Invitation for TEF Youth Webinar

March 30, 2022

Dear Ecumenical Partners,

Peace greetings to you from Taiwan, the PCT and the Taiwan Ecumenical Forum for Justice and Peace (TEF). We hope you are keeping well in the midst of pandemic days moreover the horrified invasion in Ukraine.

The TEF would like to warmly invite you to an opportunity for learning, contribution and most of all fellowship online. TEF will be holding a two-hour youth webinar under the same theme of the webinar held in December 2021: “The Neo-Cold War: The Resurgence of the Geopolitics of Global Empires in (North) East Asia.” This is a follow up webinar meant for young people’s voice. The four young panellists from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand will be speaking from their young perspective on this theme.

As you undoubtedly are aware, the regional tension is getting serious in East Asia. Along with worldwide broadcasting on Ukraine crisis, tension in this region is mentioned often. TEF is addressing this burning issue to share with the ecumenical family. We would be very honoured if you can accept our invitation to participate in this webinar of young people’s voice.

The webinar will take place on April 26 (Tuesday) from 8 to 10 PM Taiwan Time (GMT+8). You are cordially invited to participate. Please register online.

Please refer to the attached concept note and program for the webinar. Click the link for online registration: https://forms.gle/uSgkTYoM9bYxfbZC6

Peace,

Jooseop Keum and Chris Ferguson

TEF Co-conveners

Concept Paper

Youth Webinar: A Political and Situational Conversation on East Asia Geopolitics from a Young Peoples’ Perspective.

Theme: “The Neo-Cold War: The Resurgence of the Geopolitics of Global Empires in (North) East Asia.”

Proposal: To deepen the reflection presented in the last TEF steering group meeting. This webinar will be provided by the young people whose contextual perspectives will seek to stimulate an exciting conversation on the churches’ role for just and peace. The churches around the world are confronted by issues such as shifting power relations and regional instability focusing on, but going beyond, the China-US hegemonic power struggle, as well as the increasing significant roles of Japan and India. The webinar will invite reflections from the perspective of peoples’ movements and life-centered values. Hopefully, the youth webinar will nurture a renewed gospel-based theological prophetic imagination to usher in transformed regional relationships for the “healing of the nations.”

The intention is to contextualize the Taiwan – China conflict in a regional/global perspective focused on forward-looking, justice-seeking and peace-building missiological imperatives for the church globally beyond descriptive analyses of imperial or hegemonic power plays.

The two-hour webinar will involve a panel of four young speakers from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand speaking from young people’s perspectives followed by a Q&A session.