CCA Initiates New Program for Molding Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

First Preference:
General Secretariat (GS)
Second Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
11 April 2016

As part of a new program thrust focusing on ‘Building Peace and Moving beyond Conflicts’, the Christian Conference of Asia is initiating a series of trainings for young Asians to be ambassadors of peace with an aim to equip and motivate young people to be peacebuilders.

The main objective of the program is to create sustainable networks of young peace activists and volunteers as ambassadors of peace with increased levels of competence in working with and within conflict afflicted communities in Asia.

The new initiative will begin with the training of the first batch of Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA). YAPA training is to be held from 12 to 18 June 2016 at Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand and will bring together 25 young participants selected from various Asian countries.

According to Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the General Secretary of CCA, “as young people are the next generation of leaders at every level in society, CCA believes that young people in Asia can be prospective agents of positive changes who can perform in effective roles in peacemaking, and as such, YAPA is geared towards identifying, training and multiplying more young peacemakers in Asia”.

The coordinators of YAPA, Rev. Dedi Pardosi and Miss Angela Kim said that “the training will provide opportunities for young Asians to be in more robust dialogue on issues of conflict resolution and peace building, and participants will be equipped with tools for advocacy, lobbying, consultation and meditation for building peace”.

The training modules have been designed to enable young Asians to promote and create a culture of peace in their home communities and beyond.

The proposed YAPA training will be continued on an annual basis for the next four years, and an Asia Youth Assembly on Peace in Asia (AYAPA) will be the culminating event.  

Invitations for nominations are being sent out to CCA member churches and councils. CCA welcomes all members to nominate strong candidates between the ages of 20-30 with strong motivation and prior background in peacemaking processes in their local contexts to participate in the training.