15th Regional Committee Meeting

July 10 to 15, 2001
Chiangmai, Thailand

The Programme

The 15th Regional Committee Meeting (RCM) took place in Chiangmai, Thailand on 10-15 July 2001. This meeting brought 13 member and 2 associate movements to reflect and discuss on the work done by the Asia-Pacific Region in the last couple of years as well as to make plans for the next two years that would hopefully continue to empower SCMers in their students’ life.

The recommendations made by the participants in this RCM are: 

Student Empowerment for Transformation (SET)

To put focus on the theme,
“Globalisation and Information Technology: SCM’s Response”

It is explained that Information Technology is very important in our lives at present but most people still do not understand much about the implications and effects of it, as Christians and as students. Thus, it is recommended that the next SET could help to explore more into the different shades of Information Technology in the era of Globalisation.

Inter-National Movements Joint Programmes

Because it is important for national movements to keep in constant communication with each other and join in each other’s programmes to facilitate exchange of ideas and experiences. But this needs the regional office to help disseminate the latest information to each other. Also, exchange of newsletter could be facilitated by the internet and post.

• National movement to ensure their members to have access to Praxis and other movement newsletters;
• National movements to give regional office their websites, emails and latest postal address to ensure effective communication.

Praxis

The recommended topics for Praxis in year 2002-2003 are:

1. Students and Higher Tertiary Education – Focus on the dwindling government support for students and student action, example universities in Myanmar;
2. Environment – Sustainable development, farming programme, impact on Biotechnology in the region;
3. Women’s issues – Trafficking of women, homosexuals, illegal immigrants and violence, sweatshops, prostitution;
4. Post-modern analysis of globalisation from the socialist perspective:
   • the challenge posed to Christianity by new technology and how does the ecumenical community respond to this;
5. Human Rights
   • Political prisoners with examples of situations in Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Aborigines in Australia, Hong Kong and Falungong;
   • Media, Culture and Capitalism;
   • The impact on marginalisation and domination of women.

EASYNet

Ecumenical Asia-Pacific Students and Youth Network and it should have:

• a unified position/statement on globalisation;
• help from the regional EASYNet in fixing inter-ecumenical students and groups relationships at the national level;
• exercise care for selection of national coordinators who will represent all student groups within their country;
• provide support for issues in the region, example, Falungong in Hong Kong, Northern Territories Aborigines.

Human Rights & Solidarity Programme

It requires:

1. A Questionnaire from regional office to find out what are the pressing HR problems in the region;
2. Identification of commonalities and divisions in the sub-regional groups;
3. Students for local and overseas internships;
4. Sub-regional HR workshops on evaluation and action plan;
5. Organise national level programmes which are facilitated by the interns;
6. The interns should continue to coordinate the HR programmes in his or her own national movement.

And Congratulations to the elected members of the Standing Committee who will serve the Asia-Pacific region for 2001-2003. They are:

• Stephen Hsu – Chairperson
• Edwina Hunter – Vice-Chair
• Glenda Rocas – ExCo member
• Vinay Kumar – ExCo member
• Kim Sung Ran – Member-at-large
• Kaythi Min Din – Member-at-large

Congratulations too to the new members of the Regional Women Committee, they are:

Dayanthi Samaranayake, Sophia Wooldridge, Lasma Tobing,
and Glenda and Kaythi being co-opted from the Standing Committee.

Our warm well-wishes to these committee members and we look forward to their contribution of new ideas and valuable experience to the Asia-Pacific region!