ACT Alliance: John Nduna Appointed as General Secretary
NEWS STORY: Tomm Kristiansen UPDATED: December 10, 2009
PHOTO: ACT International
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — John Nduna has been appointed as General Secretary of the ACT Alliance, one of the biggest humanitarian networks in the world. The alliance will have up to 160 members who have an annual total income of 1.8 billion US dollars. The new alliance will formally be established on 1 January 2010, bringing together the existing ACT International and ACT Development alliances.
Mr. Nduna, who started his career in banking, has been the Director of ACT International since 2006. He has also served as Director of the Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan. His humanitarian field experience includes working with refugees through the Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service (LWF/DWS) in Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania. Mr. Nduna graduated from the University of Zambia in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.
The Zambian born Mr. Nduna says, "this appointment is an opportunity to highlight the work of our members in responding to humanitarian crises and addressing issues of poverty and injustice. This is a challenging time when the world is facing economic crises which have severe negative impacts on the poorest communities. By coming together as an alliance, we can increase our positive impact on the lives of the most vulnerable."
Deputy General Secretary
The Interim Governing Board of ACT Alliance also appointed Ms. Jill Hawkey as the new Deputy General Secretary. She is currently the Director of ACT Development. Ms. Hawkey has a Master’s degree in Development Studies and was the Director of Christian World Service in New Zealand for ten years. “The Alliance has enormous expertise within its membership and our role is to harness this expertise so that it makes a real difference in peoples lives."
Global leadership
Dr. Sushant Agrawal, the Director of CASA India and co-moderator of the Interim Governing Board of ACT Alliance says, “ACT brings the global church together to be prophetic, taking the side of poor and excluded communities in the world. I am confident that the new ACT Alliance will make a positive contribution towards a world where the poor have life in fullness with justice, peace and dignity."
Rev. Dr. Hielke Wolters, co-moderator of the Interim Governing Board, represents the World Council of Churches. “WCC congratulates ACT with their first leadership,” Dr Wolters says. “We have supported the unification of the ACTs and are pleased to see that humanitarian and development work, together with advocacy, have come together in one global alliance.
