In partnership with the Anglican Communion Youth Network (ACYN), the first meeting of the Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA) is underway in Japan. Participants from Bangladesh, Brazil, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Japan and the UK are currently attending a three-week residential, an integral part of this unique year-long programme.
ELA cohort at Utsunomiya Anglican Church
ELA seeks to offer a cross-cultural learning opportunity for emerging leaders across the Anglican Communion. It wants to give young, vibrant leaders a chance to share and explore their faith in different contexts and build capacity through exposure to cross-cultural forms of leadership. Their time together offers plenty of space for discipleship and prayerful, spiritual reflection.
Ella Sibley, Regional Manager, USPG and currently facilitating the training in Japan says: “We are delighted to be working with the ACYN to provide this exciting new programme for young people across the Anglican Communion in a way that is respectful to the many different cultural contexts that exist within the Communion. The programme seeks to engage with the incredible talent that exists among young people and USPG believes that investment in emerging leaders forms a vital part of mission in the 21st century. We’re grateful to the Asian Rural Institute, an ecumenical centre for leadership and sustainability, for hosting us.”
Already, the group has been learning outdoors, including a visit to the local Shinto shrine. They have also participated in activities focused on servant leadership, contextual theology and communication skills.
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Annsli Kabekabe from Papua New Guinea says of their time together so far: “I am privileged to be a part of the Academy, one highlight would be the active listening training because at home, I am a community development officer for my province, and I’ve realised that I need to listen more so I hear my people’s voices and we can work together.
At the weekend, we visited an elementary school near Fukushima that was hit by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Hearing the stories made me think about early preparedness warnings. It’s motivated me to go back to the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea and try to create early warnings systems for cyclones, especially in schools.”
USPG hope to grow and develop this programme in the future to be able to offer the opportunity to many more young Anglicans around the globe.