World YMCA

We send warm good wishes for turkey and happy family times at Thanksgiving, to all our American colleagues and friends. https://lnkd.in/gJJ6WqKE

Chisinau, 24-27 November 2024: a great meeting of 25 heads of national YMCA Movements in Europe, hosted by 'one of our youngest and fastest growing' movements, YMCA Moldova. Hear from its leader Dima Roibu and neighbouring YMCA Romania's Alina Pop, as well as YMCA Europe's Juan Simoes and World YMCA's Carlos Sanvee. Juan: 'Considering all that's happening on our continent ... the YMCA can be a cornerstone for hope: that's why we're here.' https://lnkd.in/gQYYynDh

It's the YMCA Europe National General Secretaries (NGS) Forum held at YMCA Chisinau in Moldova: a chance to be anchored in a shared global vision and mission ... while sharing the impact of the programmes we run Europe-wide and in 36 national YMCAs across the continent. Thank you to Moldovan NGS Dima Roibu and YMCA Europe Secretary-General Juan Simoes. World YMCA Secretary-General Carlos Sanvee brings the global perspective, as YMCAs continue to implement Vision 2030 worldwide.

'The voices of people demanding a fairer, more equitable world must not be silenced.' As YMCA Youth Climate Ambassadors left COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, they were unequivocal: despite the widening divisions in global climate efforts, hope endures for as long as young people the world over demand climate justice. https://lnkd.in/gCN8KW3T

Hear from YMCA Climate Ambassadors Claire Warmels (Canada), Nora Tafel (USA), Nimasha De Silva (Sri Lanka) and Shakil Karim (USA) as COP 29 drew to a painful close. Claire said: ‘The best thing that can happen for those who are invested in the conditions that keep the climate crisis going is that members of civil society [...] don’t show up, and that we boycott these kind of events [...] because we give up on the multilateral process. WE CANT’T DO THAT! We HAVE to have people here!’

‘Where there is civil society, there is hope .... we’ll stay here until negotiations are officially finished.’ YMCA climate ambassador Stefanie Thornow from Germany was still ‘hoping against hope’ as she sent her final bulletin hours before the final deal was reached at COP 29 in Baku.

'Global citizenship' is easier said than done, and Taejae University YMCA in Seoul, Korea has just conducted a successful study on global citizenship education, reflecting learnings from Yutori education in Japan. One key Yutori element of emphasising young children's individuality is to recognise others' individuality too: that's our collective, global humanity.

In some countries, the YMCA and the YWCA is actually the same organisation. In all countries, we share the same values and we work together. Thank you to Aida Rehouma and all our YWCA friends in Geneva who came across town to see us today!

Earlier this year in April, Change Agents Victoria Muller and Akin Machado from ACM do Rio Grande do Sul (YMCA-RS, Brazil) had an unforgettable experience. They and their YMCA colleagues met Pope Francis at the Vatican alongside their YMCA colleagues. During their visit, they presented the Pope with two beautiful handmade crystals from their region, which he blessed. One was given to the Pope, representing the fragility of life, hope and the YMCA’s care for the young people. 🙏 The blessing has come back to the YMCA. 🌍 During the YMCA Accelerator Summit in Mombasa, Victoria and Akin presented the second crystal to World YMCA’s Carlos Sanvee and Soheila Hayek, bringing those blessings to the entire YMCA Movement. ✨ #YMCAVision2030 YMCA America Latina & Caribe

Why does the YMCA come to COP every year? What role do we play in moving climate action forward? Check out the answers, you may be surprised. 🌍 #cop29azerbaijan #cop29 Shakil Karim Stefanie Tornow Nora Tafel Claire Warmels