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Southeast Asia Gender Justice and Social Transformation Workshop
Last Updated (Friday, 03 August 2018 16:42)
Gender injustices are violations of human rights
APAY Southeast Asia Gender Justice and Social Transformation Workshop
Participants of the APAY Southeast Asia Gender Justice and Social Transformation Workshop held in Manila, Philippines last June 26-30, 2018.
All forms of gender injustices are violations of human rights. This statement summarizes the learning and advocacy put forward by the participants of APAY Southeast Asia Gender Justice and Social Transformation Workshop held last June 26-30 , 2018 and locally hosted by the YMCA of Manila, Philippines. The participants comprising of lay leaders and staff from the National YMCA Movements of Cambodia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand strongly believe that personal and organizational actions must be geared towards resisting all forms of oppression, exploitation and discrimination against women.
The learning process started with self-reflection activities that focused on how each person has lived with the expectations on gender roles and responsibilities reinforced by various social institutions. Understanding on these personal experiences was followed-up by input presentation on the concepts of gender and situation of women in societies. Both these sessions affirm the current state of discrimination regarded to women in the region.
Among the injustices identified during the sharing of local/national realities include child marriage, women/girl trafficking, domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence, low salary of women, sexual exploitation, poor working conditions and limited participation of women in leadership roles. These realities were amplified during the dialogue with non-government organizations such as Migrante International and Gabriela that worked with grassroots women and girls in communities within and outside Philippines. The dialogue was combined with actual community visit and testimonials from women who were victims of exploitation and other forms of discrimination.
Migrante International is an active defender of the rights and welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) by raising public awareness on their plight and providing a critical analysis of the Philippine government’s labor export policy program as the main factor responsible for the commodification of Filipino workers. Gabriela on the other hand is a grassroots-based alliance of Filipino women that aims to build a strong women’s movement that fights for the rights of women against all forms of violence, discrimination, and oppression.
Read more: Southeast Asia Gender Justice and Social Transformation Workshop
Nov 5-30, 2018, 36th Advanced Studies Program
Last Updated (Wednesday, 27 June 2018 17:42)
June 27, 2018
The National General Secretaries and related Persons,
Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs
Dear Colleagues,
Greetings from APAY, Hong Kong.
We are pleased to inform you that the 36th Advanced Studies Program will be held during 5 – 30 November 2018 here in Hong Kong. The venue shall the YMCA Youth Village, Wu Kwai Sha, Ma On Shan, New Territories, Hong Kong.
Initiated in the year 1982, this is an advanced training program for the senior professional secretaries of the YMCAs of our region. The candidates should be a university graduate and have a least 3 years work experience in the YMCA’s core administration, at policy making level.
The main objectives of this month-long training is to enhance YMCA professional secretaries’ ability to critically analyze ongoing social processes, based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and develop the YMCA professionals who are mission-responsive, socially relevant and effective institutional leaders.
We urge you to nominate suitable YMCA professionals for the program. The candidates should read the program information carefully before applying for the course as well as comply with all the requirements as stated in the program information.
Limited amount of subsidies are available only for deserving candidates for air travel and participation fee, all participants need to pay the mandatory registration fee and green fee. Subsidy requests should be sent all with the applications forms.
Applications with required documents should reach APAY on or before 31 July 2018 and successful candidates shall be notified on or before 15 August 2018 by APAY.
If you have any queries or for details of this program please feel free to contact Duncan Chowdhury, our Executive Secretary for Programs at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for this purpose.
APAY Green Ambassadors Training Geared Towards Greener Future
Last Updated (Thursday, 07 June 2018 12:11)
With the objective of educating the YMCA youths the importance of climate change education and taking action on reducing carbon footprint emissions, the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY) and Sao Hin YMCA organized the 6th Green Ambassadors Training in Chiang Mai, Thailand last 6 – 11 May, 2018.
Read more: APAY Green Ambassadors Training Geared Towards Greener Future
Communiqué: Executive Committee Meeting, 14-18 March 2018, Hong Kong
Last Updated (Tuesday, 10 April 2018 17:55)
The Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY) held its annual Executive Committee Meeting from 14-18 March 2018 in Hong Kong. This year, 149 delegates from 21 movements and the Organising Committee of Luang Prabang YMCA, Laos in the Asia-Pacific region attended the meeting. Special guests included former APAY Presidents Philip Kwok, Chim Hou Yan and Park Jai Chang; partners from YMCAs of Canada and USA. There were also representatives of Y’s Men International, including its International President Elect, Moon Sang-Bong and International Secretary General, Takao Nishimura, to have a Y’s-Y joint partnership meeting during the ECM.
The ECM is meeting at a very crucial time in the Asia Pacific. Despite seemingly significant economic developments that have taken place in many countries, poverty, conflicts, human rights abuses, and geopolitical tensions continue to remain as serious challenges for the people. The recently concluded Winter Olympics brought some rays of hope for peace in Northeast Asia. Beginning with a combined North-South Korean sports team, the sports diplomacy developed further into dialogues between officials from North and South Koreas. And now, we look forward with expectations and prayers that warmer peace will emerge from the meeting between North Korea and the USA. We believe it is critical time – a Kairos time – for us who wish a world governed by genuine peace to act for peace-building with a sense of urgency and APAY is called upon to respond proactively.
The Challenge 21 clearly states the two imperatives both on ‘peace-building’ and ‘conflict resolution’ as follows:
- Fostering dialogue and partnership between people of different faiths and ideologies and recognising the cultural identities of people and promoting cultural renewal
- Seeking to be mediators and reconcilers in situations of conflict and working for meaningful participation and advancement of people for their own self-determination.
Within these contexts, the meeting started with one day of learning sessions to enhance the social relevance of the YMCAs.
Read more: Communiqué: Executive Committee Meeting, 14-18 March 2018, Hong Kong
International Conference in Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the “88 Declaration” of the NCCK
Last Updated (Tuesday, 10 April 2018 15:14)
With the theme “Cultivating Peace, Proclaiming Hope”, International Conference in Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the “88 Declaration” of the NCCK was held in Seoul, South Korea on 5 – 7 March 2018. The objectives of the conference were: 1) to reflect 30 years’ foot-print of the Korean Church’s reunification movement; 2) to articulate theological vision on peaceful reunification of Korea; 3) to develop a middle-to-long term strategy and action plans for peace and reunification in Korea; 4) to strengthen the ties between the Korean Church and ecumenical partner churches/organizations; 5) to renew our commitment to the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace (PJP) initiated by the WCC, and 6) to articulate a theological vision and hope for peace-making on the national, regional and global level.
There were about 130 participants from different church denominations and ecumenical organizations – over 40 overseas participants and over 80 domestic participants. Mr. Nam Boo-Won, GS of APAY, was invited as part of ecumenical partners that are committed to peace-building in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. The conference program was comprised of opening worship; intergenerational talk on people’s stories living in a divided nation including the story of Dr. David Suh who had been the chief editor of the 88 Declaration three decades ago; keynote addresses from NCCK and WCC; panel presentations and group discussions; and closing worship. At the end of the conference, participants unanimously adopted a Communique of the Conference as follows:
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