World Association for Christian Communication
The World Association for Christian Communication is an international Christian communications NGO that advances communication rights, participation, inclusion, and social justice.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) is an international nongovernmental organization focused on communication as a human right and as a foundation for social change, sustainable development, dignity, and participation. It is registered as a charity in Canada and the United Kingdom and works with grassroots civil-society organizations, particularly in the Global South. WACC reports members in approximately 120 countries and collaborates with local partners in roughly 35 countries in a typical year. Its membership is organized through eight regional associations covering Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, and the Pacific. The organization has roots in postwar discussions among Christian communicators about the future of religious broadcasting. Those discussions began around 1950 among participants from Europe and North America and later attracted the involvement of organizations including the World Council of Churches. An earlier form of WACC was established in 1968. In 1975, developments in mass media and the decision to integrate the work of the World Council of Churches' Agency for Christian Literature Development led to a merger that produced the organization in its present form. WACC's work combines grantmaking, research, advocacy, networking, publications, and training. Its projects address communication access and participation, indigenous peoples' media, gender equality, human rights, media representation, and the ability of communities to produce and use media on their own terms. Rather than treating communication only as a technical service, WACC frames it as a right, a social practice, a skill, and a profession. Its theory of change links communication capacity and access with dignity, inclusion, informed participation, sustainable development, and peaceful communities. A major part of WACC's public profile comes from the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), a recurring international study of the representation and visibility of women in news media. The project has been conducted at several points since 1995, using volunteer researchers across many countries. The 2015 edition involved contributors in 114 countries, while the 2020 edition examined more than 30,000 media stories from 116 countries. WACC also supports analysis and reflection on communication policy and practice, and it promotes networks among members and partner organizations. In addition to its project and research activities, WACC has developed platforms and initiatives devoted to communication rights. Its Centre for Communication Rights disseminates resources and analysis on issues such as digital civil rights, media freedom, access to information, and inclusive communication. WACC is a member of the ACT Alliance and holds consultative status with the United Nations. The organization marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2018. Its identity remains rooted in Christian social ethics while its programs operate through partnerships with a broad range of civil-society and community-based organizations.
History
WACC's institutional history begins with discussions among Christian communicators in Europe and North America around 1950. These early discussions were concerned with the future of religious broadcasting and with the principles that should guide the use of mass communication. The World Council of Churches and other organizations shared related concerns, creating a basis for wider cooperation. The original World Association for Christian Communication was established in 1968. During the following years, changing media technologies and the expansion of mass communication created pressure to coordinate Christian communication work more systematically. In 1975, the earlier WACC merged with the World Council of Churches' Agency for Christian Literature Development. That merger created the organization that developed into the present WACC. The organization later articulated its mission through a rights-based understanding of communication. In 1986, it adopted its Christian Principles of Communication, a statement of values influenced by liberation theology and its emphasis on the needs and agency of poor and marginalized communities. The principles were revised in 2009. They express the idea that communication should not be controlled solely by powerful institutions or treated only as a one-way transmission of information; instead, communities should have meaningful opportunities to speak, listen, participate, and shape the media systems that affect them. WACC's subsequent work broadened beyond explicitly religious broadcasting and literature. It began supporting communication initiatives with grassroots civil-society organizations, especially in countries of the Global South, while also encouraging research, public debate, networking, and the circulation of information. Its program areas have included indigenous communication, gender and media, human rights, media access, participatory development, and digital civil rights. The Global Media Monitoring Project became one of WACC's most prominent long-running initiatives. Beginning in 1995, it established a recurring international method for examining the representation of women in news media. Later editions relied on volunteer teams in countries around the world. The 2015 monitoring round included 114 countries, and the 2020 round covered more than 30,000 news stories from 116 countries. The project has provided comparative evidence for discussions about gender equality, media practice, and the visibility of women as news subjects and sources. WACC also established the Centre for Communication Rights as a platform for resources and advocacy concerning communication-related freedoms and access. Its theory of change presents communication as simultaneously a right, a practice, a skill, and a profession. In this framework, communication helps create the conditions for dignity, inclusion, informed participation, sustainable development, and just and peaceful communities. WACC celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2018. It continues to operate as an international NGO and charity registered in Canada and the United Kingdom, with members organized through eight regional associations. Its institutional relationships include membership in the ACT Alliance and consultative status with the United Nations. The organization remains distinctively Christian in its ethical and historical foundations while working through international civil-society partnerships on broader questions of media justice and communication rights.
- 2020
Sixth GMMP research round
[1]The 2020 Global Media Monitoring Project covered more than 30,000 media stories from 116 countries.
- 2018
Fiftieth anniversary
[1]WACC marked fifty years since the establishment of the organization in 1968.
- 2015
Fifth GMMP research round
[1]The fifth Global Media Monitoring Project research round involved hundreds of volunteers in 114 countries.
- 2009
Communication principles updated
[1]WACC updated its Christian Principles of Communication to reflect continuing developments in its rights-based approach.
- 1995
Global Media Monitoring Project begins
[1]WACC launched the first edition of the recurring international study examining the representation of women in news media.
- 1986
Christian Principles of Communication adopted
[1]WACC adopted a statement of communication values shaped in part by liberation theology and an emphasis on poor and marginalized communities.
- 1975
Merger created the present organization
[1]The earlier WACC merged with the World Council of Churches' Agency for Christian Literature Development, forming the organization that became the present WACC.
- 1968
World Association for Christian Communication founded
[1]An earlier form of WACC was established through cooperation among Christian communication organizations and related church bodies.
- 1950
Early Christian communication discussions
[1]Christian communicators from Europe and North America began developing shared guidance and discussions concerning the future of religious broadcasting.
Products and positioning
A Christian, internationally networked communications-rights organization that uses media, research, advocacy, and grassroots partnerships to promote inclusion, participation, gender equality, human rights, and social justice.
International media research · 1995
Global Media Monitoring Project
The Global Media Monitoring Project is WACC's best-known recurring research initiative. It uses coordinated volunteer monitoring to assess the presence, roles, and representation of women in news media. Conducted at intervals since 1995, the project produces comparative evidence that can be used by journalists, researchers, advocates, and policy organizations in debates about gender equality and media accountability. The 2015 edition included 114 countries, and the 2020 edition examined more than 30,000 stories from 116 countries.
Advocacy and knowledge platform
Centre for Communication Rights
The Centre for Communication Rights is a WACC platform for promoting research, educational material, and advocacy related to communication rights. Its subject areas include media freedom, access to information, digital civil rights, inclusive participation, and the relationship between communication and social development. It extends WACC's work beyond individual projects by making analysis and resources available to wider networks concerned with media and human rights.
Civil-society partnerships and grants
Grassroots communication projects
WACC supports communication projects led by or developed with grassroots civil-society organizations, mainly but not exclusively in the Global South. The work can involve community media, indigenous communication, gender and media, human rights, networking, training, and access to information. The model emphasizes local participation and the ability of communities to communicate their own experiences and priorities.
Marketing campaigns
- 1995Global Media Monitoring Project
Global
WACC's international monitoring initiative brings together volunteer teams to examine gender representation in news media and to provide evidence for media reform and equality advocacy.
Outcome. The project became a recurring global research program, with later rounds conducted across more than one hundred countries.
Brand decisions
1986
Adoption of Christian Principles of CommunicationStrategyBackground
WACC sought to define the ethical and social principles underlying its communication work, including its concern for poor and marginalized communities.
Action taken
The organization adopted a principles statement informed in part by liberation theology and a rights-based understanding of communication.
Aftermath
The principles became a reference point for WACC's advocacy, partnerships, and interpretation of communication as a means of participation and social justice; they were updated in 2009.
1975
Merger with the Agency for Christian Literature DevelopmentM&ABackground
Rapid changes in mass media and the desire to integrate related Christian communication and literature work created a case for organizational consolidation.
Action taken
WACC merged with the World Council of Churches' Agency for Christian Literature Development, creating the organization that developed into present-day WACC.
Aftermath
The merger broadened the organization's institutional base and helped move its work beyond religious broadcasting toward wider communication and development concerns.
Sources2 sources
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