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에큐메니컬, YMCA/YMCA

Mandate of the 20th General Assembly - Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs

by yunheePathos 2019. 10. 7.

Mandate of the 20th General Assembly
Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs
3 – 6 September 2019
Tozanso, Gotemba, Japan
“Living Together Within Nature on a Path to Peace”
The 20th General Assembly and the 4th Youth Assembly of the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY) were held from 1 – 6 September 2019 in Tokyo and Tozanso, Japan. The 377 delegates including 130 youth delegates from 22 countries, met to evaluate APAY’s programs for the past four years and to discuss the future directions of the movement in the next quadrennium and beyond.
Based on the theme, “Living Together Within Nature on a Path to Peace,” the Assembly focused primarily on the issue of environment protection and peace restoration. The keynote presentation emphasized on the need to work for a peace culture by holding on to the goal of universal health and well-being, and the non-violent resolution of conflicts to the satisfaction of all parties. The YMCAs were challenged to consider two immediate tasks: one, to abandon industrial agriculture, radically reduce reliance on petroleum, and build self-supporting and sustainable communities by working with and not against nature; and two, to engage in a campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. YMCAs were also urged to focus less on money, and more on a common mission, larger than the YMCA itself. To do this, we must look to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
The delegates engaged themselves in various discourses/discussions and reconfirmed their conviction to continue their efforts in addressing the regional/global issues through the YMCA actions at local, national and regional level.
Christian Foundation of the YMCA
The Christian faith was core to the founding of the YMCA movement. 175 years later, within the multi-religious and multi-cultural regional contexts, how does YMCA retain/deepen the Christian foundation in a more relevant and dialogical way? The YMCAs were encouraged to re-introduce Bible Studies using contextualization of the scripture as well as understanding different expressions through the YMCA, with a view to seeking new common ground on which to identify the main tasks of the YMCAs. Our experiences, beliefs and actions must be aligned in order to result in the transformation of communities and the empowering of youth. YMCAs are challenged to evaluate whether we were market-driven or mission-directed.
With human failure, creation is destroyed; with human response to restore, creation is sanctified. The challenge for the YMCA is to craft a new worldview, where we are called to serve, with a sense of urgency, the process of restoration towards peace and sustainability.
Strategic Vision of APAY
We envisage a world in the future 25 years from now to be an efficient world dominated by automation technology and Artificial Intelligence. YMCA will need to play a role where humanizing encounters and experiences will still be valued.
We envisage a world where natural resources of the earth will be seriously depleted, ecology and ecosystem seriously challenged. The YMCA will need to be at the forefront of the battle against Climate Change and promoting low-carbon lifestyle and sustainable travel.
In a world that is increasingly fragmented along racial, religious lines, YMCAs are being called to provide education of youth in a holistic nature and inclusive way through e-platforms and other conventional means. The YMCAs in the Asia and Pacific region commit to work further on the critical issues in the region particularly on interfaith cooperation, environmental conservation, peace and reconciliation.
Youth Empowerment
Committed to Challenge 21, particularly on: “Empowering of all especially young people and women…”, it remains to be the strength of the movement. This strength sprang from the identity of the YMCA that is rooted on its Christian character as an ecumenical movement, and is geared towards human development particularly for youth, women, and children. This identity is challenged to be more reflective of Jesus Christ’s examples by living the heart of YMCA’s mission for justice, community development and social transformation.
Thus, a greater call for this to respond sustainably to the increasing needs and issues at a grassroot level such as: a) Women and children’s rights; b) Gender equality c) Environmental protection and conservation; d) Protection and inclusion of minorities; d) Poverty; e) Mental Health, and; g) Participation and Leadership development, remain to be at the forefront of the youth’s concern. Therefore, the young people call on APAY to continue education and awareness program on pertinent issues at the grassroots level, organize projects and programs that respond to the issues of the communities, network with other organizations for effective results/impacts, ensuring participatory development process and engagement.
Good Governance
The YMCA will endeavor to promote good governance ensuring accountability and transparency in its dealings with its management and movement, taking into consideration the changing trends and needs of its stakeholders, communities and society at large. We commit to ensuring that, as true stewards of God-given mission, it is concomitant on our part to make our YMCAs genuinely accountable and response-able in our governance as ‘collective leadership’.
Good governance practices at the YMCA will be based on Participation, Accountability and Transparency model, forming the three pillars of our entire operations, thus (i) providing participatory decision-making process for the stakeholders; (ii) transparent and accountable framework of operations aimed at consensus building; (iii) ensuring a strategic vision with a long term perspectives on human development and a deep understanding of the cultural, historical and social complexities; (iv) policies and practices based on ethical principles; and (v) Elimination of the conflict of interests.
Gender Justice
The commitment for Gender Justice remains to be an important matter in the YMCA specially that the Asia and Pacific is a diverse region, and response on the promotion of Gender Equity should be taken more on a community-specific approach. It is affirmed that the quest for the elimination of discrimination and promotion of an inclusive society requires a collaborative undertaking irrespective of sex and gender. The YMCAs will continue to establish an inclusive environment by creating policies that does not discriminate gender and develop a mechanism that addresses gender issues, such as sexual harassment. We need to increase dialogue and discussions on different perspectives about gender including the non-binary perspective of gender.
Disaster Response
The changes brought by climate change increase vulnerability of the peoples and communities in Asia and the Pacific region to disaster. In dealing with this, it is imperative to contextualize the concerns in order to have a community-specific approach, and to consider the movements’ capacity including its resources. The APAY commits to strengthening its response on disaster management, highlighting the importance of mitigation in reducing the risks. The APAY emphasizes conducting proper assessment including stakeholders’ power analysis, and increase multi-stakeholders’ partnership in response to the issues. To be emphasized as well is to increase capacity-building programs for national movements by partnering with like-minded organizations. It is highly recommended for national movements to assign a focal person on disaster response program.
Global Alternative Tourism Network and Social Entrepreneurship
Tourism has become major component of the global economy and currently mass scale tourism dominates the industry. Some of the major concerns of the mass scale tourism are over-tourism, high carbon and high water footprint, environment pollution and unfair distribution of profits. It is evident that mass scale tourism is unsustainable and unjust. Thus, we are called upon to promote Global Alternative Tourism Network (GATN) initiative and to promote sustainable and responsible means of tourism by continuing training for the YMCAs particularly young people, improve networking among YMCAs and encourage YMCAs to operate GATN as social enterprises for the benefit of the local communities.
Ecological Concerns and Climate Change
Climate Action is a priority for APAY and as movement focussed on youth empowerment, it is important for YMCAs to address Ecological Concerns and Climate Change Education in the communities. Special focus needs to be given to youth and children so that they are empowered to take initiatives towards Low Carbon Society. The YMCAs are also urged to create and implement Green Policies, Green Team as well as establish mechanism that promotes green lifestyles in the YMCAs and advocacy on combatting climate change. The YMCAs in the region commit to reducing the carbon emissions and taking effective steps to become carbon neutral by 2030. The YMCAs need to be environmentally sensitive when conducting events conducive towards the protection of the environment, using no plastic and being paperless.
Interfaith Cooperation Forum
Conflict will always be around. It is complex and it emerges from the interconnection of the cultural and structural violence that result in physical violence. As such, a peacebuilder must consider people’s attitudes, systems and structures that breed violence. The challenge, therefore, is on how peacebuilder accompanies those who are in the process of peacebuilding. Strategic peacebuilding is a long-term construction of peaceful and stable societies grounded on justice and restoration of relationships. Thus, APAY will continue its journey of inter-faith and inter-ideological dialogue and cooperation for building communities based on justice, peace and compassion.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The YMCA, as a global movement, has accepted the SDGs as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for its many stakeholders. The YMCAs, being a part of the civil society, do have great role to play in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The YMCAs of our region are already involved in realizing these goals through their existing programs. However there is need to map these initiatives at regional and global level, and network with other like-minded CSOs in achieving these goals. APAY is committed to eradicating poverty and inequality based on sustainable development with utmost care for the environment.
YMCA -Y’s Men Partnership Building
The forum was the place for sharing success stories in partnership building between YMCA and YMI and to find out how best the partnership can be further strengthened. The key point is to start and keep dialogues between leaders of local and national levels from both YMCA and YMI. For that, we need to find liaison persons of local and national levels where non-existing. Those YMCAs that have a good working relationship with local Y service clubs have seen mutual benefits for the growth of the two organizations. Several YMCA leaders at the forum have expressed great interests in partnering with Y’s Men’s Clubs in the respective territories. Both organizations were encouraged to work together and strengthen each other for mutual benefit towards achieving the common mission.
Student YMCAs
The students joining YMCA activities strongly affirm that in-depth learning about youth life and social realities are acquired through various interactions. The interactions created through various YMCAs programs and activities present an array of opportunities to connect with people and societies. Such approach to youth empowerment leads the youth to have an increased knowledge and a deepened understanding on social issues and a sense of responsibility to contribute to the development of communities. Thus, these platforms of interactions must be conducted to engage young students within the YMCA to participate in the process of social transformation. Recognizing Student YMCAs as a strong source for leadership development, YMCAs in the region will continue to strengthen Student YMCAs.
Current issues in the regional context
The APAY 20th General Assembly recognizes the current political tension between Japan and South Korea which is closely connected to peace and stability in our region. The YMCA is a movement committed to peace and reconciliation among peoples of different nations. Therefore, we urge the respective governments to overcome the situation in a peaceful and dialogical way. Furthermore, we encourage the YMCAs of Japan and Korea to be mediators and peacemakers in this trying time. Likewise, as called upon by Challenge 21, the APAY will continue to “seek to be mediators and reconcilers in situations of conflict, and work for meaningful participation and advancement of people for their own self-determination” in the regional context and realities.
 
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<the newly elected board members were: >
- President Prof. Chen Chin-Seng from Taiwan,
- Vice Presidents: Ms. Hanna Dunlop from New Zealand (Pacific), Mr. Chin Chung Philip Poon from Hong Kong (East Asia), Mr. Honorio Tan from the Philippines (South East Asia) and Mr. Raymond Areng from Bangladesh (South Asia).
- Treasurer Mr. Shin Dae-Kyun from South Korea,
- Board members: Ms. Nagako Okado from Japan and Ms. Panha Chhem from Cambodia.

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