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- 1918 Rev. George Bell, chaplain to Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury, hears him protest against the morality of the British government’s wartime policies. “We have to see to it that the spirit of hate finds no nurture in our hearts.”
- 1934 Rev. George Bell, now Bishop of Chichester, chairs the Universal Christian Council for Life and Work and gets to know German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
- 1939 Bishop Bell publishes “The Church’s Function in Wartime”, denouncing military aggression and “the havoc wrought by collective egoism.”
- 1945 In a post-war broadcast to Germany, Bishop Bell appeals for the recovery of Christian goodwill. “No nation, no church, no individual is guiltless. Without repentance, and without forgiveness, there can be no regeneration.”
- 1948 Foundation of the World Council of Churches.
- 1948 In the U.S.A., Dr S. F. Mack, Dr Everett Parker and Nicholas Hagman set up the Radio, Visual Education and Mass Communication Committee (RAVEMCCO).
- 1950 Appalled by wartime propaganda, Bishop Bell encourages Edwin H. Robertson, assistant head of religious broadcasting at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), to organise an Informal International Conference on Religious Broadcasting.
- 1953 Christian radio and television leaders, including members of the International Study Committee on Church Broadcasting and Television Activity, meet in Bossey, Switzerland. The group establishes the World Committee for Christian Broadcasting (WCCB) and begins publishing The Christian Broadcaster.
- 1957 WCCB first World Conference at Kronberg Castle, Frankfurt, Germany.
- 1961 WCCB second World Conference in New Delhi, India. Delegates change the name to World Association for Christian Broadcasting (WACB). Dr Harry Spencer (USA) and Drs Van Gelder (Netherlands) elected as co-chairpersons.
- 1961 WCC Assembly asks its Division of World Mission and Evangelism to work with WACB to implement inter-denominational broadcasting work, training and surveys.
- 1962 Dr Sigurd Aske, Director of the Lutheran World Federation’s radio station in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, becomes WACB Executive Director.
- 1962 The Co-ordinating Committee for Christian Broadcasting (CCCB) studies church-related broadcasting needs in developing countries.
- 1963 WACB third World Conference in Limeru, Kenya, adopts new Constitution “to provide a working fellowship of churches, agencies, organizations and persons concerned with the use of radio and television to proclaim the Christian Gospel in its relevance to the whole of life.” The Rt. Rev. Bishop Dr Fridtjov Birkeli is elected WACB chairperson.
- 1963 WCC establishes a Christian Literature Fund (CLF) under the directorship of Dr Charles G. Richards.
- 1964 Edwin H. Robertson becomes Executive Director of WACB at its new headquarters: Edinburgh House, 2 Eaton Gate, London.
- 1967 WACB and CCCB meet in New York, U.S.A., to approve a Memorandum of Agreement to plan a single organization to consolidate their work.
- 1968 WACB and CCCB merge to form the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). At its first Assembly in Oslo, Norway. Bishop Birkeli becomes President Emeritus, Rev. Dr Fredrick R. Wilson is elected President, and Rev. Philip Johnson becomes Executive Director.
- 1968 The Christian Broadcaster ceases publication.
- 1969 Action Newsletter starts publication.
- 1970 The WACC Journal starts publication.
- 1970 North American Broadcast Section (NABS–WACC) created in Chicago.
- 1971 The WACC global office moves to 7 St. James’s Street, London.
- 1971 The Christian Literature Fund (CLF) becomes the Agency for Christian Literature Development (ACLD).
- 1974 RAVEMCCO and the Literacy and Literature Committee (Lit-Lit) of the National Council of Churches merge to form Intermedia.
- 1975 WACC and ACLD merge to form the ‘new’ WACC at a joint meeting at the Skyway Hotel, London. The new WACC establishes a Print Media Development Unit (PMDU), an Electronic Media Development Unit (EMDU) and a Commission on Communication Education.
- 1976 Dr Hans W. Florin appointed WACC General Secretary.
- 1976 WACC Central Committee meets in Malta. A Periodicals Development Programme (PDP) and a Group Media Development Unit (GMDU) are added to the portfolio.
- 1976 The WACC global office moves to 122 King’s Road, London, in the heart of “swinging” Chelsea.
- 1976 WACC establishes the Black Press Fund to support anti-apartheid newspapers in South Africa.
- 1976 WACC Regional Associations established.
- 1978 WACC launches an international study “to help churches understand the social, economic and ethical implications of new electronic technology”.
- 1979 WACC sends five representatives to take part in the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) where questions of access to the electromagnetic spectrum and satellite parking spaces were discussed.
- 1979 WACC, in partnership with Evangelisches Missionswerk (EMW), Hamburg, Germany, launches a programme to bring Christian publishers from the developing world to the annual Frankfurt Book Fair.
- 1980 The WACC Journal becomes Media Development.
- 1981 The New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) is discussed at a joint meeting of WACC, WCC, LWF, WARC, and representatives of Roman Catholic groups held in Versailles, France.
- 1982-86 WACC implements its Intercultural Communication Programme (ICP) which studies communication in the context of the local cultures of the Philippines, India and Mexico.
- 1983 WACC initiates a Curriculum Development Programme to assist Christian agencies to improve training methods.
- 1983 WACC begins its Theological Studies Programme with a seminal publication and a global survey. Pioneering work is done in Korea, Argentina, Brazil, and India.
- 1984 “Women in Communication” becomes a new programme at WACC.
- 1986 WACC signs a contract with Sage Publications for a long-running series of books on “Communication and Human Values” jointly edited by Dr Robert A. White of the Centre for the Study of Communication and Culture (CSCC) and Dr Michael Traber.
- 1986 WACC approves and publishes its foundational Christian Principles of Communication.
- 1986 Rev. Carlos A. Valle appointed WACC General Secretary.
- 1987 The WACC global office moves to 357 Kennington Lane, London, near the former 19th century Vauxhall “pleasure gardens”.
- 1988 WACC republishes Many Voices, One World: Communication and Society Today and Tomorrow – the “MacBride Report” originally published by UNESCO in 1980.
- 1989 WACC organises its first international Congress on the theme “Communication for Community” held in Manila, The Philippines.
- 1991-95 WACC starts work on its first Study and Action Programme, focusing on communication ethics, the right to communicate, communication and religion, women’s perspectives, communication education, and communication, culture and social change.
- 1994 WACC organises the landmark conference “Women Empowering Communication” together with Isis International and the International Women’s Tribune Centre, held in Bangkok, Thailand.
- 1995 WACC carries out its first Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP).
- 1995 WACC organises its second international Congress on the theme “Communication for Human Dignity” held in Mexico.
- 1996 WACC convenes the Platform for Cooperation on Communication and Democratization to discuss common strategies.
- 2000 WACC carries out its second Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP).
- 2001 Rev. Randy Naylor appointed WACC General Secretary.
- 2001 WACC organises its third international Congress on the theme “Communication: From confrontation to reconciliation” held in the Netherlands.
- 2002 WACC takes on the secretariat of the Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) Campaign.
- 2003 WACC joins civil society groups lobbying for communication rights at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Geneva, Switzerland.
- 2005 WACC carries out its third Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP).
- 2006 The WACC global office moves to 308 Main St., Toronto, Canada.
- 2006 WACC initiates key programme areas including “Media & Gender Justice”, “Communication for Peace”, “Communication against HIV and AIDS Stigmatization and Discrimination”, “Communication and Ecumenism”, and “Communication and Poverty”.
- 2008 WACC organises its fourth international Congress on the theme “Communicating Peace: Building viable communities” held in Cape Town, South Africa.
- 2009 WACC carries out its fourth Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP).
- 2010 Rev. Karin Achtelstetter appointed WACC General Secretary.
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