Ecumenical Youth and Women Assemblies-AEYA and AEWA, to be held in conjunction with 15th CCA General Assembly

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.

31 May 2023

Chiang Mai, Thailand: The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) will organise the Asian Ecumenical Women’s Assembly (AEWA) and the Asian Ecumenical Youth Assembly (AEYA) as part of the pre-Assembly events in conjunction with the 15th CCA General Assembly, which will be held in Kottayam, India, from 27 September to 4 October 2023. 

The AEWA–2023 and the AEYA–2023 will be held in Kottayam, India, from 25 September to 29 September 2023. 

The AEWA–2023 theme ‘Asian Women: Journeying Towards Renewal and Restoration of God's Creation’ is a clarion call for Asian women to deepen their ecumenical commitment and engagement in their journey towards the renewal and restoration of creation. It hopes to build collaboration and solidarity among churches and ecumenical movements toward working for environmental and climate justice and defending the integrity of God's creation.

AEWA–2023 aims to bring together about 100 women participants, including the official voting women delegates representing member churches and councils of CCA, women secretaries of the national councils of churches, representatives of the women’s ministries or programmes of Indian churches, ecumenical partners, and delegated observers from member churches and ecumenical organisations.

The AEYA–2023 theme ‘Asian Youth Affirming Renewal and Restoration of God’s Creation’ will recognise the unique and special role of young people as agents of transformation and hope in the renewal and restoration of creation. Asian youth are well placed to address the world’s most pressing environmental problems as they are intimately connected to their local communities and have a deep understanding of the cultural, social, and economic contexts in which they live. 

AEYA–2023 will bring together about 100 youth participants, including the official voting youth delegates representing member churches and councils of CCA, youth secretaries of the national councils of churches, youth leaders from Indian churches, ecumenical partners, special visitors, and Assembly stewards.

Those who are interested in attending the AEWA–2023 or AEYA–2023 must fill up the online Registration Form: https://forms.gle/rZYFeZMJhb7DYnpL7 

Please note that only those registrations that are supported with an official letter of recommendation or endorsement from the sending church/council or organisation/institution will be considered. The deadline for registrations is 13 June 2023. Those who are selected to attend will be informed via email. 

For queries, please write to [email protected].