The Discernment and Radical Engagement (DARE) Global Forum 2025 convened in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 27-30 January, bringing together leading scholars, theologians, and activists from around the world.
The forum featured thematic streams, each delving into crucial global issues. Over three days, from 28-30 January, participants presented 10-12 papers per stream, fostering in-depth discussions on pressing social, economic, and theological challenges.
Legacies of Slavery
One of the streams of the forum addressed the Legacies of Slavery. Presentations explored the embodied effects of historical oppression, the lived experiences of colonised subjects, and the rhythms of liberation.
Modern-Day Slavery
The Modern-Day Slavery stream explored the persistence of exploitative labour systems, human trafficking, and other forms of oppression in the 21st century.
Transformative Ecumenism
The forum also provided a space for reimagining Transformative Ecumenism, where scholars critiqued and creatively explored ecumenical movements from the margins. Participants engaged with alternative theological perspectives emerging from struggles for justice and life, advocating for transformative ecumenism.
Education for Liberation
Education was recognised as a key instrument of liberation through the Educating for Liberation stream. Presenters shared decolonial interventions, praxis-based approaches, and Indigenous retrievals that challenge dominant knowledge systems.
Inter-religiosities, Racisms, and Anti-Imperial Struggles
The forum also explored the intersections of Inter-religiosities, Racisms, and Anti-Imperial Struggles, scrutinizing systemic exclusions and forging new solidarities. Participants confronted religious purism and transnational collaborationism.
Thematic Workshops: Resisting Oppression, Reimagining Liberation
In addition to the thematic streams, workshops addressed issues such as Empire, Religion, and Genocide, Theology After Gaza, Contemporary Gender Justice, Decolonizing Scripture, Racisms and Exclusions, Daring to Think Out Loud, and Activating Radical Eco-Economic Transformation. These workshops provided platforms for critical and creative discussion, engaging participants in liberation, decolonisation, and epistemologies from the South.
Spotlight on books
Each day of the forum concluded with book presentations, showcasing groundbreaking works that challenge dominant paradigms. The nine titles presented were: Liberating People, Planet; Confounding the Mighty Stories of Brown Saviors and Their Others; Confounding the Mighty Stories of Church, Social Class and Solidarity; Religion, Patriarchy and Empire; Awake, Emerging, and Connected Meditations on Justice from a Missing Generation; God the Child Small, Weak and Curious Subversions; Decolonizing Religion and Peacebuilding; Indecentes e Indignadas; and Serie de Ensaios Teológicos Indecentes.
“The conversations initiated in Harare will inspire new collaborations and action-oriented research committed to a decolonising mission,” said CWM Mission Secretary – Discipleship and Dialogue, Rev. Dr Graham McGeoch.