Intensive two-week course, Institute on Human Rights (IHR), will commence shortly

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.

12 May 2021

 

CHIANG MAI: The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA)’s new initiative, the Institute on Human Rights (IHR), an intensive two-week course, will commence on Monday, 17 May 2021.

Under the theme ‘Being Defenders of Human Rights and Human Dignity’, the training course is designed to cover a wide range of human rights topics including the principles of human rights and human dignity from Christian theological perspectives, as well as international human rights instruments and protection mechanisms.

Emphasising the importance of IHR–2021, Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the General Secretary of the CCA stated, “In a world that is rife with gross human rights violations and is marred by a divisive and discriminatory socio-political climate, we are called to combat this epidemic of human rights violations and reiterate our commitment to uphold the values of human dignity while establishing a culture of human rights.”

The CCA General Secretary added that the Institute on Human Rights is a unique opportunity facilitated by CCA for young people, especially pastors and church workers, to be empowered and equipped with the knowledge and skills required to be defenders of human rights in their communities.

Twenty-nine students selected from across Asia and beyond will attend the IHR–2021.

The IHR–2021 will be facilitated by fifteen resource persons comprising internationally acclaimed human rights educators, human rights defenders, social scientists, and legal luminaries who have specialised in international human rights laws, human rights protection mechanisms, and international human rights advocacy.

Prominent members of faculty include Prof. Vitit Muntarbhorn (UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok); Prof. Faizan Mustafa (Vice-Chancellor, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India); Basil Fernando (former UN human rights education trainer in Cambodia, and Director of Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong), Prof. Dr Sarasu Esther Thomas (Registrar, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India); Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza (Theological educator and General Secretary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines); Sr. Elaine Seow (Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity of the Roman Catholic Church in Taiwan); Norma Dollaga (Kasimbayan Ecumenical Centre for Development, Philippines); Dr Matthias Reuss (UNHCR, Bangkok Regional Office);  Nicholas Booth (UNDP, Asia Regional Office ,Bangkok);  Doreen Buettner (UN Women, Asia Pacific Regional Office); Jennifer Philpot-Nissen (Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, World Council of Churches in Switzerland); Prof. Dr Reynaldo Racaza Ty (Professor of Political Science); Beverly Longid (International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self Determination and Liberation, Philippines);  Attorney  John Pattiwael (Child Rights Activist); and Dr Mathews George Chunakara (CCA).

The sessions of the IHR–2021 will conclude on 28 May 2021.