The next ecumenical campaign for Lent 2006 will take place from 5 March to 16 April. The theme chosen by the Catholic and Protestant organizations Action de Carême, Pain pour le prochain and Etre partenaires is “We believe. Let us commit ourselves to the defence of human rights”. The campaign, conducted with the help of an advertising agency, also envisages a series of billboards and posters with images that recall, for example, the inhumane conditions in which many prison inmates are being held in various countries of the world, including Colombia, Mexico, India, the Philippines and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Also on the programme are some symposia. The first will be held in Bern on 8 March, on World Women’s Day. To mark the occasion, the Catholic nun Sister Maria John Mananzan and the reformed theologian Hélène Ynda from Cameroon will speak in some parishes. There will also be fund-raising projects, like that adopted in previous years, including the sale of roses and an SMS campaign due to begin on 25 March. A forum on world justice will be held on 18 March.
