KAIROS
Encyclopedia
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives is a Canadian
faith-based
ecumenical organization effecting social change through advocacy
, education and research programs in: Ecological Justice, Economic Justice, Energy and Extraction, Human Rights, Just and Sustainable Livelihoods, and Indigenous Peoples. These programs are informed by, and networked with, approximately 21 partner organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East; about eighty local grassroots groups across Canada; as well as with countless other organizations, churches and individuals.
The KAIROS national Board is made up of representatives from its member churches and religious organizations:
KAIROS is also a member of the Halifax Initiative
, a coalition of Canadian
non-governmental organization
s for public interest work and education on international financial institutions
, as well as the Canadian Council on International Cooperation, Mining Watch, and many others.
KAIROS current program framework is set out under the two main categories of ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Dignity & Rights’. Within these categories are the following projects: Climate Justice, Resource Extraction, Global Finance, Indigenous Rights, Women of Courage, Trade & Rights, & Migrant Justice. KAIROS partners with small NGOs in a variety of Countries of Concern (particularly Colombia, DR Congo, Palestine/Israel, Sudan and the Philippines) to carry out its programs.
KAIROS 2011-12 Campaign is on 'Truth, Reconciliation & Equity': working towards the realization of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canada.
KAIROS resubmitted a program proposal to CIDA in March 2010. CIDA rejected the application a year and a half later (in Sept. 2011) citing that it would not be "good value for money".
documented these accusations , and Ezra Levant
accused Kairos of editing their web site after Kenney's speech. Kairos denied these accusations. ). Minister Kenney later denied that this was the reason for the defunding. It is possible that Minister Kenney mistook KAIROS Canada (who, in 2007, decided *against* advocating sanctions against Israel or a boycott of products from Israel ) for Kairos Palestine.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
faith-based
Faith-based
The term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
ecumenical organization effecting social change through advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
, education and research programs in: Ecological Justice, Economic Justice, Energy and Extraction, Human Rights, Just and Sustainable Livelihoods, and Indigenous Peoples. These programs are informed by, and networked with, approximately 21 partner organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East; about eighty local grassroots groups across Canada; as well as with countless other organizations, churches and individuals.
Member Churches & Memberships
On July 1, 2001 KAIROS brought together the work of ten previous national ecumenical coalitions whose work ranged geographically from the Americas (including Canada) to Asia, Africa and the Middle East; thematically from human rights to economic justice, ecology, and aboriginal rights; and in practice from research to education and advocacy.The KAIROS national Board is made up of representatives from its member churches and religious organizations:
- Anglican Church of CanadaAnglican Church of CanadaThe Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...
- Christian Reformed Church in North AmericaChristian Reformed Church in North AmericaThe Christian Reformed Church in North America is a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed churches of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was founded by Gijsbert Haan and Dutch immigrants who left the Reformed Church in...
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in CanadaEvangelical Lutheran Church in CanadaThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 152,788 baptized members in 624 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–Canada, having 72,116 baptized members...
- Presbyterian Church in CanadaPresbyterian Church in CanadaThe Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...
- United Church of CanadaUnited Church of CanadaThe United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
- Religious Society of FriendsReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
- Development and PeaceDevelopment and PeaceDevelopment and Peace , originally known as Flatto-Sharon was a right wing one-man political party in Israel.-Background:...
- Canadian Conference of Catholic BishopsCanadian Conference of Catholic BishopsThe Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops is the national assembly of the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Canada. It was founded in 1943 and was officially recognized by the Holy See in 1948. Since the Second Vatican Council, it became part of a worldwide network of Episcopal Conferences,...
- Canadian Religious Conference
- Mennonite Central CommitteeMennonite Central CommitteeThe Mennonite Central Committee is a relief, service, and peace agency representing 15 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:...
of Canada - Primate's World Relief and Development Fund
KAIROS is also a member of the Halifax Initiative
Halifax Initiative
The Halifax Initiative is a coalition of Canadian non-governmental organizations for public interest work and education on international financial institutions....
, a coalition of Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s for public interest work and education on international financial institutions
International financial institutions
International financial institutions are financial institutions that have been established by more than one country, and hence are subjects of international law. Their owners or shareholders are generally national governments, although other international institutions and other organisations...
, as well as the Canadian Council on International Cooperation, Mining Watch, and many others.
KAIROS Program
KAIROS' primary occupation is to help people to change current structures that allow hunger, poverty, environmental degradation and human rights abuses to occur. As such it supports positive structural transformation at a grassroots level, rather than providing humanitarian aid.KAIROS current program framework is set out under the two main categories of ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Dignity & Rights’. Within these categories are the following projects: Climate Justice, Resource Extraction, Global Finance, Indigenous Rights, Women of Courage, Trade & Rights, & Migrant Justice. KAIROS partners with small NGOs in a variety of Countries of Concern (particularly Colombia, DR Congo, Palestine/Israel, Sudan and the Philippines) to carry out its programs.
KAIROS 2011-12 Campaign is on 'Truth, Reconciliation & Equity': working towards the realization of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canada.
Global Partners
KAIROS promotes its grassroots education and action campaigns via about 100 ecumenical community groups across Canada. KAIROS also works very closely, via its Global Partnerships Program, with grassroots organizations around the world with which it has built long-standing relationships. These Partners, from 2009, include:Asia-Pacific
- Ecumenical Consortium for JustPeace, Philippines
- KONTRAS, Indonesia
- JATAM, Indonesia (Mining Advocacy Network in Indonesia)
- Pacific Conference of Churches, Fiji
Africa
- African Initiative on Mining, Environment and Society (AIMES)
- African Women’s Economic Policy Network (AWEPON)
- All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC)
- Héritiers de la Justice
- Oilwatch International
- Sudan Council of Churches (SCC)
- World Student Christian Federation
Latin America
- Acción Ecológica, Ecuador
- CEIBA – Guatemala
- CIEPAC, Chiapas, Mexico
- Latin America Council of Churches (CLAI)
- Popular Feminist Organization (OFP), Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia
- Tepeyac Human Rights Centre, Mexico
Middle East
- Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees
- Jerusalem Centre for Women
- Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre
CIDA Defunding
On November 30, 2009 CIDA informed KAIROS that its 2009-2013 program proposal (worth $7 million) had been rejected. The proposal, developed with support from CIDA staff and in collaboration with KAIROS’ Global Partners, was approved at every level of CIDA before being rejected by the Minister for International Cooperation, Bev Oda. A letter from the Minister Oda (sent four days after KAIROS received notice of the funding cut) claimed that KAIROS did not meet CIDA’s new thematic priorities (Food Security, Children and Youth, and Economic Growth) and that CIDA only funds projects that deliver “results that make a real difference to the lives of those living in poverty.” CIDA’s own evaluator, however, wrote that KAIROS’ 2006-2009 program “is very much in line with CIDA policies, particularly the United Nations (UN) Millennium Goals and with CIDA’s Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) priorities, Key Agency Results (KARS) and Strengthening Aid Effectiveness policy.”KAIROS resubmitted a program proposal to CIDA in March 2010. CIDA rejected the application a year and a half later (in Sept. 2011) citing that it would not be "good value for money".
Minister Kenney's Accusation of anti-Semitism
On December 16, 2009, Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, spoke at the ‘Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism’ in Jerusalem. As an example of its fight against anti-Semitism, he said his government had “defunded organizations … like KAIROS for taking a leadership role in the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign” against Israel (NGO MonitorNGO Monitor
NGO Monitor is a non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem, Israel whose stated aim is to generate and distribute critical analysis and reports on the output of the international NGO community for the benefit of government policy makers, journalists, philanthropic organizations and the...
documented these accusations , and Ezra Levant
Ezra Levant
Ezra Isaac Levant is a Canadian lawyer, conservative political activist and media figure. He is the founder and former publisher of the Western Standard, hosts The Source daily on Sun News Network, and has written several books on politics....
accused Kairos of editing their web site after Kenney's speech. Kairos denied these accusations. ). Minister Kenney later denied that this was the reason for the defunding. It is possible that Minister Kenney mistook KAIROS Canada (who, in 2007, decided *against* advocating sanctions against Israel or a boycott of products from Israel ) for Kairos Palestine.