Karamaga will visit Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne from April 14 - 21 and will be available for television, radio and print interviews.

In preparation for the 2010 Sudanese elections, the AACC is currently running a Civic Education campaign across Sudan to counter potential conflict and advocate for peaceful proceedings. The Australian Sudanese Diaspora have expressed deep concern for the free and fairness of the elections and the likeliness of violence in the 2011 referendum, where the country will vote for or against unity between North and South. In 2008, the AACC with Archbishop Desmond Tutu intervened in the election crisis in Kenya and is poised to do the same in the event of political violence in Sudan.

Karamaga will discuss with Australian audiences the AACC’s whole of Africa approach to prevent the loss of innocent lives and mass displacement of populations. “Our dream is to make Africa a better place, so that Africans can live in a dignified way… The church remains one of the foundations of hope in Africa, but it must never lose sight of its prophetic and reconstructive role in societies undergoing rapid change”, said Karamaga.

Founded in 1963, the AACC is the largest pan-African ecumenical grouping on the continent. It brings together 173 churches, councils of churches and Christian organisations from 40 African countries and represents the voices of 120 million Africans. Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia, has supported the AACC for almost 20 years and has played a pivotal role in establishing the Civic Education programs in Sudan and efforts to reduce the incidence of election violence throughout Africa.

To arrange a media interview with Revd. Dr. Andre Karamaga, General Secretary of the All African Conference of Churches (AACC), contact Edwyn Shiell: 0458 303 515

Attachment: (Photograph) Revd. Dr. Andre Karamaga at the 9th AACC, Assembly Maputo, Mozambique