With millions of people globally on the run and the biggest displacement of people the world has ever seen, the refugee and migrant crises are key topics at the Crisis Publishing Initiative Oct. 15 – 18, 2017, in Sopron, Hungary.

In a plenary session and three workshops the crisis will be examined from all sides by a Christian researcher and author, a senior news editor, and the head of a refugee ministry.

The Crisis Publishing Initiative is for Christians in publishing on the front lines, as they seek to find the truth in chaotic situations and publish the information their readers need in order to respond to crises as those called to be light and salt in a fractured world.

The current refugee crisis is affecting many of their readers.

Patrick Johnstone, strategist, futurologist, and author, will present one of the plenary sessions discussing the astonishing growth of the migrant population throughout the world over the last 50 years, and exploring implications for releasing and receiving countries. He will point out likely future trends, highlighting the inevitability of a continuing challenge in migration. And he will suggest reliable sources of information and action plans to encourage Christians, challenge social attitudes, influence secular authorities, and impact society as a whole.

Johnstone is the author of Operation World, Serving God in a Migrant Crisis, The Future of the Global Church, and The Church is Bigger than You Think, among other books. He retired as WEC international regional director of Europe in 2014.

Johnstone will also present a workshop on “The Future of Migration: Preparing for Both the Expected and the Unexpected.” He will explore how global politics, the civil war within Islam, water crises, global warming, and volcanoes may be expected to continue to affect migration patterns throughout the world.

Attendees of the session “Covering the Refugee Crisis (Respectfully)” will learn what International Association for Refugees President Tom Albinson wishes journalists would do differently, as well as what Christianity Today Senior News Editor Jeremy Weber has learned to do differently based on interviews in eight refugee camps in Iraq, Lebanon, and Greece.

The workshop will cover how to balance the needs and expectations of both reporters and refugees, as well as protecting sources from retribution, dealing with uncooperative or overwhelmed government entities and humanitarian organizations, and telling refugees’ stories in ways that break through the Internet’s information overload to connect with readers’ minds and hearts.

Weber is the senior news editor at Christianity Today, where he manages a team of journalists producing international religion news focused on evangelical/ Protestant Christianity for Christianity Today magazine and Gleanings, a daily blog, serving Christian thought leaders. An award-winning journalist based in Chicago, Weber has recently reported from India, Lebanon, Iraq, Cuba, and South Sudan, among other countries.

As president and founder of International Association for Refugees, Albinson has provided leadership and ministry support to teams serving forcibly displaced people in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Malta, New Zealand, Sudan, Turkey, the UK, and the USA. He is Ambassador for Refugees, Displaced and Stateless People for the World Evangelical Alliance and is a founding member of the Refugee Highway Partnership, a growing international network of churches and Christian agencies serving refugees and forcibly displaced people.

Albinson will also present “A fresh perspective on covering displaced people.” This workshop will discuss a biblically-informed view of forced displacement and a global perspective on refugee ministry. Through first-hand experience in a variety of international contexts, Albinson exposes a neglected lens through which to view the crisis of displacement and a fresh angle for journalists to consider in covering refugee ministry.

Other topics to be discussed include how to cover Christian persecution, natural disasters, and war zones, as well as tools for reporters and editors, tips on how to stay safe, photograph crises, and deal with secondary trauma.

Only a few days are left to take advantage of the 15% discount from the regular registration fee of $450. The “Early Bird Special” discounted registration fee is $380, and is available until July 15, 2017.

by Jennifer Howard, communications director

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