CCA’s fourth virtual conference set to discuss ‘Upholding the Dignity and Rights of Children amidst COVID-19 Crisis’

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).

No preference updated.

15 May 2020

The Christian Conference of Asia’s (CCA) fourth virtual conference (webinar) is set to discuss ‘Upholding the Dignity and Rights of Children amidst the COVID-19 Crisis’. This is part of a series of webinars hosted and facilitated by the CCA in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual conference is scheduled for 19 May 2020 (Tuesday) from 12:00 to 14:00 (12 PM to 2 PM) Bangkok (Thailand) time. Six panellists representing UNICEF,  child rights’ activists networks in Asia as well as churches and ecumenical councils will lead the discussions.

While children have been largely spared the direct health effects of the COVID-19 virus up to this point, the crisis bears severe effects on their overall well-being. All children, of all ages and in all countries, could be catastrophically affected, in particular by the crisis’ socioeconomic consequences and in some cases by the mitigation measures implemented to stem the spread of the disease.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the General Secretary of the CCA, will initiate and facilitate the discussions.

Rachel Harvey, Regional Advisor on Child Protection, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office; John Pattiwael, (Indonesia), Coordinator, Asian Advocacy Network on Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC), a CCA-initiated ecumenical platform; Eule Rico Bonganay, (Philippines), Secretary General of the Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns; Rev. Kim Minji, (South Korea), Human Rights Centre of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK); Sharmila Sekarajasekaran, (Malaysia), Chairperson of Voice of the Children; and Stella Darshini, (Sri Lanka), Programme Manager of the National Christian Council in Sri Lanka will be the panellists.

Those who are interested in participating in the webinar may register by clicking on this link – https://forms.gle/wV5LffbAasLATM7J9

For additional details, please go through the concept note below –
Upholding the Dignity and Rights of Children amidst COVID-19 Crisis Concept Note

Since the webinar can accommodate only 90 participants, registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Reports of CCA’s previous webinars: