Webinar on ‘Towards Wider Partnerships for Combating Trafficking in Women and Girls amidst COVID-19’

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).

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26 September 2020

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) will organise a webinar titled ‘Towards Wider Partnerships for Combating Trafficking in Women and Girls amidst COVID-19’ as part of its efforts to highlight human trafficking and modern-day slavery that have been exacerbated since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Scheduled for Thursday 1 October 2020 from 12:00 to 14:00 (12 PM to 2 PM) Bangkok, Thailand time, the webinar will discuss the challenges of the post-COVID-19 era and aims to call for the partnership of women’s organisations, United Nations agencies as well as faith based organisations in Asia for joint actions and advocacy to combat trafficking in women and girls.

The discussions will address the impact of COVID-19 on trafficking in persons, hear country-specific contexts of trafficking in women and children, share responses and best practices in combating trafficking in persons in Asia. It is also expected to propose renewed efforts of advocacy and collaboration among civil society organisations and faith based groups at the grassroots.

The debilitating healthcare crisis and the ensuing economic chaos wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has driven at least 70 million people into extreme poverty.  This will force desperate labourers to accept risky job offers or high-interest loans to ensure mere survival, thus creating exploitative situations in which human traffickers thrive.

As migrant workers are stranded in destination countries, with no access to renewing their legal permits and visas, the threat of ‘un-documentation’ can also push people into being trafficked.

An expert group of panellists comprising representatives from the United Nation’s Women’s ( UN Women) division and other renowned international NGOs, human rights and civil society organisations, as well as church and ecumenical women’s organisations in Asia will facilitate discussions at the webinar. The panel includes Gaelle Demolis (UN Women Asia-Pacific); Peppi Siddiq (International Organisation on Migration); Bandana Pattanaik (Global Alliance against Trafficking in Women); Rupa Pradhan Chhetri (Mukti Network, Nepal); Rev. Sol Villalon (United Methodist Church, Philippines); and Rev. Dr Lintje Pellu (Communion of Churches in Indonesia -PGI).

Rev. Diana Tana, Vice Moderator 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/1aAne6n9nmJSDUnL7

For additional details, please go through the background information sheet below:

Towards Wider Partnerships...Webinar - Concept Note

Registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.