The ACT Alliance General Assembly 2024 was held in Yogyakarta on 29 October 2024. The event was attended by more than 300 participants who are members of the ACT Alliance and took place at the Kasultanan Ballroom, Royal Ambarrukmo Hotel. With the theme "Hope in Action Together for Justice", this General Assembly aims to inspire churches and humanitarian organisations around the world in humanitarian action.
This event will take place from 26 October 2024 to 1 November 2024 in Yogyakarta. It will begin with the Youth Pre-Assembly, which will be held in the auditorium of Duta Wacana Christian University (UKDW) for two days. During the Youth Pre-Assembly, young people from various countries who are members of the ACT Alliance network will have the opportunity to exchange knowledge with the local community regarding the decolonisation of health facilities, best community practices in disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation. The aim of this activity was to generate enthusiasm among young people to network and collaborate in preventive efforts to combat global warming. (Read also the ACT Alliance article entitled Youth Pre-Assembly begins in Yogyakarta!)
At the General Assembly, angkringan was also presented as the main symbol of this event. Angkringan is considered a symbol of interactive dialogue in Yogjakarta society. Angkringan carts were displayed during the panel discussion session. The inspiration for this angkringan discussion came from Arshinta and Thorsten's personal experiences when they visited Yogjakarta in 2023, when they took a break at an angkringan and saw that the social interactions there were so fluid and neutral, with no apparent social class differences among the visitors. nbsp;(Read also the ACT Alliance article entitled Angkringan: the power of honest conversation)
At the opening session of the General Assembly on 29 October 2024, the event was opened by Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay, as General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and as moderator of the assembly, and Erik Lysén from ACT Alliance. Peni Rahaju, Chair of the YAKKUM Executive Board, said that it was time to build bridges, not walls. She emphasised this in view of the importance of interfaith and inter-tradition collaboration to return to the principles of ecumenism and cooperation. Through collaboration, unity and diversity can provide greater strength. She also highlighted that at the global level, we must work together to address issues related to climate change, economic inequality and refugees. However, all these efforts must begin at the community level, where real change begins.
Photo Credit: Albin Hillert/ACT Alliance