Guide. Inform. Inspire.
The first episode in a new series, The Ignite Show did all that and more with this innovative new magazine-style show. Broadcast on Tuesday 17 January 2023 on World YMCA’s YouTube channel, the show united the global YMCA around activating YMCA Vision 2030. Attendees tuned in across time zones and countries – India, Japan, Australia, Nigeria, Jerusalem, to name just a few – to hear from colleagues on their Vision 2030 progress and determine next steps.
“It is so good to be back together again, virtually this time,” said hosts Mafe Giraldo and Kevin Kapeke. “We’ve never come together in this way before. The more we do together, the stronger we grow internally and externally”.
From their studios 16 hours apart on different continents, the duo were back after hosting The Daily Show at World Council in Aarhus, Denmark in July 2022. Mafe works with the YMCA Latin American & Caribbean Alliance, and Kevin is a board director for YMCA Victoria.
The 55-minute Show, now available in full on YouTube, covered a broad range of topics, from a closer look at Vision 2030 to the ‘backbone’ support from the World YMCA and Area Alliances. Attendees also saw examples of programmes addressing a Sustainable Planet and Just World, two of the four Vision 2030 Pillars. And as a live show, attendees could comment, interact and just say hello to one another.
Watch the show below and scroll to see the highlights:
What is Vision 2030?
The show charted the evolution of Vision 2030. At the YMCA175 celebration, Carlos Sanvee in 2019, World YMCA Secretary General, said of the initial Vision 2030 spark, “I sensed something new was in the making; a new reality. Something significant and positive had transpired, and I believe the YMCA will never be the same again”.
Following its adoption at World Council in July 2022, YMCA Area Alliances and National Movements have begun incorporating it into their strategies. More.
Local, National and Regional Projects
Nam Boo-Won, General Secretary of the Asia Pacific Alliance of YMCAs which encompasses 24 National Movements, provided a look at ongoing sustainability work.
“We started about a decade ago, continuing our Green Ambassador Training,” he said. “About eight years ago we set up e-learning courses on climate change, and we established a green fund travel programme to offset carbon emission created by flying to see one another’.
Rodrigo Puntriano, a YMCA Ambassador who volunteers with the YMCA in Peru, shared details on Youth-Led Solutions initiatives around plastic waste. And he detailed the challenges of the three goals aligned to Pillar 3, Sustainable Planet.
“Controlling our own carbon footprint is the easiest”, he said. “Next, we need to impact the footprint of the people we interact with. It’s most difficult to impact the footprint of other people and our organisations”, he added, referencing John Lennon, “You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one”.
YMCA Peru is also leading the way through its TRANScendent Opportunities programme, which aligns with Just World, YMCA Vision 2030 Pillar 4. Working with the YMCA of Greater Toronto (Canada) and the TRANS Feminist Organisation for Trans Human Rights, YMCA Peru supports a project that positively impacts the lives of 150 trans women in three cities in Peru: Lima, (capital), Piura (north coast) and Iquitos (jungle).
Alliance and National Movement support
Support from leaders at the Area Alliance and National Movement is crucial to ensuring success at the local YMCAs.
Said Nam Boo-Won, “I believe every part of the YMCA family must co-own Vision 2030, but real transformation must take place on the ground. We will support those YMCAs on the ground who are the ones making a difference in people’s lives around these four pillars”.
Peru’s Betsabé Véliz Merino, the youngest President of a national YMCA, said the National Movements play a vital role in supporting YMCAs at the local level. “We provide feedback and purpose to the programmes and activities, to make sure we are all heading in the same direction. The only way to fish is by throwing one net”.
Practical Guide
Everyone should download the YMCA Vision 2030 Practical Guide for YMCAs. Răzvan-Victor Sassu, Head of Strategy & Policy at World YMCA, said the new guide truly is for everyone.
“Explore it in your team”, he said. “You can do that if you’re a youth or a CEO. Maybe you are passionate about one of the strategic goals or one of the four pillars. If so, take the lead and facilitate a conversation”.
The World YMCA and Area Alliances are now working on building the ‘backbone’ function to support the National Movements and YMCAs. After that comes the construction of Pillar Teams to work around each of the four Pillars of Impact in a practical way.
“Download the guide, read it, and commit to making meaningful change”, he said. “If at least 100 YMCAs do that, it will kickstart change”.
What’s next?
In a survey at the end of the show, viewers indicated that the number-one action they were going to take around Vision 2030 is simply to talk about it.
Look for new highlights from the show will be released weekly on World YMCA’s YouTube Channel.
To keep the conversation going, the second Ignite Show will launch in three months in late April/early May. Look for more information to come on the next show, which provides another opportunity to connect with colleagues worldwide and share our Vision 2030 progress!
The Ignite Show is produced by Bromfield Events, who helmed the online programme of the first-ever hybrid World Council.