KAAD Virtual Symposium

Welcome

The KAAD Asia Department and the Association of KAAD Alumni in the Philippines (AKAP) invite KAAD Alumni to take part in a series of online Workshops in August-September 2021 which will end up in a Virtual Symposium on October 9, 2021.

In a series of online discussions recently, we felt the need to bring together – again – the global and Asian KAAD communities that linked up in Tagaytay (Philippines) in 2018; in Bogor (Indonesia) in 2019, and during the online Annual Academy of KAAD in 2021.

The pandemic has made a significant impact on everyone around the globe and has disrupted all lives and norms. Its global impact is admittedly cruel and impoverishing. It calls for joint action and gathering of experiences, together with visioning needed to bring about change.

At this point in time, all of us need to take a broader perspective of the world anew and have a glimpse of the future. How will the world change as a result of the pandemic? Will the new start be shaped by our approach to climate change? Can we and do we want to make a difference? And what do we want to strive for?

It is knowledge, wisdom, and also visioning that are needed at this moment. We believe that as human beings and, more so as Christians, we are called to contribute to map out our future – and our KAAD community is a good place to jumpstart our doing so.

KAAD FINAL VID PRESENTATION.mp4

Video Greetings from Germany

Dr. Esther-Maria Guggenmos

Dear participants in our AKAP Summer Workshop,

It is Wednesday before the start of our workshop. On Saturday, we will embark on an experiment: Over seven weeks, with about 30 participants gathering in groups, we will focus on the theme "KAAD Scholars envisioning our Post-Pandemic World: Justice, Health & Spirituality."

In my life, too, the pandemic has been a unique disruption of the otherwise planned-unplanned academic life. Much has come to a standstill, caution and self-discipline, tragic times and times of bereavement made up for a major part of it. Meanwhile, interaction began to reemerge under new circumstances. And in this stillness fell extreme weather situations, political turmoil in Myanmar, rising nationalisms, the fall of Kabul. What path is this world on? Is it time to reflect on what the signs of the times are? Do we have a shared conviction that we honestly stand up for?

Apocalyptic visions have accompanied Christianity since its earliest days. Do we bring a special expertise in dealing with a threatening course of time? How does Christianity, how do other religious traditions contribute to the ethical and moral direction of our humanity? How can we make our shared foundations audible and effective in the current context of the pandemic? And where do our concrete possibilities and responsibilities for action lie when it comes to problems of justice and health? What is our vision for the future beyond the pandemic? On Saturday, we will continue to explore these questions. As head of KAAD's Asia Department, I am very much looking forward to join you.

But today at lunch time, I will be on a ship on the Rhine here at Bonn. Only rarely have we been able to meet as KAAD Scholars in the past one and a half year. And so our President and our General Secretary decided to gather some of us close by. Keeping in mind Bonn's history between former capital and future centre of European exchange and cherishing the possibility of personal encounters, we will set out today for a boat trip.

Our General Secretary, Doctor Nora Kalbarczyk, will be on board. She will be with us at our final conference in October and would like to give us a message. So today, I will go and search for her. Dear Nora, thank you for taking the time today to explain in short about what our summer workshop means for KAAD.

Dr. Nora Kalbarczyk

Dear AKAP Committee from the Philippines, dear KAAD alumni and scholars from Asia and beyond,

As General Secretary of KAAD, I warmly welcome you all at the start of our AKAP Summer Workshop, which connects and activates KAAD Alumni and Scholars from Asia and beyond.

This kind of networking, which we have repeatedly turned into a living reality over the past decades, has allowed a community to grow. And being part of a community is not only a joyful experience, but the value of community becomes particularly evident in crises as the present one - a crisis in which the global consequences of the earth's exploitation become apparent.

The pandemic, like climate change, is a worldwide phenomenon to which a globe-spanning network like KAAD can respond and to which we are also called upon to respond as Christians - not in order to just distinguish ourselves from others, but in order to serve humanity and to offer orientation enabling us to act by making faith, hope and love the fruitful basis of future developments.

The virtual world offers new opportunities for networking, and these are becoming more important than ever as direct contact can be life threatening. We are very grateful to the Philippine Alumni Association for sparing no effort in gathering us here. This event not only marks the first anniversary of last year's online format that connected a large audience across countries, but AKAP has also dared to try something new. With this summer workshop, we want to go for exchange and become creative. Creativity is an endeavour with open outcome by definition. For this, I wish all of us to enjoy this process, to fill it with our knowledge, curiosity, as well as courage and creative power. I hope that this workshop will be fulfilling and add to a more flourishing future. I am looking forward to the closing event on October 9, when I will see you again.

All the best and God's blessings for the coming weeks!