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posted by Freddy at Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Being inclusive communities for all participating in eco-just peace movement

CCA Workshop on Asian Ecumenical Process
On Life and Peace for People with Disability
Seoul, Korea, June 9-13, 2006

Being Inclusive Communities for All
Participating in Eco-Just Peace Movement

Asia has had an extensive history of suffering and subjugation due to colonialism, war and currently neo-colonialism through economic and cultural globalization. Today, the cry for life in Asia has assumed new dimensions. Globalization, terrorism, ecological destruction and other structural forms of violence such as poverty, patriarchy, and racism pose new challenges for the Asian ecumenical movement. The new mandate of Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) for the coming years, that is from 2005 and 2010, : ?Building Communities of Peace for All? warrants fresh approaches to diakonal ministry in Asia. Responding to this new contextual challenge, the CCA-JID as the responsible cluster within the CCA has launched the Asian Ecumenical Diakonia Process on Healing and Reconciliation (AEDP-HR). This program has been designed with a view to enhancing the Web of Life in Asia. Healing and Reconciliation which form the foundations of a Just and Peaceful community, will serve as its overall thematic focus of this program. Within this overarching process three integrated processes are envisaged:

1. Asian Ecumenical Process on Ecology and Health (AEP-EH). This component of the program deals with issues such as health, healing, wholeness, HIV/AIDS, and Tourism issues from a holistic perspective in order to enhance the wholeness of the earth household (the oikoumene).

(2) Asian Ecumenical Process on Life and Peace (AEP-LP) addresses concerns of the uprooted people, the indigenous people, people with disabilities with a specific focus on enhancing people?s security and sovereignty for life and peace.

(3) Asian Ecumenical Process on Alternative Communities (AEP-AC) focuses on issues of globalization, sustainable development, life-giving agriculture, regional, national and global solidarity for promoting sustainable local economy of life in the region.

In pursuit of these objectives and goals, CCA-JID organized two major workshops, prior to this. The first workshop, held in Bangkok (2003) came up with an ecumenical agenda for Churches to be in Solidarity with Persons with Disability. The second workshop which coincided with the CCA general assembly in Chiang Mai (2005) made significant paradigmatic shifts in disability discourse, the major ones being the shift of focus from ?independence versus dependence? model to a perspective of ?interdependence?; and moving beyond the ?inclusive communities? model to one which locates persons with disabilities as leaders of movements for eco-justice.

In continued search of this agenda, the current workshop on Asian Ecumenical Process on Life and Peace for People with Disability proposes to take further the process of translating the issues raised in the previous two workshops into concrete plans of action. The CCA, WCC-EDAN, and the National Council of Churches in Korea have come together in partnership to realize this vision.

37 participants from various Asian countries and Africa (Kenya) took part in the workshop which was held at the Luce Center for the Global Church, Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Seoul, Korea, from June 9-13, 2006. 12 delegates represented different Asian countries and the others were from Korea.

The Asian Context vis-à-vis Disability

The workshop received reports from various Asian countries that highlighted the problems the regions are faced with in terms of disability concerns. We were alerted to the fact that about 15-20 percent of poor people living in the developing world, suffer from some form of disability. 60 percent of the world?s disabled people live in Asia. This is in comparison with 13% in Africa, 12% in Europe, 9% in Latin America, 5% in North America and 1% in the Pacific region. We have come to recognize that churches and governments in some Asian countries are more alert to this issue than others and that most countries have a long way to go in waking up to the reality of disability and the challenges it raises. We also acknowledged the importance of exchange programs among the region whereby those regions where lag behind in sensitivity and action could be exposed to those regions (for instance, Korea) where serious initiatives are being taken to address the issues of disability.

Biblical and Theological Foundations for Mission of People with Disabilities

We affirm that mission belongs to God and as God?s creation, made in the divine image and likeness, people with disabilities too have an active role in God?s mission. We find the Trinitarian, communitarian image of God more helpful than a singular, monarchical and transcendent notion of God, which has been instrumental in developing individualism. The Triune God is characterized by interdependence, not independence; by mutual inter-communion not exclusive isolation. In our pursuit of a model of interdependence to address disability concerns, the Trinitarian God who exemplifies interdependence within Godhead, provides us with a theological basis. St. Paul?s presentation of the body (1Cor 12:21-27) as an image, also emphasizes the interdependent nature of humanity.

The Bible also presents God as a suffering servant, who takes part in the pain and pathos of the suffering people. The Cross of Jesus Christ symbolized his identification with the suffering, particularly the disabled people. On the Cross, he was utterly incapacitated. His Cross had no handle and therefore could be seen as a ?disabled? cross. The Nazareth Manifesto with which Jesus started his ministry (Lk.4:18-19) * with which Jesus commenced his ministry, with its radical implications for the disabled, challenges us to tread the prophetic path, to counter the structures of violence and injustice that cause disability. Jesus by healing (not merely curing) the disabled brought them to the mainstream of society, thus making them subjects of history, not mere objects of patronizing charity. The healing acts of Jesus had an earthly touch about them (for example the healing of the blind man in John 9), bringing out the eco-just dimension of mission. The missional vision of Jesus has been one of an inclusive community, where no one is excluded on the basis of class, caste, creed, gender, ability-disability, sexual orientation and so on. The divisive walls of separation have been dismantled once and for all by Jesus Christ on the Cross (Eph.2). As bearers of the disabled cross of Christ, we affirm that it is our mission to make sure the existing walls of discrimination both in the churches and society at large are removed.

On the basis of these Biblical and theological foundations, the workshop affirmed that people with disabilities, most of them being victims of structural violence such as war, ecological destruction through ?developmental? projects and so on, have the special privilege vis-a-vis their suffering to be in the forefront of mass movements for peace, sustainability and eco-justice.

Defining features of the Movement of Persons with Disabilities

The workshop identified and defined two major dimensions of the movement of persons with disabilities. Under each section, the following concerns and programmatic areas of focus were listed.

1. Movement of People with Disabilities for Inclusive Communities

1.1 Awareness and Advocacy
Empowerment of People with Disabilities
Building Public Awareness
Introduction of Policy Changes
Development of Mobility and Accessibility
Promotion of Bio-Ethics

1.2 Inclusive Faith-Based Communities
Promotion of Inclusive Policies, System and Facilities
Empowerment of Local Faith-Based Communities-in-Mission of People with Disabilities
Sharing of Resource with People with Disabilities

1.3 Children and Youth with Disabilities
Rights of Children and Youth with Disabilities
Equal Opportunity for Education
Enhancement of Working Capabilities
Life Education: Life Skills and Vision
Mentoring: Leadership Formation
Education on and dealing with Challenges of Globalization

1.4 Disabilities and Gender Justice
Rights and Dignity of Women with Disabilities
Violence against Women
Equal Opportunities for Health, Employment, Education and Full
Participation in the Decision Making Process
Empowerment of Political and Economic Power of Women with Disabilities
Parenting Skills

1.5 Aged People with Disabilities
Life Sustainability of Aged People with Disabilities
Rights and Dignity of Aged People with Disabilities
Inclusion of the Aged with Disabilities in Families and Societies

1.6 Families of/with People with Disabilities
Acceptance of Children?s and Parents? Disabilities
Vicious Cycle of Poverty
Moral and Personal Support and Resource Sharing from Societies to Enhance Life Security and Quality of Families with People with Disabilities
Right of Information and Communication
Transferring Inputs from Families into Communities
Enhancement of Family Integrity

2. Eco-Just Peace Movement

2.1 Education on Healing and Reconciliation
l Integration between Ecology and Health to Enhance the Wholeness
of the Earth Household
l Promotion of People?s Safety and Sovereignty for Life and Peace
l Empowerment of Local Economy of Life through Alternative Communities(for example, Eco-Just Peace Life-Giving Agriculture / Forest)

2.2 Advocacy on Eco-Just Peace

Campaign against Ecological Destruction and War on Terrorism
Participation in Local Environmental Planning and Developing Urban Ecology
Socialization of Ecological Principle ? Interdependence ? into Social
Policy on People with Disabilities

2.3 Inter-Movement Solidarity
Alternatives to Globalization Movements
Human Rights Movements
Women?s Movements
Environmental Movements
Health Movements
Peace Movements
Life-Giving Agriculture Movements
Movements in Solidarity with Indigenous People and Uprooted People
Inter-Faith Movements

Overall Strategies:

1. Education
Human Resource Development Program
Education in Local Churches and Seminaries
Education in Public Schools
Non-formal Education with Recognition from Institutions
Empowerment of Teachers for People with Disabilities
Independent Living Program on the Basis of Interdependence Paradigm
Curriculum Development of Inclusive Community Movement and
Eco-Just Peace Movement

2. Leadership Formation
Ecumenical, Local and National Scholarships
Ecumenical Leadership Training Programs at Local, National and
Regional Levels
Inter-Local Ecumenical Camp for Youth with Disabilities

3. Advocacy Campaign
Signature Movements
Multi-Media Campaign
Lobbying with Churches, Institutions, Local Governments and Parliaments
Co-operation with NGOs, INGOs and Civil Societies

4. Information, Communication and Fellowship
IT Accessibility of People with Disabilities
E-Communities, Website and Internet News
Publications
Mass Communication
Researches, Workshops and Consultations
Fellowships of Families of People with Disabilities
Fellowships of Local Partners for People with Disabilities

5. Inter-Contextual Exchange
Inter-Local Information Sharing
Ecumenical Solidarity Visitation
Inter-Local Solidarity and Resource Sharing

6. Networking
Cross-Disabilities Network
Interdisciplinary Network
Inter-Organizational Network
Inter-Faith Network
Inter-Local Network

7. People-Centered and Culture-Bound Monitoring System
Self-Monitoring System of Local People?s Committee and Local Networks
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Process of Asian Ecumenical Working Group

Operational Structure of Network

The workshop, considering the depth and scope of the programe envisaged, proposed that an Asian Ecumenical Program Office be set up in Asia. It was also decided that this office would be located in Korea as Ms. LEE Ye Ja as Coordinator.

The main ecumenical co-operation would be between CCA, WCC-EDAN and NCC Korea. An Ecumenical Working Group on People with Disabilities was also appointed with the following as members:

Ms. LEE Ye Ja (Korea-Coordinator)
Rev. Ezamo Murry (India)
Ms. Sia Siew Chin (Malaysia)
Mr. LEE Hong Jong (Korea)

Ms. LEE Ye Ja, the Coordinator was authorized to co-opt two more members into the working group.

Recommendation

To Churches, CCA, WCC-EDAN, it was recommended that the Asian Ecumenical Program of People with Disabilities be recognized and supported by CCA and WCC-EDAN and that common strategies and programs be worked out and network established by these ecumenical partners.

Lee Hong Jung, 27/6/2006

posted by Prawate at Thursday, June 29, 2006

The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK), National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) are jointly organizing the International Consultation on Peace in the East-Asia Region (hereafter referred to as the Peace Consultation), to be held in Seoul on 2-4 May, 2006.

The PROK has traditionally taken strong initiatives in the movement for peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula. As we continue to do so, we are now focusing particularly on reactivating the international and North-East Asia peace network. Believing that peace on the Korean peninsula and in the whole East-Asia region is crucial to the peace on the entire global community, we are inviting certain partners from around the world to work together with committed Koreans during these three days, to discuss how we may cooperate for peace on the Korean peninsula and in the region, and begin to build an international peace network. We expect over thirty-five friends from overseas and about thirty Koreans will participate in this Peace Consultation.

The objectives of this consultation are:

1. The Peace Consultation will be an opportunity to explore the possibility of creating a new regional order in East Asia that promotes peace and co-existence. The reunification issue will be revisited form the perspective of peace in the wider regional, global context.
2. The Peace Consultation will be an opportunity for Christians in the region to search for possible ways of cooperating for peace on the Korean peninsula and among East-Asian countries.
3. The Peace consultation will be an opportunity to create an international network to promote the peace movement.

posted by Tony Waworuntu at Friday, March 24, 2006

Interfaith AIDS Consultation

Interfaith AIDS Consultation 2006
April 2-7, 2006, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Jointly organized
Christian Conference of Asia- HIV/AIDS Concern (CCA-HIV/AIDS Concern)
Asian Interfaith Network on HIV/AIDS (AINA)
National Christian Council in Sri Lanka (NCCSL)

HIV/AIDS continue threatening people around the world. The latest global figure of the people living with HIV/AIDS shows some sign of declining in many countries. However, the number of people living with this deadly virus in 2005 has reached its highest level, as an estimated 40.3 million people.

Asia has the world?s second-largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS after the sub-Sahara Africa. In South and South East Asian region, around 7.1 million of people aged 0-49 years old and about 7.1 million are living with HIV and AIDS. UNAids has reported that an additional12 million could be infected in the region over the next five years if nothing is done to slow the epidemic?s pace.

In light of these situations, an interfaith gathering in Bangkok in 2004 became a milestone for people from different religions and faith to renew and recommit themselves in the midst of increasing HIV and AIDS crisis. The statement of commitment calls for new commitment to work together and within our communities to:

• Promote the dignity, equality, and rights of all people;
• Discuss openly and accurately the basic facts about the HIV and AIDS and about all effective means of prevention;
• Work to eliminate the root causes of the HIV and AIDS pandemic including gender inequality, prejudice against those whose way of life or sexual orientation is different from the majority community, systemic injustice, and unequal distribution of wealth;
• Overcome silence, stigma, discrimination, denial, and fear regarding HIV and AIDS;
• Reject the negative statements by some faith leaders that AIDS is a form of divine punishment or retribution;
• Advocate for expanded resources to fight against HIV and AIDS;
• Document ?good practices? and support research to identify more effective means of prevention and treatment;
• Attain ?access for all? ? to effective preventive education and knowledge, comprehensive care and treatment, and full inclusion in the community.

Our religious communities bring rich experience and unique strengths to fulfil these commitments. Specifically, we will carry out the following actions:

• We will implement policies within our structures and institutions in order to combat every tendency to marginalize people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS as either employees or members within our communities.
• We will advocate for and with people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS in order to obtain lower prices for both medications and laboratory tests and to ensure access to the full range of education, counselling, voluntary testing, and care.
• We will call upon those holding political office, in collaboration with all members of the global human family, to fulfil the grave responsibility to make the dream of ?Access for All? into an everyday reality in all parts of the world, among all groups of people, and at every level of the socio-economic spectrum and to maintain strict, enhanced and transparent accountability in this regard.
• We will ensure, through educational activities and community gatherings, the inclusion of accurate information about ways to prevent the further spread of HIV.
• We will commit our diverse structures of health care, ranging from highly specialized services to locally-based village clinics, as well as our systems of education, social and community development, to implement these strategies in a comprehensive, universal, and equitable manner.
• We will dedicate additional funds from the resources of our own religious communities in order to scale up our respective contributions to the struggle against the HIV pandemic, and pledge careful stewardship and responsible use of the funds entrusted to us by donors from our own communities and from the international community.
• We will involve people living with or directly affected by HIV, many of whom are members of our own religious communities, in the response to this pandemic.
• We will give priority attention addressing the practices within our religious traditions that increase the vulnerability of women and girls who also carry the greatest burden of response in this pandemic.
• We will promote community-based responses to the special needs of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS.
• We will promote preaching and teaching about HIV in our houses of worship and will encourage the designation of special days and/or weeks of prayer and other religious observances to focus on HIV and AIDS.
• We commit ourselves to monitor and evaluate our own progress toward accomplishing the goals that we have articulated in this statement;

Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), Asian Interfaith Network on HIV/AIDS (AINA) and National Christian Council in Sri Lanka (NCCSL) invites you to participate in the significant consultation.

Goal

The Consultation is designed to

• Strengthen religious and faith-based communities in their commitment and sharpen their response to effectively address the concerns of those living with HIV and AIDS.
• Empower faith based organizations in Asia to efficiently carry out their programs and implementations at both grassroots and advocacy levels in preparation to the significant participation in "7th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP 2007)" to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2007.
  

Objectives

The consultation will be a special time for people of various faith communities to:

• To delineate the various thematic issues relating to HIV/AIDS concerns and programs of religious communities in Asia.
• To examine and reflect the working of faith-based communities religious teaching and practices response to HIV and AIDS
• To identify strategies for closer coordination and cooperation of faith-based communities in combating HIV and AIDS.
• To initially discuss the various ways for effective participation of faith-based communities in the 8th ICAAP 2007
  

Date and Venue

The Consultation will be held from April 2 (Sunday) ? 7 (Friday), 2006 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Participants should plan to arrive in Colombo by the evening of April 2.

Program

The consultation will include:

• Religious reflection on the theme
• Overview of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the response of faith-based communities: an update and analysis of the situation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and critical issues in the global community; the focus will be on how HIV positive people, especially the poor, are able to access medicine and services.
• Experiences exchange and networking among ecumenical stakeholders will include opportunities for organizational and personal sharing on HIV/AIDS program implementation in respective countries, including strategies energizing communities and associations of people living with HIV/AIDS to fully participate to minimize the impacts of the disease as well as to maintain the fullness of life of people living with HIV/AIDS. Small groups and informal sharing sessions by sector, region and interest will take place, as well as display space for sharing materials.
• Orientation and preparation of faith-based organizations to participate in International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific 2007 (ICAAP 2007).

posted by Prawate at Thursday, March 23, 2006

New guidelines step up the battle against HIV/Aids

posted by cbs at Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Partnership to Combat HIV and AIDS

• Promote the dignity, equality, and rights of all people;
• Discuss openly and accurately the basic facts about the HIV and AIDS and about all effective means of prevention;
• Work to eliminate the root causes of the HIV and AIDS pandemic including gender inequality, prejudice against those whose way of life or sexual orientation is different from the majority community, systemic injustice, and unequal distribution of wealth;
• Overcome silence, stigma, discrimination, denial, and fear regarding HIV and AIDS;
• Reject the negative statements by some faith leaders that AIDS is a form of divine punishment or retribution;
• Advocate for expanded resources to fight against HIV and AIDS;
• Document ?good practices? and support research to identify more effective means of prevention and treatment;
• Attain ?access for all? ? to effective preventive education and knowledge, comprehensive care and treatment, and full inclusion in the community.

Our religious communities bring rich experience and unique strengths to fulfil these commitments. Specifically, we will carry out the following actions:

• We will implement policies within our structures and institutions in order to combat every tendency to marginalize people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS as either employees or members within our communities.
• We will advocate for and with people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS in order to obtain lower prices for both medications and laboratory tests and to ensure access to the full range of education, counselling, voluntary testing, and care.
• We will call upon those holding political office, in collaboration with all members of the global human family, to fulfil the grave responsibility to make the dream of ?Access for All? into an everyday reality in all parts of the world, among all groups of people, and at every level of the socio-economic spectrum and to maintain strict, enhanced and transparent accountability in this regard.
• We will ensure, through educational activities and community gatherings, the inclusion of accurate information about ways to prevent the further spread of HIV.
• We will commit our diverse structures of health care, ranging from highly specialized services to locally-based village clinics, as well as our systems of education, social and community development, to implement these strategies in a comprehensive, universal, and equitable manner.
• We will dedicate additional funds from the resources of our own religious communities in order to scale up our respective contributions to the struggle against the HIV pandemic, and pledge careful stewardship and responsible use of the funds entrusted to us by donors from our own communities and from the international community.
• We will involve people living with or directly affected by HIV, many of whom are members of our own religious communities, in the response to this pandemic.
• We will give priority attention addressing the practices within our religious traditions that increase the vulnerability of women and girls who also carry the greatest burden of response in this pandemic.
• We will promote community-based responses to the special needs of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS.
• We will promote preaching and teaching about HIV in our houses of worship and will encourage the designation of special days and/or weeks of prayer and other religious observances to focus on HIV and AIDS.
• We commit ourselves to monitor and evaluate our own progress toward accomplishing the goals that we have articulated in this statement;

Asian Interfaith Network on HIV/AIDS (AINA) and Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) invites you to participate in the Consultation.

Goal

?Interfaith AIDS Consultation 2006? is aimed at promoting continuous dialogue and commitment of the religious and faith based communities in combating HIV and AIDS epidemic in Asia. The Consultation is designed to strengthen religious and faith-based communities in their commitment and sharpen their response to effectively address the concerns of those living with HIV and AIDS.

The consultation also aims to empower faith based organizations in Asia to efficiently carry out their programs and implementations at both grassroots and advocacy levels in preparation to the significant participation in 1the 8th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2007.

Objectives

The consultation will be a special time for people of various faith communities to:

• To delineate the various thematic issues relating to HIV/AIDS concerns and programs of religious communities in Asia.
• To examine and reflect the working of faith-based communities religious teaching and practices response to HIV and AIDS
• To identify strategies for closer coordination and cooperation of faith-based communities in combating HIV and AIDS.
• To initially discuss the various ways for effective participation of faith-based communities in the 8th ICAAP 2007

Date and Venue

The Consultation will be held from April 2 (Sunday) ? 7 (Friday), 2006 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Participants should plan to arrive in Colombo by the evening of April 2.

Program

The program will include:

• Religious reflection on the theme
• Community building.
• Overview of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the response of faith-based communities: an update and analysis of the situation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and critical issues in the global community; the focus will be on how HIV positive people, especially the poor, are able to access medicine and services.
• Experiences exchange and networking among ecumenical stakeholders will include opportunities for organizational and personal sharing on HIV/AIDS program implementation in respective countries, including strategies energizing communities and associations of people living with HIV/AIDS to fully participate to minimize the impacts of the disease as well as to maintain the fullness of life of people living with HIV/AIDS. Small groups and informal sharing sessions by sector, region and interest will take place, as well as display space for sharing materials.
• Strengthening cooperation between and within faith-based communities in advocacy for policy change society.
• Orientation for and preparation of faith-based organizations for participation in the 7th ICAAP will highlight various possible ways for faith-based organizations to be involved.
  Participants:

Participants: About 45 participants will represent various faith-based communities from four major religions- Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Hindu. People living with HIV/AIDS will be accepted.

For further information, please contact: Mr. Ekraj Sabu. Coordinator, AINA: ainaasia@yahoo.com

posted by Prawate at Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Thailand to get cheap AIDS drugs

posted by Prawate at Saturday, July 23, 2005