Land Justice Network

A developing global network of Christians engaged in land justice issues in the slums and rural/tribal contexts of dispossession.  We are seeking to bring theological reflection about the Kingdom of God, land, and advocacy to bear on global and local conversations.  From this, we seek to encourage wisdom in action.

Aims

1. Connect Christian practitioners and thinkers on the issue of land justice globally.
2. Integrate theological reflections on land, land rights, land struggles, land and spirituality, land and identity, impact of global legalizations...
3. Compare stories of local responses to dispossession and oppression, in such a way that principles can be carried into solving issues in other countries: rural, tribal or urban slums.
4. Integrate theological and practical principles of advocacy for rights, the nature of the struggles, and seek to define more successful pathways.  An initial content site is up at www.urbanleaders.org/655LandRights
5. Connect global responses by Christians and link to UNHabitat processes.
6. Identify and seek to engage Biblical principles into the dialogue of resolution in contexts where the church has been/is the oppressor.

These aims are open to discussion and development

Proposed Activities

1. Connect some discussions via this website
2. Build a global leadership from each region of the world (Initially, Viv Grigg and Grace Dyrness to connect)
3. Deliver a structured course on Advocacy and Land Rights (Masters level accreditation for those who want accreditation is available from William Carey International University MATUL), certificate recognition for those who do not. (See www.urbanleaders.org/655LandRights ) for some of the content.
4. Gather leaders (annually, in different continents?) to bring together these people and issues face-to-face and build a consensus on theology and best praxis.  This gathering of global responses enables input into local dialogues - the garnering ideas from that dialogue.
5. Interface this with the global evangelical community through communicating back into the Micah Network and working with related organizations and movements

Suggestions welcome.

This is not a broader environmental network, such as the WEA Environmental Network, though we affirm that, rather it is focused on the specifics of an issue within that more general framework - the struggle for land rights, whether tribal, rural, or in the slums of the mega-cities. Broader environmental networks cover issues of land management, production, maintaining ecosystems, global warming, and degradation...  Similarly, housing issues in the West may enter our discussion, but the focus is on land issues in countries with emergent economies.

Funding

Diversified. Membership can pay for some core admin costs. Each organization/person would need to fund their way to consultations.  Grant funding will be explored, but this issue is not on the agenda of Western funders, they are largely unaware of its importance.  If your organization has an operational base, that would enable you to help in managing the expansion of this network, please raise your hand.

This network was initiated in discussions at the Micah Global Network conference in Tagaytay, Philippines in September 2018.  Send ideas to Viv Grigg or add them to the blog on this site, once it is all up and running correctly.