Indonesia to host 7th Asian Youth Day

JAKARTA – Indonesia will host the 7th Asian Youth Day from 30 July to 9 Aug 2017 in Yogyakarta, Semarang Archdiocese in central Java.

Themed Joyful Asian Youth! Living the Gospel in Multicultural Asia, the organisers expect a crowd of 3,000 young Catholics from 29 Asian countries.

Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo presented the content and objectives of the AYD2017 at a press conference Mar 13.

Asian Youth Day will be divided into three phases: (1) a phase in the 11 dioceses; (2) a few days in Yogyakarta where there will be catechesis, liturgy, faith sharing according to different origins, finding the common element of faith in Christ; and (3)  the meeting of the youth ministry animators.

Father Antonio Haryanto, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Youth, as president and chief executive of the organising committee, said: “To directly see and listen to other cultures and languages gives the figure of the complexity of living in a pluralistic society. It also increases mutual tolerance and a sense of brotherhood and solidarity, in the commitment to create a better global future.”

A marathon will precede AYD2017 on May 7 with around 5,000 participants.

Fr Haryanto expressed the hope that the marathon will infuse the participants with the spirit of AYD2017.

The event features an advanced online platform and social networks: one can access on the web site: www.asianyouthday.org; via Facebook: asianyouthday; on Twitter: AYD2017; Instagram: asianyouthday2017.

Previous venues were Hua Hin Diocese Thailand (1999), Taipei Diocese Taiwan (2001), Bangalore Diocese India (2005), Hong Kong Diocese (2006), Imus Diocese Philippines (2009) and Daejeon Diocese South Korea (2014). – fides.org/other sources