‘The impact of COVID-19 Crisis on Women in Asia and Post-crisis Recovery’ will be the focus of CCA’s fifth virtual conference

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.

18 May 2020

The fifth in a series of virtual conferences (webinars) hosted by Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic will be focused on the theme, ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Women in Asia: Vital Needs and Post-Crisis Recovery’.

Scheduled for 21 May 2020 (Thursday) from 12:00 to 14:00 (12 PM to 2 PM) Bangkok (Thailand) time, the webinar will discuss the magnitude, impact, and challenges faced by Asian women in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

The discussions will examine the way in which people and communities in different countries and regions in Asia are responding to the vulnerable situation of women amidst the pandemic. The panellists will also analyse the possibilities of addressing this context of distress and deprivation, and explore viable ways of ensuring that the vital needs of women are met in the midst of the pandemic.  They will also be envisioning the design of post-crisis recovery in Asia.

The discussions of the webinar will be led by an expert group of panellists comprising representatives of the United Nations’ Women’s division, human rights and civil society organisations, as well as church and ecumenical women’s organisations in Asia. Melissa Alvarado (UN Women Asian Pacific); Maya Dania (Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand/Indonesia); Basil Fernando (Asian Human Rights Commission-AHRC/Hong Kong); Rev. Diana Tana (Vice Moderator, CCA/New Zealand); Sotheavy Srey (Alliance for Conflict Transformation-ACT, Cambodia); Rev. Kyrie Kim (Chairperson of CCA Programme Committee/South Korea); Nirmala Gurung (YWCA Asia/Nepal); and Deekshya Illangasinghe (South Asians for Human Rights-SAHR/ Sri Lanka) will lead the webinar.

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

Those who are interested in participating in the webinar may register by clicking on this link – https://forms.gle/5pvSsdAYQXfkc1Zo8

For additional details, please go through the concept note below –
The Impact of COVID-19 crisis on Women in Asia 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: