Amity's 20th Anniversary
Press Release: 10th November 2005
For immediate release
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"That All May Have Abundant Life" - The Amity Foundation Turns Twenty
"Amity's project gave me a new life." There are probably thousands of Chinese who would echo this view from Mr. Cao Biyou, a former leprosy patient who received rehabilitation through an Amity Foundation Project. As the Foundation turns twenty, an international and ecumenical conference was held in Nanjing to reflect not only on those whose lives have been changed with Amity's help over the past two decades, but also and more importantly, those who are still in need of "abundant life".
The Amity Foundation was set up in Nanjing in April 1985 to "contribute to China's social development and openness to the outside world"; "to make Christian involvement and participation in meeting the needs of society more widely known to the Chinese people;" and "to serve as a channel for people-to-people contact and the ecumenical sharing of resources." Today, Amity is not only one of China's oldest NGOs, but has also become one of the bigger domestic players in the field of social development, being engaged in education, rural development and medical work, blindness prevention and special education, as well as social welfare and emergency relief.
Support from overseas partners, most of them churches and church-related development agencies, has been instrumental in Amity's growth. Representing these partners, around 130 participants from all over the globe gathered for the three-day conference under the theme of "That All May Have Abundant Life." (John 10:10) They were joined by Chinese representatives from various government levels, churches and the academe, as well as representatives from the communities that have benefited from Amity's aid.
Professor Sun Liping, a sociologist from Qinghua University, started the conference off with a talk on the socio-economic situation in China and the opportunities and challenges it offered. A strong dependence on exports and a huge income gap were all part of the dangers of the current development process, Sun said, but the biggest danger of all was the fact that the present development model was not sustainable.
Rev. Deng Fucun, Director of the Social Service Department of the China Christian Council (CCC) and also a member of Amity's Board, then spoke about "Church-Run Social Service Ministry in the Context of Theological Reconstruction". After giving a theological foundation for the Christian social ministries, Rev. Deng highlighted the complementary nature of the social work done by the Amity Foundation and the CCC in a spirit of cooperation and mutual consultation.
In his work report "Retrospect and Prospects", Amity General Secretary Qiu Zhonghui pointed out some future directions for Amity's work. Poverty reduction (including urban poverty), basic healthcare, HIV/AIDS, clean water, alternative energies and environmental protection had been designated priority areas for Amity's future work, Qiu said. Externally, more emphasis on research was envisioned, both to bring Amity's expertise into a theoretical framework and to strengthen advocacy work. Likewise, efforts were being made to increase domestic publicity and fundraising. Internally, staff capacity building would continue to be of primary importance, with a particular emphasis on democratic management.
Keynote speeches and other documentation from the conference are forthcoming. Materials produced on the occasion of the anniversary also include an English-Chinese album "That All May Have Abundant Life", an anthology "Growing In Partnership", and a DVD introducing Amity's work. Materials are available from Amity's Nanjing and Hong Kong offices.
For further information, please contact Mr. Zhang Liwei at amitynj@amityfoundation.org.cn or Ms. Theresa Carino on amityhk@pacific.net.hk.
Nanjing/Hong Kong, 10 November 2005
The Amity Foundation
www.amityfoundation.org
