Students in Latin America who are a part of an ecumenical eco-justice group who have been working on initiatives to bring awareness of water-related challenges to greater light are preparing to attend the Latin American Water Tribunal in Buenos Aires, Argentina from November 5-9, an advocate says.

The Tribunal (Tribunal Latinoamericano del Agua) is described by the organizers as "an instance of alternative justice to analyze and find solutions to growing water-related conflicts."

Members of the World Student Christian Federation have been working on a 22-month project also initiated by the Regional Ecumenical Centre for Advocacy and Service (Creas).

The photo project, which has been presented as an exhibition at various events highlights local issues communities face as a result of "water injustice."

The exhibition, meant for display in various countries in Latin America, appeared in July on the sidelines of of the United Nations international sustainability conference in Rio de Janeiro known as Rio 20.

It included images of children, homes and animals in and around polluted rivers, as well as images of trucks delivering water to homes and a billboard near small hillside homes stating "We Act, that's Why We Have a 'Healthy Hom.' Buy Your Bathroom!"

Marcelo Leites, who serves on the World Council of Churches' climate change working group and is also the Latin America and Caribbean regional secretary for the WSCF, says the project has grown from a traveling photo exhibit, to a related series of workshops and now an international program with specific goals and plans, according to a report from the World Council of Churches.

The youth-oriented workshops explain how to relate ecology and economy, how to engage partners from civil society organizations and how to frame and pursue their advocacy projects for natural-resource preservation and other forms of eco-justice.

Leites said the project, an effort by the WSCF and the Regional Ecumenical Centre for Advocacy and Service, has brought regions together, and within regions has encouraged solidarity among local groups overcoming their isolation from one another.

Two dozen students from the regional and international WSCF network and the CREAS participated at the Rio 20 event.
Leites highlighted what he saw as the importance of the Rio 20 event.

"It was important," Leites says, "because of the personal encounters we had at Rio 20, because we presented the project at the People's Summit there, and because we were able to frame concrete plans to follow up from there."

The WCC notes the photo exhibit and workshops have been developed in several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay.

Leites says students in his region are excited by these initiatives, and, despite a lack of funds, are building toward larger-scale advocacy, working up to the Latin American Water Tribunal meeting this fall in Argentina.

The exhibit was also presented at the Ecumenical Centre Agape in Italy earlier this year, according to the report.