Rev. Dr. Liberato Bautista
President, CoNGO
Welcoming Remarks & Closing Comment (Day 2)
== Biography ==
The Rev. Dr. Liberato Bautista's leadership roles in various organizations underscore his influence and impact. He is the President of CoNGO—The Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (2007-2011 and 2018-2025) and the Assistant General Secretary for UN and International Affairs of the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church. His previous roles include Chair of the Council of Organizations of the United Nations Association of the USA, Chair of the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN, and coordinator of human rights ministry at the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (1983-1992). He is a co-founder of the annual symposium on the role of religion and faith-based organizations in international affairs now in its eleventh year. Bautista has 45 years of experience as a civil society, religious, and ecumenical leader.

Bautista studied political science, history, and international studies at the University of the Philippines, as well as religion and society (social and political ethics) at Drew University (USA). He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was awarded the Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, by Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines. He has traveled to 80 countries worldwide, attending and presenting at major United Nations, ecumenical, interreligious, civil society, and academic conferences.
Bautista has lectured and taught in university, college, and seminary settings. Among his written and published essays and monographs are varied subjects, including international affairs; NGO and civil society dynamics; social and political ethics; theology and religion; religion, ecumenism, and interreligious concerns; human rights and human dignity; indigeneity, and Indigenous peoples; global and forced migration; ethical dimensions of information, communication, and digital technologies; and peace, justice, and social transformation.

For more information, see http://ngocongo.org/liberato-bautista-elected-new-president-of-congo and https://www.umcjustice.org/who-we-are/meet-the-staff/the-rev-dr-liberato-levi-bautista