BILA IV on youth was organised by the FABC from 9th July till 13th July. The meeting started with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 6:00 pm on 9th July followed by dinner and opening ceremony. Tan and Dome the members of the local Thai Youth Team welcomed the gathering followed by an ice breaker,” THE BILA BINGO”.
On behalf of the Mahatai Centre H.E Bishop Joel Baylon, the chairman of the FABC Youth Desk welcomed the gathering, Fr. Gutsavo, the executive secretary of FABC welcomed the gathering to the meeting. He shared the purpose of the BILA IV and spoke on elements needed for the empowerment of the youth. Day 1 of the meeting ended with the formation of the drafting committee.
The following morning began with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 6:00 am followed by breakfast. The first session of the day was on the Preparatory Document of the Synod of Bishops by H.E Bishop Baylon. After a short break, day 2 continued with the next session where the 5 delegates who had participated in the Pre-Synod meeting which was held in Rome earlier this year, were invited to share their experience.
H.E Bishop Baylon continued his session on the topic – Preparatory Document of the Synod of Bishops. The session ended by taking group pictures.
The next session for the day started at 3:00 pm with an action song. The Catholic Organisation for Youth in Asia (COYA) took over the 3rd session. The gathering was divided into four groups and each group was explained about the activities of COYA, some were – FIMCAP and Youth for Christ. After a short break the last session of the day was the Post AYD7 Presentation taken by the youth of Indonesia.
An hour of Taize prayer was conducted in the evening followed by dinner. The drafting committee had a meeting to discuss on the reflections of the day’s program.
Day 3 continued with the Evaluating session where the youth of different countries came forward and presented the situation of the youth and the challenges they face in their country.
The evening continued with the Taize prayer followed by dinner and the meeting of the draft committee for the final message.
The first session of the day was taken up by Jasmine Maria sharing her experience at the Pre -Synod meeting. The Youth of Thailand took over by presenting the situation of the youth in Thailand.
After a short break the next session was on the regional discussion on the programs conducted.
Post lunch, The Indian team presented on the AYD8 which was followed by the final message delivered by Fr. Gutsavo. After Taize prayer an d dinner, the Thai team had organised a cultural program. 3 teams were formed and each team put up some cultural events. It was an evening with fun and joy where everyone got along and thanked each other for having a great time in the last few days.