Read our February 2022 Newsletter
Dear friends,
Visiting Ethiopia last week, I saw yet again some of the pressures and constraints that are part and parcel of the existence of so many of our National Movements.
YMCA Ethiopia finds itself in almost every sense in the crossfire of a civil war. The global YMCA Movement rejoices in the great news that – in the first days of 2022 – our brother Dagmawi Selamssa, the National General Secretary of the Ethiopian YMCA, and our sister Ethiopia Tilahun, the current YMCA Ethiopia Chairperson, were released from custody by the Ethiopian authorities after 55 and 44 days respectively. We send them our collective best wishes for rest and restoration as they are reunited with families and colleagues, and continue to thank YMCA for its service to the vulnerable people of Tigray region.
It was my pleasure, too, to visit Nirina Rakotomalala and all the team at the African Alliance of YMCAs in Nairobi, and sit and discuss with them as they chart their course for 2022. It is so heartening to see how they – and so many of us across our global Movement – are building strategies and plans around YMCA Vision 2030. See below our call for your contributions to the second and final phase of the Vision 2030 consultation, which ends on 7 March. One Movement-wide vision, one mission, four shared pillars of impact.
And one World Council, 3-9 July, experienced at least two ways: in Aarhus, and online. Remember to take advantage of the cheaper ‘Earlybird’ fees until 18 February. Please do REGISTER NOW, for both the physical and the virtual events. And be sure to join us for the special World Council information webinar on 9 February at 15:00 CET.
And finally: please tell us what you think by completing the 3-minute survey at the bottom of this news bulletin. We want our monthly newsletters to be useful and engaging for you, and would greatly value your feedback. Thank you.
Carlos Sanvee, Secretary General, World YMCA