WSCF Global Activities

This page gives an introduction to the regular global activities of the World Student Christian Federation. In addition to its local, national and regional life, WSCF also joins together as a worldwide federation for the following activities:

WSCF Inter-Regional (Global) Programmes
The World Student Christian Federation offers annual inter-regional student training programmes. These programmes are available to selected participants from every WSCF Region according to the individual's suitability for a particular programme. In the year of a WSCF General Assembly, the Inter-Regional Programme is carried out through the workshops and study activities of the General Assembly.

Each year the inter-regional programme is linked to an annual theme set by the federation's General Assembly. Inter-Regional Programmes usually take the form of live-in conferences that bring students together for inter-cultural dialogue, common worship, critical study of theology, politics and development issues, Bible study, interaction and dialogue with grass-roots social movements and NGOs and action-planning for local or international implementation of strategies for change.

Inter-regional programmes draw on the latest of international research available on their specified theme. Participants are required to prepare presentations on how the theme is relevant in their national or regional context and to carry out follow-up educational or development work on return to their own movements. For more specific details on recent and future Inter-Regional programmes, please go to WSCF Inter-Regional Programmes.

WSCF Global Women’s Programme: working for gender equity and justice
WSCF has a well established commitment to gender justice. It upholds gender equity and women’s leadership within the Federation, the Church and in society at large. The Federation has tried to create space for women’s concerns and for critical analysis and theological reflection on the issues faced by women in different contexts. The Inter-Regional Women’s Programme (IRWP) is another step in this direction.

Inter Regional Women’s Programmes (IRWP) are the Federation's global women’s programmes. They provide a platform for young Christian women from different cultural and denominational backgrounds to articulate and share their experiences of being women in the present global context and make collective efforts to strive towards gender justice.

The programmes facilitate young women to critically analyse patriarchy as a system and an ideology. Patriarchy is addressed as a system that not only instigates violence against women based on their class, race and gender, but also conditions women towards internalisation of gender-based discrimination.

The programmes encourage young women to reflect on their Christian faith in light of the realities of women in the present day, through various means including evolving feminist liturgies, re-reading and reinterpreting the Bible from gender perspectives and studying feminist and womanist theologies.

For more specific details on recent and future work in the women’s and gender justice programme, please go to Global Women's Programme.

Universal Day of Prayer for Students (UDPS)
Each year the World Student Christian Federation produces a liturgy to observe its Universal Day of Prayer for Students (UDPS). First celebrated in 1898, the UDPS is observed on the third Sunday in February each year. On this day Student Christian Movements around the globe come together in their local areas to pray for the needs and responsibilities of the world's students in a liturgy prepared by one of the WSCF Regions. For more specific details on the UDPS tradition plus recent and future versions of the liturgy, please go to Universal Day of Prayer for Students.

Ecumenical Assistance Programme (EAP)
The WSCF operates an Ecumenical Assistance Programme for the purpose of supporting SCMs as they build up grass-roots ecumenical student ministry around the world. The Ecumenical Assistance Programme encourages student groups to plan and implement locally developed initiatives in civil society development, peace and reconciliation building, inter-communal dialogue, social service, development training, movement building and many other locally relevant programmes. EAP empowers students in member movements to use their education and organisational strength to work on appropriate development within their own communities. To find out more about the recent programmes funded by EAP and for information on how to apply, please go to Ecumenical Assistance Programme.

WSCF Global Calendar
The World Student Christian Federation organises its life in four-yearly terms between the meetings of its governing body, the General Assembly. Inter-Regional activities planned for the current four-year term (quadrennium) are listed in the WSCF Global Calendar.

WSCF Global Publications
Federation News
The WSCF Inter-Regional Office currently publishes a twice-yearly news magazine for the global federation entitled Federation News. For more on Federation news, please go to the Federation News page.

Student World
WSCF produces an annual academic journal entitled Student World. Student World focuses on critical perspectives and global student concerns in a diverse range of subjects including, theology, church history, ecumenism, political and social theory, people's movements and more. To view recent issues of Student World please go to the Student World page.

WSCF Global leadership
Meetings of the staff, officers and Executive Committtee of the WSCF are an important part of the federation's corporate life. Global leadership meetings include common worship, study and analysis of current concerns and trends in student life, sharing of regional realities and strategic planning for the movements. For more detail on WSCF leadership, please go to WSCF Structure and WSCF Leadership Profiles.

WSCF Senior Friends' Activities
The World Student Christian Federation retains an ongoing relationship with the thousands of students whose lives have been touched by involvement in WSCF and its member movements (SCMs) around the world. These former members and non-member supporters are commonly referred to as senior friends. Currently a worldwide database of senior friends is underway to keep the Federation in touch with its former members and other supporters. To learn more about senior friends or to register on the WSCF Senior Friends database, please go to the Senior Friends page.