Today (Sunday), H.H. Pope Tawadros II attended the symposium organized by the Coptic Institute for Church Management and Development (COPTICAD), under the title “The Church and Partnership in Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges.” The event was hosted at the Papal Residence in Cairo and was attended by a number of metropolitans, bishops, priests, servants, and experts working in the field of social care and community development, representing various dioceses, churches, and both Christian and national civil institutions.

This symposium comes as part of a series of events organized by COPTICAD in celebration of its tenth anniversary, since its establishment by His Holiness in 2015.

The symposium aimed to discuss the importance and methods of expanding the Church’s partnerships with stakeholders in sustainable development—such as civil associations and institutions, the private sector and businessmen, governmental bodies concerned, international development organizations, local funding entities, and research institutions—and how to address the challenges in order to strengthen the developmental vision led by His Holiness within the Church.

Participants shared a number of positive experiences in partnership with stakeholders of sustainable development, both within and outside the Church, as well as the challenges they had encountered. The symposium concluded with several practical recommendations for developing such partnerships, both at the level of national policies and systems, and at the level of grassroots implementation in the community.

In his address to the participants, His Holiness emphasized several important points that reflect the Church’s vision of partnership in sustainable development:

1. The Church has two essential functions:
-The first is spiritual, within the Church (spiritual work).
-The second is social, outside the Church (community work).
In both functions, the Church is concerned with serving and sustaining the nation.

2. The development of leadership capacities capable of guiding developmental work is a vital duty, given the pivotal role of leadership in ensuring the success of partnerships for development. This is achieved through training, awareness, and education.

3. There are three types of culture that we need to instill within the Church:
-The culture of volunteering (in various services inside and outside the Church).
-The culture of giving (to support educational and developmental projects).
-The culture of supplication (prayer for all our projects).

His Holiness concluded the symposium with the verse: “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).

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