Veritas Forums began at Harvard University, the motto of which is Veritas (truth). The initiator, Kelly Monroe Kullberg, was concerned that study and research in Universities were becoming too specialised and that students and lecturers were no longer debating big issues in an interdisciplinary way … including input from Christians.

Over the three consecutive evenings of the Veritas Forum, Christians and non-Christians debate in public and answer questions from the floor concerning some of the greatest issues of today.

Impact

We have held four Veritas Forum events in France since 2008, and we believe we have contributed to making Christianity more plausible in the very secular context of the French University. Several well-known philosophers and other leaders have agreed to take part in these debates, and the Universities have allowed us to organise the events on their premises because the meetings are open debates between people of different opinions. This year in Nice a total of 570 people attended the meetings.

Stories

• I was the local coordinator for the Veritas Forum in Strasbourg. It was the first time that I was had worked for such a project, and it was a great experience. I had to motivate, supervise and encourage students in their tasks. I really appreciate this work, and I have learned to be a multi-tasker  (coordinating tasks, contacting the University, churches, sponsors…). I discovered many aspects of working in a Christian context, sometimes it was stimulating and sometimes it was stressful. When a situation became difficult, it reminded me that I could not control everything, God would provide!  Emilie – Local coordinator in Strasbourg.

• In Nice one non-Christian student waited almost all day outside the lecture theatre to be sure of getting a seat for the debate. Pierre – Local coordinator in Nice

• “What is my vision of the world which enables me to interpret my observations? Isn’t there a certain arrogance in thinking that my opinion is better than someone else’s unless there is a valid basis for doing so? The Christian has adopted a world view which comes from God’s revelation in the Bible” – a Christian speaker at the Veritas Forum in Nice.

IVCF USA, IVCF Canada, UCCF England, IFES Nederland and GBU France have used Veritas Forums in their National Movements. If you are interested in knowing more about the Veritas Forum contact David Brown, General Secretary of GBU France (david.brown@gbu-france.org) or Bert den Hertog, General Secretary of IFES Nederland (bert@ifes-nederland.nl).

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