YMCA World Dec. 2011

Editorial

I recall the story of when Jesus and his disciples went through a grain field on a Sabbath day and the disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate (Luke 6, 1- 4). Certain of the Pharisees around them were not happy to see a religious barrier broken and they complained. Then Jesus told them a story of David who also broke another strong religious barrier by eating the showbread in the temple when he and his companions were hungry. The bottom line of the story is that for Jesus the wellbeing and welfare of God’s creation is more important than the rules and the System which most of the time protect the powerful.

The world is facing an unprecedented mobilisation of young people who are breaking barriers to restore their dignity and transform their communities. We were overwhelmed by the Youth mobilisation for what is now called the ‘Arab Spring’. We are also witnessing the movement of the “Indignant” protesters against corporate greed. Those young people are claiming more social and economic justice and a better governance of the public sphere and the world.

Who could imagine such mass mobilisation of Youth voice before? At the time when the international institutions and the club of powerful people and countries are creating more barriers, new borders and walls to protect the interest of the few, the youth are breaking the barriers of silence, apathy and institutional compliance to the established unjust and unfair orders. The YMCA in its own way is contributing to building a new generation of young leaders who will be agents of the social transformation the world needs.


This issue of YMCA World focuses on the YMCAs in Asia and the Pacific (APAY) region. In our world family the YMCAs in that region are the champions of Global Citizen Education and well known for their outstanding contribution to civil society processes that restore the dignity of the human being in their respective
countries.


The Asia and Pacific region is perhaps the most affected region of the world by the side effects of globalization as it has led to the undermining of its rich multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic societies. The APAY has reported that Globalization has adversely affected Asian cultures by erasing their diversities and richness and bringing home a homogenous western dominated global culture. Since 1995 the APAY has focused its discussion on analyzing and understanding this phenomenon with the help of scholars and experts on the subject.

As the largest youth organization in the world, the YMCA forms an important part of civil society because it represents the interests of the youth and the people it serves. Hence the YMCA is obliged to play a significant role in strengthening civil society to ensure that justice and peace are not just theoretical concepts.

Experiences related in this magazine from Korea, Changmai, Sri Lanka, etc. illustrate the striving of our movement to equip the youth with voice and space so that they can transform their Communities.

Even though “breaking barriers” might seem negative and provocative it is time for our Worldwide movement to go back to its roots and be more innovative and unconventional in addressing the root causes of injustice, exclusion and vulnerability.

The Youth empowerment agenda of the World Alliance calls for the creation of spaces for young people to realise their full potential of co-creator with God for a better world where those who have and those who don’t have are simply human with the same rights and responsibilities and privileges to keep the Earth a safe place for all.

Carlos Sanvee, Editor

Below you can read the full pdf flash version of this magazine in English and Spanish.

YMCA World Magazine - June 2011

My inspiration for this editorial came from the story of Jesus sleeping in the boat while a storm nearly destroyed the entire crew. Related in Matthew 8, 23-27, this story painted two distinct scenerios.


The first one, which I will call the internal scenario, is about peace as Jesus was quite “Zen” amidst the storm. The second external scenario is about things falling apart. Nature and human beings were out of control.

These two scenes, if painted, would look like what I experienced in the first week of April 2011. Internally, the leadership of the world YMCAs was gathered in Geneva, a peaceful city, to launch the NEW WAY. This encapsulates the new directions of the World Alliance of YMCAs and is aimed at positioning the global YMCA as the leading youth movement which creates space and opportunities for young people to have a credible voice and influence on situations that affect their lives.


Externally, it appeared that the world was going “mad”. From the burning of the Quran in Florida, USA, a week ago and the reaction in chain in Iraq, Pakistan and other Arab countries that week, to the breaking down of the second nuclear reactor in Fukushima, Japan, from that the unrest in Libya and Syria in the Middle East, to the massive killing in Côte D’Ivoire, it seemed that besides the awful event of the wars, the world had reached an unprecedented level of dysfunction.

Internally, the YMCA adopted a new strategy with a key focus on a global brand centred on young people as global citizens. Externally, different strategies were confronting each other with the sole aim of power and control.

While externally the threat of the nuclear consequence in Japan was raising the
questions of sustainability, YMCA leaders applauded their wide range of YMCA activities addressing environmental and sustainability issues.


While internally YMCAs were celebrating their contribution to peace (peace is in the YMCA DNA we said), Syria, Libya and Côte D’Ivoire were as far away from peace as could be imagined. Outside, thousands of refugees were seeking asylum from violence, while inside YMCA leaders were exposing their positive impact in the lives of migrants and asylum seekers around the globe.

Challenges and despair outside and several years of solid experience inside.


But wait a minute... the story in the Bible had a happy ending. The external forces were confronted by the internal peace and the storm was stopped and peace prevailed.

We wish the long and solid experiences of the YMCA worldwide could assist in calming the storm outside in our world today. Unfortunately, as acknowledged in one of the researches initiated under the Partnership in Progress initiative (PIP) in most cases the YMCA impact is more at the local level, as its strategies are mainly deployed at community level and do not necessarily have a deliberate intention to influence policy makers. In the YMCA we think globally and act locally.

The NEW WAY is an awakening process. YMCAs are in the WAY to develop a credible global voice on Youth issues. With the NEW WAY, YMCAs around the world will be able to unite their voices to say “Stop!” to the storm - and it will stop.

This issue of YMCA World is focused on a special initiative of the African YMCAs: From Subject to Citizen, S2C. It is about empowering youth with Voice, space and ability to influence.

More specifically, S2C connects local and global realities and uses different strategies to address issues confronted by youth. More importantly, it equips youth with the ability and strength to confront systems that produce the issues they are faced with.

Moving forward for global citizenship for all!


Carlos Sanvee


Below the full edtion in PDF Flash Format in English and Spanish