39th Advanced Studies Course- ASC, November 3- December 5, 2022

Last Updated (Tuesday, 06 December 2022 13:42)

Communique

Preamble

We, the participants of the 39th Advanced Studies Course (ASC), were held virtually via zoom from the 3rd – 18th of November 2022, followed by the in-person training sessions from the 20th of November to the 5th of December at the YMCA International Hotel, Chiang Mai, Thailand the backdrop of a post-Covid-19 era. Eleven (11) participants from eight (8) countries and 10 different YMCAs across Asia joined the ASC this year with the theme “Leadership and Mission – Towards YMCA Vision 2030”.

The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to affect most countries in 2022. However, due to our deepened understanding of the virus, more drugs and vaccines have been developed, resulting in a gradual decline in the death rate and the reduction of fear surrounding the virus. From the second half of the year, more Asian countries opened their borders, and the interaction between people resumed gradually, which made the in-person ASC possible.

We express our deep gratitude to the contributing facilitators and resource personnel from across Asia and, most of all, the leadership and Executive of APAY for taking up the challenge to conduct this important program virtually and in person.

Collective Learning & Reflection

The 39th ASC was a great learning space for all of us with online and in-person experience. We revisited the Mission and Vision of YMCA and explored with much enthusiasm on Ecumenism & Ecumenical Movements; Movement Strengthening & Relevancy; Good Governance; Interfaith cooperation for justice and peace in a multi-religious context; Gender Justice; Climate Change; Vision 2030; Economy of Life; contextual theology; youth leadership alongside a host of other topics have been introduced and discussed within the group. Learning creative liturgies; celebrating and respecting the diversity of the religions was a new experience for all.

We were privileged to have the opportunity to visit three communities in Chiang Mai (MAP Foundation, The HUG Project, and Urban Light) and learn about their work and commitments to the community. The visit to the Sao Hin YMCA was a meaningful experience to witness their implementations as a response to the climate crisis. There were many learnings for all of us that could be implemented at our YMCAs.

Apart from the curriculum, we had many more learnings from colleagues of different YMCAs as we stayed together discussing, listening and sharing our experiences.

The Advanced Studies Course has provided a platform for us as participants from diverse YMCAs to explore and develop a comprehensive understanding of the common challenges facing the Asia Pacific Region while also being equipped to seek and implement solutions through the YMCA. All these gave us a great challenge on how we as a movement need to respond.

Affirmation

We affirm the Paris Basis that acknowledges the foundational truth that we are a global organization built on Christian values. We are deeply conscious that YMCA in Asia strives to liberate from the colonial legacy of YMCA in our regions and remain deeply conscious of the effort of many decades to contextualize what YMCA means to us in our diverse and unique circumstances. We are encouraged that over the decades, the Paris Basis has been revisited and interpreted, preserving its core values being revitalized with relevance to current realities; and welcoming the chance for rejuvenation through Vision-2030. We accept that both Challenge 21 and Vision 2030 have a unique role in advancing YMCA ethos in our region.

We,

1. Declare the importance of YMCA in Asia doing more and working to include women and girls at all levels of the YMCA, recognizing that Challenge 21 intended to include all young people, irrespective of gender, to ensure that gender equality in our communities is achieved with the active participation of the YMCA.
2. Urges all YMCAs to be inclusive of young people and work to empower all young people irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, caste, creed, language, disability, heritage, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation and confirms that we will endeavour to do so in our roles within our YMCAs.
3. Appreciate the role YMCA has played throughout history to bring together diverse Christian denominations and support greater ecumenism and inter-faith cooperation as a key role of YMCA in Asia and the Pacific.
4. Accept that for many YMCAs, the need to discover a post-colonial identity is still a struggle and accordingly, invite the leaders in the many corners of our diverse region to come together both individually and collectively to understand what YMCA is to us in Asia, guided by the legacy of our collective action over the decades.
5. Recognize that the YMCA must do more to empower young people and welcome greater action to give spaces and platforms for young people to be a part of our dialogue and decision-making processes.
6. Endorse the important position the Asia-Pacific Alliance of YMCAs has taken concerning climate and action and applaud all efforts to protect our environment initiated by YMCAs in our region and worldwide while pledging to return to our local YMCAs with a renewed conscientiousness of environmental conservation and proactive climate action alongside the importance of ensuring our YMCAs are Carbon-Zero.
7. Reaffirm that we will return to our YMCAs with a comprehensive understanding and unquenchable passion for working to create a compassionate, equitable, and just society in line with the Christian values upon which all we do rests.

Conclusion

We thank God Almighty, by whose grace we were enabled to attend and complete the Advance Studies Course successfully. We return refreshed and enlightened on our roles in our YMCAs, where we will work to bring greater service to the community. We are made aware of social injustice and have better understood our call to alleviate that justice in a way that is both sustainable and in line with the greater ethos of our organization. We rejoice at the opportunity to share in fraternity and camaraderie with our colleagues across Asia. We have come to greater respect for the diversity in our language, customs, food habits, and YMCA's role in their respective regions. We also leave with a collective affirmation of the role we are to play upon our return and express our gratitude to the leadership and the Staff of the Asia Pacific Alliance of YMCAs who have endeavoured to give us this understanding. We are thankful to Chiang Mai YMCA, the staff and all who made our stay during the course pleasant. We firmly believe that the ASC will be a force of positive change in our local YMCAs.

↑ The Participants of the 39th Advanced Studies Course

APAY Staff

Nam Boo-Won, General Secretary, Asia Pacific Alliance of YMCAs
Sunita Suna, Executive Secretary for Programs, Asia Pacific Alliance of YMCAs
Monalisa Lopes, Assistant, 39th Advanced Studies Course