CODE Forum Activities
The CODE Forum is not only a gathering, but it also has several projects which are run by the members, and which are related to it. These include:
Webinars
A webinar series, once per term, which is internationally open and organised by Diak (Finland), VID (Sweden), the Finnish Church Council and interdiac. The webinars are open to practitioners, teachers, researchers and others interested in the themes. All the materials from previous webinars are available for educational use on a HowSpace platform hosted by Diak. If you would like to access them, please write to Ville Paivansalo at Diak.
The next webinars will be on ‘Practice as Research’ (November 22, 2024) and in spring 2025 the webinar will have the theme will be ‘Evaluation – focussing on participatory approaches and narratives of change’.
Diaconal Identity in Work with Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Andrew Orton (Durham University, UK) and an international team are organising a European learning and development process on diaconal work with asylum seekers and refugees. The project will develop new materials based on experience with grass root workers from several European countries.
Book Project
The Forum has produced a series of books on diakonia which share experience from different global contexts. The latest project is an edited book on Modern Slavery which is being coordinated with a team led by Erica Meijers of the Protestant Theological University in the Netherlands.
Diversity, Inclusion and Social Cohesion (DISCO)
DISCO is an international Erasmus Blended Intensive Programme which involves students and teachers from universities in Europe and Africa (EvH Bochum (Germany), University of Tartu (Estonia), Charles University (Czech Republic), the University of the Western Cape (South Africa) and the University of Malawi and interdiac). It is coordinated by Diak, Finland. The next face to face workshop will be in November.
Diaconia Journal
Members of the CODE Forum are working on the publication of a special edition of the Diaconia Journal which will be published in December.
Next Steps for the CODE Forum
The next meeting of the Forum will probably be in September 2026 in Utrecht, The Netherlands, at the invitation of the Protestant Theological University. In between now and the next Forum the joint activities will continue. The Forum welcomes participation in these different projects and processes. Universities or other institutes are also invited to join the webinar organisers and to suggest new initiatives! It is hoped that the CODE Forum will organise a workshop at the 2025 ReDi conference in South Africa.
In the next period, CODE Forum will develop a theme with the following provisional title:
Creating wise neighbourhoods
The contribution of transformative and receptive diakonia
(WISE = Working for Inclusion, Sustainability and Equity)
Transformative (towards a good future)
Receptive Diaconia (concept, practice and theology)
The materials for the Forum are being hosted on a Teams space organised by the Finnish Church Council. This will include presentations from the 2024 Forum, documents, conversations and exchanges. Access is by invitation and if you are interested, please contact Titi Gävert.