THE ASSOCIATION of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia (ACUCA) tied Christianity, education, and modernity together when it held its Biennial Conference and 17th General Assembly in the Ateneo on October 16 to 18.
The conference, held simultaneously with a student camp, is an event held every two years. Presidents and administrators of member schools in Asian countries, such as Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and South Korea, gather for the event.
ACUCA engages in programs that facilitate the sharing of the member institutions’ best practices, “to [help] each other maintain their distinct Christian character in light of the common challenges that are being faced by the member schools,” said Georgina Ann Hernandez, ACUCA project head.
This year’s conference carried the theme “Christian Universities: Identity and Challenges in Today’s World.”
The Ateneo is the ACUCA Secretariat for 2007 to 2008. University President Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, is currently the ACUCA president.
Identity and mission
The conference consisted mainly of talks by three plenary speakers. They presented the journey of three different member universities, the Ateneo included. Three parallel discussions allowed the delegates to discuss challenges related to Christian identity and higher education.
“[The conference] is very enlightening and inspiring. This is one of the few meetings that I have attended where the people are really participating and exchanging ideas with each other,” said Professor Shinhye Kim, Director of Internal Affairs of Keimyung University in South Korea.
Associate Professor and University Chaplain Paul Tsuchido Shew, Ph.D., from Japan’s Aoyama Gakuin University, said that the opinions shared during the discussions were interesting.
“[Japan] has a lot of troubles as a small minority who strives to educate and talk about our identity as a Christian university, particularly the spiritual formation and character development,” said Shew.
Associate professor Michael Kwo, a delegate from Taiwan’s Fu Jen Catholic University, said the topics were timely, especially for Taiwan, where Christianity is a minority.
Christianity for the youth
Meanwhile, in the student camp, students from the participating member schools were accommodated within the Ateneo campus, and were toured around Ateneo and Manila.
The camp had the theme of “Challenges and Opportunities Facing Asia’s Christian Youth Today: The Call to Stewardship and Mission.” Camp participants engaged in talks, discussions, and forums tackling issues that revolved around this theme.
“Fr. Johnny Go, SJ talked about the struggles of today’s youth [such as] riches, fame, and social approval,” said SOH Central Board Representative Kurt Dion Cendaña (II AB IS), a camp participant. “Rev. Fr. Javy Alpasa, SJ mostly talked about [the] sacrifice that leaders have to make in order to make the people and the world around them a better place.”
Go is the director of Xavier School while Alpasa is the executive director of Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan.
Camp participants were also given an opportunity to share something related to their Christian faith from their respective countries.
“It was interesting to look at how different countries have different situations that help and hinder how young people live out their faith,” said SOSE Central Board Representative Rob Brian Roque (II BS Ch MSE), another camp participant.
“Universal”
The student camp challenged Roque to give more of himself and serve through his leadership. He said the best lesson he received was to value his faith, instead of taking it for granted.
“I think we have to share what we’ve learned from this camp to other Ateneans because it’s something universal. It’s a personal experience, but something that every person can learn from,” said Roque.
Nirmala Jeyaraj, Ph.D., a program director of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, said that the conference was effective, and the discussions extremely useful. “I am sure all the participants will be going home with a lot of enlightenment and very good information to give back to their institutions.”
