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As many Buddhists prepare to observe Vesakh on 29 April - a day commemorating the life and legacy of Gautama Buddha - WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit extended his greetings to Buddhists across the world.

When the Asia Ecumenical Youth Assembly (AEYA) kicked off in Manado, Indonesia on the 6 April, it was the first such gathering in 34 years. More than 350 youth from 23 countries across Asia came together to address pertinent issues in today’s globalized world.

At 20, Ruth Mathen has already come a long way on the path that God has chosen for her. She heeded his call at a YMCA camp six years ago and is now running a non-government organization together with three college friends.

In a plenary discussion titled ”Light and Truth in Pluralistic Asia” held at the Asia Ecumenical Youth Assembly (AEYA) in Manado, Indonesia last Monday, religious leaders from different faiths shared perspectives. They agreed that continuous interfaith dialogue is key to better mutual understanding, tolerance and respect.

Under the theme ”Lord, send Your Light and Truth to lead us”, the Asian Ecumenical Youth Assembly (AEYA) opened in Manado, Indonesia on Saturday. For six days, around 350 youth from all over Asia will reflect on the challenges facing them in today’s globalized society and how religion and ecumenism can play a vital role for peace and stability.

A group of 25 evangelism practitioners, scholars and church leaders from Orthodox, Pentecostal and Protestant perspectives gathered in Bangkok, Thailand from 26 November to 1 December to reflect on evangelism at a time when religious faith is often accused of - and guilty of - stirring up intolerance, suspicion and even violence.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and Responsibility to Protect (UNOGPRtoP) and other partners to host a meeting on Fostering Inclusive Societies in South Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, 29-30 November.

While meeting in Amman, Jordan, from 17-23 November, the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee issued a statement on the detention of Bishop Carlos Morales and the situation in Mindanao, Philippines.

As they gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia from September 2-8 to prepare resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2019, ecumenical partners reflected on the theme of “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.”

For April Robinson, hopping in a bus with 35 other Christians from across Asia – from Pakistan, to Japan, to New Zealand – and travelling four hours to West Java, Indonesia to meet with interfaith activists brought just the perspective she needed to deepen and bolster her interfaith work back home in Melbourne, Australia.

On 18-19 July, 35 young leaders from 14 countries across Asia – part of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Youth in Asia Training in Religious Amity (YATRA) – travelled to the Indonesian city of Bandung to meet with faith leaders and young activists engaged in interreligious dialogue and work.

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), on 11-12 July, held an international consultation on “Towards Revitalising the Ecumenical Movement in Asia.” The gathering of 60 church and ecumenical leaders was organised by the CCA at its headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand as a prelude to its Diamond Jubilee celebration.

The World Council of Churches' (WCC) popular YATRA (Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity) programme has a new online learning component that adds four weeks of intensive training to two weeks of residential learning. When 35 young men and women from 14 different countries meet at the Jakarta Theological Seminary in Indonesia on 8 July, they will already have a familiarity with the major religious traditions found in Asia, thanks to their online studies.

The Philippines has long been noticed for crimes committed against its people, but now human rights violations of the government of President Roderigo Duterte are coming under scrutiny at the Human Rights Council after submissions made by church-backed civil society groups.

To galvanize the international community on the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines, the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted a photo exhibit on 4-5 May.

Eighteen representatives from theological institutions in Asia met in Bangkok, Thailand, from 17-20 April at a consultation on “Ecumenical Theological Education and Contextual Theologies in Asia” convened by the Ecumenical Theological Education department of the WCC with the support of the Foundation for Theological Education in South East Asia, and in collaboration with theological associations and institutions in Asia.

Eighteen women theologians from Africa and Asia began a journey of reflection and action around the theme “Women’s Mentoring for Ecumenical Leadership” in a 20-22 April consultation in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting was convened by the WCC department on Ecumenical Theological Education and supported by the Foundation for Theological Education in Southeast Asia.

Members of a church-backed coalition have called on Indonesia to open access to West Papua for international journalists, independent observers, human rights organizations and the International Red Cross.

Athena Peralta is dedicated to observing and encouraging people who are defending their livelihood and defending creation across the world. “There is so much injustice in this world that it is really something beautiful to learn about and be able to accompany, even in tiny ways, struggles of communities and churches,” she said.

Religious leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region met in Bangkok on 6 and 7 December to develop a regional strategy for the prevention of incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes. Religious leaders and actors from thirteen countries took part in the meeting from the Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim faiths. The meeting was organised by the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect in collaboration with the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).