After 3 years absence, Asian Lay Leaders (ALL) Forum succesfully conduted the Asian Youth Academy (AYA) / Asian Theology Forum (ATF) on August 19th – 29th 2023 with the theme “Gender Justice, Interculturation and Integral Ecology for the Sustainable Future in Asia” at Rumah Khalwat Tegal Jaya, Bali Indonesia.
Asian Youth Academy (AYA) / Asian Theology Forum (ATF) is the program aims to gather the youth and lay leaders around Asia to discuss, share, learn, and reflect on the different thematic concerns about Indigenous Peoples, Women, Youth, Culture, Ecology, Interfaith, Church, and Synodality. With the hope that by the end of the program, these young people and lay leaders will be back in their respective homes with their action plans and become active actors of change in their communities.
The program was participated by around 30 individuals from 8 countries including Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, Germany, India, and Pakistan. The participants come from different background of organization, religion and believe. The AYA/ATF 2023 were facilitated by different activists from Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, India, Germany.
The program was divided into 2 parts, the first is the Asian Youth Academy (AYA) which consists of immersion, workshops, and group discussions and the second is the Asian Theology Forum (ATF) which consists of different thematic speeches and plenary discussions. The participants also reporting the current social issues and concerns from each country related to the theme of the program.
In colaboration with local group Mahardhika Institute, the participants were sent to the Mas Village in Ubud district for a 3-day and 2-night immersion. During immersion, all of the participants explore, learn and practice the Balinese culture, traditions, beliefs, and arts.