CCA to convene Southeast Asia Consultation on Strengthening Ecumenical Action for Women’s Dignity and Rights

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).

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13 October 2026

Manila, Philippines: Women church leaders from member constituencies of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) across Southeast Asia will gather in Manila, Philippines, from 14 to 16 October 2026 for the Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV) Southeast Asia Consultation on “Strengthening Ecumenical Action for Women’s Dignity and Rights.”

Organised through the CCA's EWAAV programme, the consultation provides a platform for participants to reflect on the challenges faced by women across the region and to discern concrete and sustained actions to prevent gender-based violence, challenge discrimination and inequality, and promote values and systems that uphold women’s dignity and rights, particularly within churches and communities.

Building on the recommendations of the 2025 Asian Ecumenical Women's Conference held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the consultation is part of the continued ecumenical commitment to reaffirm the role of women in the churches and the moral and prophetic responsibility of churches to recognise, support, and amplify women’s voices and uphold their dignity and rights.

The consultation also aims to strengthen participants’ capacity to develop advocacy strategies to address gender-based violence and promote collaboration and solidarity in advancing ecumenical women's action against violence in the region.

Through thematic sessions, biblical-theological reflections, and workshops, the three-day consultation will deepen participants’ theological understanding of the role of churches, particularly women within the churches, in confronting the social, cultural, institutional, and theological structures that perpetuate gender inequality and undermine women’s rights. Particular attention will be given to developing advocacy initiatives that promote gender-just approaches and contribute to building peaceful and inclusive societies.

The consultation is being organised in collaboration with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), CCA’s member council in the Philippines.