24 June 2018

30 years Charter of Groningen and the INLIA Foundation

In 1988 a covenant of local religious communities from several European countries was created. It was called the ‘Charter of Groningen’ after the place where it was written. To support these churches in their work to help asylumseekers in need the INLIA Foundation was set up in the same year.

The abbreviation INLIA stands for 'International Network of Local Initiatives with Asylumseekers'. The Foundation functions as a service desk for local church communities in all matters concerning refugees and provides assistance and shelter to asylumseekers in need.

To commemorate the 30^th anniversary of both the Charter and the INLIA Foundation, a three day event was organised in Groningen 22-24 June. Below you will find a short impression of the programme on Friday 22^nd of June:

Special guest was Dr Pietro Bartólo from Lampedusa, who was awarded The Living Stone by INLIA in October 2016.

And the next video shows a summary of the ecumenical, international service that took place in the Martini Church in Groningen on Sunday morning 24^th of June:

With a procession of candles from all the provinces in the Netherlands and from the international refugee community, the 'candle relay' that started on the 7th of April came to its conclusion.

You can see short videos of the candle relay in churches across the Netherlands on the INLIA YouTube channel.

More information:

Considering the Charter of Groningen - 30 years - a Mission Statement
Full text of the Charter of Groningen

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