Please check this webpage regularly. Updates and additional information, including possible last-minute changes, will be published here. (last updated 2026-08-31)

Wednesday 16th September - Visiting Programme (optional)

*until 14.40*	*Arrival in Bielefeld and free time around the Central Station*		If you cannot check into your hotel yet, you can leave your luggage at Ishara leisure pool (Europa Platz 1, 33613 Bielefeld) until the evening. Ishara is just a few minutes’ walk from Bielefeld Central Station. Feel free to use the time for a coffee, a snack or a first walk around the area.– or even for a swim or an hour in the sauna at Ishara.
*14.45*	"Welcome to Bielefeld!"	Meeting in the foyer of the Ishara
*15.00*	Start of the Visiting Programme	„Walking Bielefeld: Between Solidarity and Division“ - Bielefeld from a Diaconal and Social-Spatial Perspective	A walking seminar (~ 5 km) through the city, exploring social realities, current challenges and the tensions of living together. The route includes places that illustrate participation, exclusion and community in a diverse urban society. – Led by Rev. Ingo Stucke, Social Pastor of Kirchenkreis Bielefeld (Protestant Church District of Bielefeld)
		The visiting programme is currently being developed together with local partners. The exact stops are to be confirmed at a later stage. Travelers' Aid Mission Memorial Bielefeld (Main Station) Welthaus Bielefeld short reception at the city hall Lydia Congreation Fanprojekt Bielefeld	Links are provided for your reference. Some websites let you change the language to English directly on the page. For others, we recommend using an automatic translation tool like your browser's translator.
	Return to ISHARA	Evening Snack for all participants at the kind invitation of the Protestant Church District of Bielefeld and BBF (the operator of Ishara) at the Ishara restaurant.	The first day is likely to end at around 21.00.

Thursday 17th September - CODE Forum – Day 1

We meet on Bielefeld University campus.
The specific building at the university is called "Gebäude X", Universitätsstraße 24, 33615 Bielefeld.
Our Conference Room is X-E0-222.
The second lecture Room is X-E0-216.

			*Speaker*	*Moderation*
*8.30*	Registrations	Refreshments available
*9.15*	Plenary Introduction	Diaconal Identity & Practice: Between Solidarity and Division		Damian Ostermann
		Welcome to IDWM/Bielefeld University	Anika Albert & Christian Oelschlägel
		Introduction to each other
		Introduction to the CODE Forum and Seminar	Tony Addy
*10.30*	Coffee Break
*11.00*	Participants Presentations	The role of Diaconia in diverse communities and in response to crisis phenomena
	Group 1 A (X-E0-222)	Diaconal Community Development and Environmental Consciousness: Mobilising Marginalised Youth in a Climate-stressed South Africa	Jacques Beukes	Bongani Khoswe
		Relational approach and safety in diaconal practice	Thijs Tromp & Colleagues
		Diaconia and Christian Social Practice in Situations of War and Frozen Conflict	Ulla Siirto
	Group 1 B (X-E0-216)	The Significance of Being Human	Erica Meijers	Ville Päivänsalo
		Human Dignity as a Corner Stone of Diaconal Practice.	Ondrej Fischer
		Practicing Coexistence: Community Dance in Times of Social Polarization	Damian Ostermann
*12.30*	Lunch
*14.00*	Participants Presentations
	Group 1 C (X-E0-222)	Workshop: Diaconal practices for sharing food and developing food justice	Oksana Prosvirnina and Team
	Group 1 D (X-E0-216)	The role of diaconia in a situation of crisis and polarization	Karel Šimr	Ondrej Fischer
		From the Margins to the Centre: What Self-Reliant Groups Teach Us About Leading in Hard Times	Noel Mathias & Bärbel Goedeking
		An investigation of how agency, faith and self-reliance intersect to create a survival theology	Bongani Khoswe
*15.30*	Coffee Break
*16.00*	Participants Presentations	Diaconia and Christian social practice in a time of political polarisation.
	Group 2 A (X-E0-222)	Ecotheology and Locally Led Innovations to Confront Climate Emergency in Sub Saharan Africa	John Klaasen	Ville Päivänsalo
		Caring for ourselves – or caring for nature and global justice?	Hans Morten Haugen
		Towards Transformative Diakonia: Social Inequality and Urban Diaconal Practice between Solidarity and Division	Pinaki Burman
	Group 2 B (X-E0-216)	(No) Local Congregations in Caring Cities? Relations and Potential	Christine Wenona Hoffmann	Christian Oelschlägel
		Leadership, Innovation and Locally Led Development	Dag-Håkon Eriksen
		From Food Waste to Communities of Belonging: Diaconal Responses to Crisis in Norway	Signe Myklebust
*17.30*	Plenum	CODE Forum as a Space of Collaboration		Tony Addy
		Diaconal Identity Project	Andrew Orton
		Modern Slavery Book	Erica Meijers
		Webinars	Ville Päivänsalo
		Link to ReDi	Ondrej Fischer
*18.15*	Departure for dinner	in the foyer of "Gebäude X"
*19.00*	Informal evening meal	Venue: to be confirmed; main dishes will be covered

Friday 18th September - CODE Forum – Day 2

			*Speaker*	*Moderation*
*8.30*	Joining in	Refreshments available
*9.15*	Plenary Introduction	Thematic Introduction to the day	Tony Addy	Christian Oelschlägel
	Keynote Lecture I	Toxic Empathy? The challenge of rightist discourse on development and diakonia	Nadine Bowers du Toit
	Keynote Lecture II	Justice and Land Issues: A Case Study of the Agreement Process Between Senja Municipality and Mineral Commodities Ltd	Line Merethe Skum
*10.30*	Coffee Break
*11.00*	Paper- and Book Presentation	The role of Diaconia in diverse communities and in response to crisis phenomena
	Group 2 C (X-E0-222)	Diakonia and Modern Slavery Sources, Legacies & Lived Realities in Christian Social Practices	Erica Meijers & Team	Erica Meijers
		Re-imagining Prostitute Imaginary: Theological Reflections at the Intersection of Slavery, Gender and Sexuality in Images of Sex Workers	Tollin Thumra
		Slave-related Experiences of Women in the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Nigeria: A conversation with Mercy Amba Oduyoye’s Liberation Theology	Alphine C. Ojiambo
		Measuring and Understanding Faith-Based Responses to Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking	Alison Gardner
	Participants Presentations	Diaconal identity in a multifaith context		Christian Oelschlägel
	Group 3 A (X-E0-216)	Diaconal Identity and Practice in a Multifaith Context: Norwegian Diaconal Organizations Practical Navigation of their Diaconal Identity in the Life Stance - Open Society	Mirjam Endalew
		The (im)possibilties of equal partnerships in diaconate linked to migration	Rosalie Schoemaker
		When Care Is Not Enough Recognition, Trust and the Diaconal Credibility Gap of Churches in Polarized Societies	Rebecca Hofmann
*12.30*	Lunch
*14.00*	Workshop	Diaconal identity in a multifaith context
	Group 3 B (X-E0-222)	Developing reflective learning on diaconal identities in work with refugees and asylum seekers (please also refer to this brochure, which presents a first outcome of the project)	Andrew Orton and Team
	Participants Presentations	Diaconal identity in a multifaith context
	Group 3 C (X-E0-216)	The role of collective reflection for developing professional practices	Beate Løvaas	Bongani Khoswe
		Belonging Before Belief: How Secular Volunteers Encounter Christian Faith Through Diaconal Service	Eirik Aadland Tappel
		Dialogue in Social Work and Diaconia: Needs for Expertise in Religious Contexts in Finland	Ville Päivänsalo
*15.30*	Coffee Break
*16.00*	Plenary	CODE Forum as a Space of Collaboration		Damian Ostermann
		Panel Feedback	3 Participants (to be asked)
		Key Issues for follow up	Erica Meijers
*16.45*	Group Work
*17.45*	Closing Plenary
*18.30*	Departure for dinner	in the foyer of "Gebäude X"
*19.15*	Conference Dinner	*Neue Schmiede, Handwerkerstraße 7, 33617 Bielefeld*

Saturday 19th September - Future CODE Forum Planning Workshop (optional)

			*Speaker*
*8.30*	Joining in	Refreshments available
*9.00*	Plenary	Future of the CODE Forum including: Aims and objectives, constituency, history, Link to ReDi, Discussion and suggested ideas, commitment	Tony Addy & Team
*10.15*	Coffee Break
*10.30*	Project Groups	to be identified, for example: Webinars Diaconal Identity Projects Publications …
*11.30*	Plenary	Feedback, Summary, Next Steps...	Erica Meijers
*12.30*	Lunch	self organised & self-paid

Programme CODE FORUM 2026

Please check this webpage regularly. Updates and additional information, including possible last-minute changes, will be published here. (last updated 2026-08-31)

Wednesday 16th September - Visiting Programme (optional)

Thursday 17th September - CODE Forum – Day 1

We meet on Bielefeld University campus.
The specific building at the university is called "Gebäude X", Universitätsstraße 24, 33615 Bielefeld.
Our Conference Room is X-E0-222.
The second lecture Room is X-E0-216.

Friday 18th September - CODE Forum – Day 2

Saturday 19th September - Future CODE Forum Planning Workshop (optional)

Please check this webpage regularly. Updates and additional information, including possible last-minute changes, will be published here. (last updated 2026-08-31)

We meet on Bielefeld University campus. The specific building at the university is called "Gebäude X", Universitätsstraße 24, 33615 Bielefeld. Our Conference Room is X-E0-222. The second lecture Room is X-E0-216.

We meet on Bielefeld University campus.
The specific building at the university is called "Gebäude X", Universitätsstraße 24, 33615 Bielefeld.
Our Conference Room is X-E0-222.
The second lecture Room is X-E0-216.