Taiwan Youth Day Explained

Taiwan Youth Day (TYD;) is a youth-oriented Catholic Church event in Taiwan, organized by Youth Desk of Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference (CRBC). Seven dioceses in Taiwan take turn to plan and execute TYD. In 2004, the first ever TYD was created and it was decided to hold it every three years. However, in 2008, they have decided to have the TYD once a year.

Purpose

During the meeting week, young adults enrich their spirituality through prayer, personal development, and faith sharing. At the same time, the organization hopes to encourage more youths to discover and renew their faith and to proclaim the word of the lord with justice and peace.

Origin

In 2004, several young adults returned from the World Youth Day, gathered, and decided to create a similar experience where young Taiwanese Catholics can come together and support each other in group gatherings. Since then, they have also begun to encourage other youth desks to work together and build a network with each other. Ever since the first TYD, youth leaders from each Taiwanese archdiocese have gathered and worked towards creating an Asian Youth Day or an International experience where the Catholics from all over can come together and share their culture, language, and ethnicity.

Chronology of celebrations

YearDateHostThemeContents
1st2004October 1 - 3Youth Desk of CRBCWalk toward God, Walk toward love The 1st Taiwan Youth Day was held at Hsieh Wei Memorial Camp in Puli, Nantou. Originally it was planned to be held on August 12 - 15, but it was postponed due to Typhoon Rananim.
2nd2007August 22 - 27Youth Desk of CRBC, Diocese of TainanAs I have loved you so you also should love one another (Jn 13:34)The 2nd Taiwan Youth Day was held in Tainan. The site of the camp was at Tsengwen Youth Activity Center in Tainan County. This was the first year to have homestay for campers for staying overnight.
3rd2008October 9 - 12Archdiocese of TaipeiReceive the POWER, to be your witnesses (Ac 1:3-8)The 3rd Taiwan Youth Day was held in Taipei. Besides the site of the camp at Chientan Youth Activity Center, there was also evangelization activities held at Da'an Forest Park, Gongguan and East End. About 500 youths from different parts of Taiwan participated that year.[1] [2] [3] Starting from this year, Taiwan Youth Day is held annually instead of once every three years, and the seven dioceses of Taiwan take turns hosting TYD.
4th2009August 19 - 22Diocese of HsinchuYouth stand up, have hope for Taiwan: My Thoughts, My Words, My path with Christ The 4th Taiwan Youth Day was held in Taichung. The site of the camp was at Stella Matutina Girls' High School in Taichung City. Besides the main site of the camp in Downtown Taichung, evangelization activities were also held in various areas throughout Downtown Taichung, there were and "Centuries Historical Church Tour" programme in Changhua County, and the evening concert for evangelization at Fu-shun Park in North District, Taichung.
5th2010August 23 - 28Diocese of HsinchuGood Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? (Mk 10:17)The 5th Taiwan Youth Day was held in Hsinchu. The site of the camp was at St. Peter High School in Hsinchu City. There were host families to house the participants, so that the youth from other parts of Taiwan would have different experience of life. There were also other activities throughout Taoyuan County (now Taoyuan City), Hsinchu County, and Miaoli County.
6th2011July 14 - 17Diocese of KaohsiungLove & Communion: Instaurare omnia in Christo The 6th Taiwan Youth Day was held in Kaohsiung. The site of the camp was at St. Dominic High School in Downtown Kaohsiung.
7th2012TBDDiocese of ChiayiTBDThe 7th Taiwan Youth Day will be held in Chiayi.
8th2013TBDDiocese of HualienTBDThe 8th Taiwan Youth Day will be held in Hualien.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 天主教青年日 抬十字架祈福. 許敏溶. Liberty Times. 2008-10-12. 2008-10-13.
  2. Web site: 天主教青年日/蕭萬長:有信心安度金融危機 . 王鵬捷. www.cdnews.com.tw. 2008-10-11. 2008-10-13.
  3. Web site: 天主教青年日 蕭副總統許願安度金融危機. 吳協昌. Central News Agency. 2008-10-11. 2008-10-13.