Hi friends!
The World Alliance of YMCAs has started a "programme of change" in order to increase the relevance and impact of the YMCA movement across the world. The YMCA beliefs that there is no one better than young people themselves to actually bring about this change. Therefore a group of so-called "change agents" will be trained to become a new generation of young YMCA leaders. This group will unite the YMCA movement under the umbrella of Youth Empowerment.
The programme is not about creating new initiatives at the local level or generalising the work of the YMCAs all over the world, as we believe that adapting to local realities is vital to our work. Rather, it is about identifying key events for youth mobilisation and integrating them with this change model. World wide, about 200 of these change agents will take part. In due course more information will be available which is tailored to the European and national/local situations, you should consider becoming one of them!
As part of the Change Agent Training Team I am currently participating in a training at the YMCA in Long Beach, California as I will be involved in the coordination of the Change Agents in Europe.
I've just finished the first day, where we got to know each other and were introduced to the YMCA in Long Beach. Both the other participants and the programmes and staff in Long Beach were very inspiring. I'm looking forward to the rest of the training! Here you can find some more information about one of their signature programmes and a documentary of their work in Cambodia.
Youth Institute
Cambodia Documentary
