On 1st January 2020, Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen started his job as new General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Fortunately, he agreed to an interview with ICCS, organisation in partnership of the CEC.

ICCS: What was your motivation to become General Secretary of the CEC?
Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen: I have a long work history with ecumenical matters and matters of the mission of the church in various forms. The expression “unity in diversity” is guiding for my ecumenical journey and I always found myself enriched through encounters with people or traditions different from my own. I have also come to learn my own Lutheran tradition better via ecumenical encounters. In CEC, combining this personal interest with my professional experience from a variety of managerial positions in church contexts is a hugely motivating factor.

ICCS: Now that you have started, what are your top three priorities as Secretary General?
Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen: My first and foremost priority is to be present in the Brussels secretariat, which has gone through quite a few substantial changes over the last years. Some fundamental decisions need to be taken on the organisation of the work and the secretariat. One of my most important roles as General Secretary is to support my staff in working towards our common goals and setting up good structures. Secondly, I would like to visit some of the Member Churches in order to get to know what they believe is the role for CEC in the 2020’ies. I hope in this way we will be able to increase a sense of ownership. Thirdly, I believe CEC needs to develop in the area of communication in order to enhance the much deserved visibility of its work and its unique voice in Europe and beyond.

ICCS: How do you plan to work together with the organisations in partnership? Where do you see their role within the CEC?
Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen: I have given quite some thought to the future role of CEC. In my view, CEC must take on the tasks on behalf of its Member Churches that no other organisation is able to take on. CEC is an organisation consisting of 114 Member Churches. Few other organisations can match that, which gives us some possibilities that must be exploited in the best way possible. This, however, does not mean that CEC would close in on itself. On the contrary. It makes partners and partnerships even more important. Mutual communication and interaction lets us do what we are best at and secures that we do not overlap one another.

ICCS: What do you expect from the recently established Thematic Groups? Especially the Thematic Group “education, democracy and diversity”?
Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen: Thematic Groups are a means to engage some of the skilled people and experts on certain issues from our Member Churches. It is my hope and expectation that the Thematic Groups can deepen the insights of the organisation and add to the quality of our work. “Education, democracy and diversity” are three areas where we see vast differences throughout Europe. The Thematic Group dealing with those will encounter an important task giving testimony to the situation as it is experienced from inside our Member Churches.

ICCS: Do you have any personal experience in the education sector?
Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen: For a brief period of four years, I served as an assistant professor at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, lecturing, supervising and coordinating international seminars and research projects. I thoroughly enjoyed the role as “trainer” in the broadest understanding of the word. Also seeing my students grow in understanding and form their own points of view on issues we discussed was a gift of a value that cannot be overestimated.

ICCS: Where do you see the main challenges in the education area?
Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen: At times I fear that education in our day and age is reduced to building skills and competences. To me education is certainly that – but also more than that. It is formation of the individual in the context of society. What is it to be a citizen? What does democracy require from me? How do I find my role and add to the community? All that is also part of education and should never be left out but be the cornerstone of what good education does to people.

Photo © Rune Lundø