the WFTL is acquiring its shape along the way, according to the needs and possibilities that emerge. So far, five structures have supported the forums: the Organizing Committee, the International Committee, the Permanent Secretariat (with its headquarters in Porto Alegre), the temporary Local Committee (constituted in the event's venue) and the group of partner organizations that guarantee the project's funding.

The experience of holding the 2nd Forum showed the need to restructure the organization. The International and the Local Committees will continue to exist, as well as the group of supporting organizations. But it was decided to strengthen the work of the Permanent Secretariat based on the Organizing Committee; the objective is to establish around the latter an international network of theological institutions, both with an academic profile and closer to social movements, whose representatives will provide the base for the process of preparing and carrying out the WFTL. Steps in this direction are already being taken in the present configuration of the Organizing Committee.