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YPEM moderator Karen Erina Puimera, from the Protestant Church in Western Indonesia, said that the vice moderators, along with working groups that will be established, “will always bring forward the issues of young people’s experience.”
Jacob said she valued meeting with and encountering many, many people in the metro Manila area who have been experiencing injustices in many forms. “We’ve been very inspired by their journey, both with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines but also various ecumenical partners who have gathered together to say that following Christ and serving those in need are not crimes,” she said.
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Ann Chris Jacob, WCC youth commission vice moderator.
Mark Anthony N. Cuyos
Garcia said it was very important to get to know the youth work of people in the Philippines. “For us, it was the first time getting to know each other, so looking at all the relationships that can be built, and all the strong relationships that the youth movement here has, it was a very important way for me to think we can develop those kinds of relationships as commissioners,” she said.
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Lorena Catalina Garcia, WCC youth commission vice moderator.
Mark Anthony N. Cuyos
Rev. Bjorn Warde said that YPEM’s first in-person meeting was eyeopening. “I think we collectively and collaboratively really seek to amplify the voices of our youth in the different contexts that we’re in, but also in the places that we’ve visited or have the opportunity to visit—like the Philippines in this case—so it’s really amplifying the voices of our youth.”
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Rev. Bjorn Benjamin Warde, WCC youth commission vice moderator.
Mark Anthony N. Cuyos
Danil Arakelian sees his role in helping to organize discussions in YPEM and coordinate the interaction between the working groups. “Certainly, I also see it as a special responsibility, as a sign of trust from my colleagues and as an obligation to actively participate in the daily activities of the YPEM,” he said. “I plan to actively work with my church and the participants of the global ecumenical movement, so that the aims of the commission can be achieved.”
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Danil Arakelian, WCC youth commission vice moderator.
Mark Anthony N. Cuyos
The four newly-elected vice moderators, which includes both laypeople and clergy, were selected with a focus on diversity of regions, gender, and faith communities. The moderator and the four vice moderators referred to as the "steering group", will work not only in their regional contexts but with global WCC commissions and working groups to amplify the voices of young people.
Photo gallery- WCC Youth Commission 2024
WCC News release: Youth commission moderator: “we act and journey together”- 20 November 2024
WCC News release: WCC youth commission gathers for first in-person meeting- 14 November 2024
Learn more about the Young people in the ecumenical movement
