CCA’s third virtual conference will focus on ‘Right to Health 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.

    The Christian Conference of Asia’s (CCA) third virtual conference (webinar), initiated in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, will focus on the ‘Right to Health Amidst COVID-19 Crisis’. This is part of an ongoing series of webinars.

    Scheduled for Thursday, 14 May 2020 from 12:00 to 14:00 (12 PM to 2 PM) Bangkok time, the third CCA webinar will be led by a panel of medical health professionals from the United Nations (UN), Christian Medical Associations, and Christian hospital networks in Asia.

    The panel of experts will discuss various aspects related to health security measures required for every person to ensure an optimal response to public health threats and to challenges in combatting the spread of COVID-19 in Asia.

    The panellists will also examine the issue of human rights and human dignity amidst COVID-19, with special emphasis on achieving the right to health, accessing correct information, ensuring quarantines, lockdowns, and travel bans, complying with right-based norms, ensuring protection of health workers, and reducing stigma and discrimination without compromising confidentiality, while at the same time analysing how to secure the highest attainable standard of health for every human being.

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

    Dr Salil Panakadan, Regional Advisor of UNAIDS  Asia Pacific RST ; Stela Sacaliuc, Executive Officer of UNAIDS RST-Asia and Pacific; Dr Priya John, Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI); Dr Daniel Budi Wobowo, Indonesian Christian Association of Health Services (PELKESI); Dr Prawing Euonontat, Medical Ministry of the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT); Prof. Chiao-Chicy Chen, Health and Healing  Ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT); and Rev. Callum Tabada from the medical mission of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) will lead the webinar.

    Those who are interested in participating in the webinar may register by clicking on this link- https://forms.gle/nTsZemyVGwc79J16A

    For additional details, please go through the webinar’s concept note below-
    CCA Webinar Series - Right to Health amidst the COVID-19 Concept Note

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

    Link to Highlights of the CCA Webinar on 30 April 2020:
    Migrant workers bear the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis and its growing impacts, observe CCA webinar panellists
    https://youtu.be/zbubQAqIktM

    Link to Highlights of the CCA Webinar on 7 May 2020:
    Churches must serve as beacons of hope and compassion amidst COVID-19 crisis, urge Asian church leaders
    https://youtu.be/Ho3tGRKc4jg