The ALC news agency was constituted in Quito, Ecuador in May, 1994 and began its news service activities in March, 1995. The active associated and supporting organizations are:

• The Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI)
• The Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches of Latin America and the Caribbean (CIEMAL)
• The Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America (AIPRAL)
• The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC-Latin America Region)
• The Regional Ecumenical Center for Consultancy and Services (CREAS) and
• Lutherans United in Communication (LUC)

MISSION OF ALC

• To offer information and analysis to religious and secular news media about the social-ecclesial reality, development and human rights in Latin America and other regions of the world.
• Provide the ecclesiastical and Christian ministries leadership with information for the better accomplishment of their pastoral work, as well as the strengthening of their influence and impact on society.
• Be a space for dialogue on social-ecclesial themes and the exchanging of experiences.

 
VISION
ALC is positioned in the socio-ecclesial information market. It is a leading news agency in the field of information and socio-religious analysis in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is an information channel serving the networks of interchange and cooperation existent between different churches and specialized Christian ministries.

CORPORATE VALUES
The basic principle is faithfulness to the values of the Kingdom of God. Within this perspective, the agency affirms its commitment to the truth, the protection of life, the validity of human rights and the prevalence of justice.

It seeks to affirm democratic values, gender equality, the overcoming of violence and the respect of differences. It seeks to contribute to making information democratic and defends the right of the citizens to reliable information.

OFFER
ALC is a space for information and communications of the churches, specialized ministries, cooperation agencies and the public in general.

Through its web site, it offers information and documentation about the presence and incidence of the churches in Latin America and the Caribbean, and other regions of the world. It publishes some five news stories daily (news, articles, interviews) in Spanish, Portuguese and English.  It also distributes these news stories daily free of charge by e-mail to its subscribers, keeping in mind the preferences each subscriber indicated in their subscription request, having to do with the countries where the news stories originate, religious affiliation and themes of interest.

The agency understands communication as being a participatory interchange. As a result of that concept, it publishes other sites on the web in "Also visit" and maintains the "Reader's opinion" and "Agenda" blocks.

In "Reader's opinion," additional comments and reflections elaborating on the published news stories, articles and interviews, and the themes mentioned are appreciated. In "Agenda," there is a special interest in the events having to do with the ecumenical organizations and the churches associated with the organizations that support the agency.

RECIPIENTS
Access to the web-site is free in all three languages. Also free of charge is the e-mail service, both to institutional as well as personal subscriptions. The only requirement is the filling in of the subscription request form, indicating the information asked for as well as the preferences with regard to the agency's news information wished to be received.

The agency is directed toward leaders of ecumenical organizations, lay leaders and the ministers and ministerial candidates of all the churches, the communications departments of the churches and communities, the religious leaders acting in the civil society and the various actors of the civil society.

SOURCES
The agency has an operational structure with editors for each of the three languages and a wide network of correspondents in nearly all of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Other appreciated sources are the ecumenical organizations and the churches themselves who send their news contributions.

CONTACTS

Director:	Enrique R. Zerbin Luis María Campos 152 piso 4, depto. A 1425 Buenos Aires - Argentina Tel. (+54) 11 4772 3123 E-mail: director@alcnoticias.org
Portuguese editor:	Edelberto Behs Rua Ernesto Silva, 83/301 93042-740 - São Leopoldo - RS - Brasil Telefone: (+55) 51 3592 0416 E-mail: editorportugues@alcnoticias.org
Spanish editor:	Claudia Florentin Olazábal 2842 1428 Buenos Aires - Argentina Tel. (+54) 11 4784-7121 Fax (+54) 11 5411 4784 7121 E-mail: editora@alcnoticias.org
English editor:	Geoffrey Reeson Casilla 17-16-95 - Quito - Ecuador Tel. (+593) 2244 6189 E-mail: editoringles@alcnoticias.org