This document summarizes the training for YMCA change agents on building a global strategy. It describes how the YMCA realized it lacked shared messaging and visibility as a global movement. In response, it implemented a strategic plan called "New Way" from 2011-2014 to bring the movement together and address these challenges. This included creating a "Sleeping Giant" metaphor and agreeing on a shared message of collectively standing for youth empowerment. It then launched various global initiatives to express this commitment. In 2014, the World Council approved the first global strategy called "Our Way" to further strengthen the focus on empowering youth.

1. CHANGE AGENTS TRAINING
BUILDING A GLOBAL STRATEGY
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E-LEARNING
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2. You now know…
that the YMCA is a big organisation and the role of the World YMCA
is to coordinate the movement at a global level.
To better understand what we are doing, it’s important to go
deeper into 3 elements about Global Governance:
a) Our common challenges;
b) Common and shared messaging;
c) Common Strategy approved by the World Council

3. OUR COMMON CHALLENGE
In 2010, during the 17th World Council of YMCAs, the movement came together
and discussed our main common challenges and concluded:
The YMCA do not have shared messaging,
therefore we cannot achieve greater visibility and
impact as a global movement.
We are not telling our story.

4. THE PATHWAY TOWARDS VISIBILITY
The image below represents the pathway towards more visibility in the
YMCA World Movement and where we are right now!
X
X

5. Good News!
We are doing well with our mission. YMCA is a Christian
Ecumenical movement and this is understood by all YMCAs. Our
mission statment is the Paris Basis, further developed in the
Kampala Principles and Challenge 21! We never have to start
over with a new mission!
Good News!
The things we do well in the YMCA already exist. We have core
competencies worldwide in the areas of health, employment,
civic engagement and we have added the development of
competencies on environmental issues as one of our new goals.
Good News!
We have thousands of programmes serving millions of people
and they are good! Very good! Because they have real results
and outcomes and are improving the lives of young people.
Mission
Core
Competencies
Programmes
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{
{

6. Not so good news!
As a world family we are not telling our collective story together
or in a coordinated way. That’s why it is hard for the general
public to understand what the YMCA is about!
Not so good news again!
Because we don’t tell our collective story together, we are not
seen as a global player. Therefore, we have neither the public
recognition of our work, nor are we touching all of the resources
and developing the partnerships we need to in order to extend
the reach of our mission!
Visibility
Shared
Messaging
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{

7. AS A RESPONSE
TO OUR COMMON CHALLENGES, THE
WORLD YMCA IMPLEMENTED A STRATEGIC
PLAN NAMED “NEW WAY (2011-2014)”
TO BRING THE MOVEMENT TOGETHER AND
WORK ON THE CHALLENGES AGREED BY THE
2010 WORLD COUNCIL.

8. To start, we created a metaphor to help us understand
some of our biggest challenges!

9. Awaken
the
sleeping
giant!

10. The ‘Sleeping Giant’ is a metaphor that explains us as a ‘collective’, and not
as individual YMCAs. It is about the hidden potential of our global impact
given that YMCAs nationally and locally are already doing very good work.
We understand this metaphor as a way to explain something that we had in
the past as a global family but is weaker today: our ‘global coordination’.
The return of global coordination at a greater scale is what will help the
YMCA movement pursue its full potential and by doing this, the ‘giant’ will
awaken and speak louder than ever before!

11. We also found our shared messaging!

12. In 2012 a group of YMCA stakeholders came together
in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss the common message
for the YMCA as a global movement, as well as the
existence of a “YMCA Change Model”.

13. The YMCA wants to achieve its full potential
• We therefore must be a stronger movement
• We therefore must attract greater resources
• We therefore must have more visibility
• We therefore must demonstrate greater impact
• We therefore must have a shared focus
Relevant to the world, grounded in our mission, worthy of our aspiration, connected to
our current work.
We therefore choose to collectively stand for youth
empowerment.
THE NAIROBI STATEMENT

14. We started building and strengthening global initiatives to
express our collective commitment to Youth
Empowerment,
and to unleash our collective potential as a
global movement.

15. CHANGE AGENTS
YMCA WORLD CHALLENGE
ONE MILLION VOICES RESEARCH
PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
ADVOCACY
MOVEMENT STRENGHENING
RESOURCE MOBILISATION
GOVERNANCE

16. And finally in July 2014, after a broad consultation
process, the World Council approved for the first time
a global strategy named “OUR WAY (2014-2018)”,
which reinforces our collective focus on youth
empowerment and the basis for strengthening the
YMCA movement in the next years.

17. www.ymca.int