Sustainable Planet

YMCA is committed to advancing global conservation and responsibility to reduce the effects of climate change through youth-led education programmes and advocacy initiatives that improve environmental awareness.

Every young person has the ability to contribute to reducing environmental degradation and its consequences. Through YMCA programmes, young people coordinate sustainable practices and advocating on issues relating to the environment and climate change.

• 70 National YMCAs worldwide are working on environment related issues
• YMCA worldwide runs 2,400 programmes on environment related issues, involving and reaching some 232,000 people (Data: 2018)

Examples of projects

• Global Alternative Tourism Network (Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs): a network of different YMCAs that promotes Alternative Tourism
• In Madagascar (YMCA Africa), the Y-Urban Environment Club raises environmental awareness through seminars in schools and urban actions.
• In Togo (YMCA Africa), the Sokodé branch launched a series of activities to take care of their garden. Young people are learning how to take care of the plants, vegetables and fruits.
• Youth-Led Solutions Summit Launch: it’s time to act for the planet: on 19 October 2020, World YMCA and its partners launched the first Youth-Led Solutions Summit. The focus was Sustainable Development Goal 13: “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”

Vision 2030

YMCA Vision 2030 is a Movement-wide Vision statement, Mission statement, and four key areas of activity (‘Pillars of Impact’). It was adopted at the 20^th YMCA World Council in July 2022.

Each of the four key areas of activity sets three collective goals to turn the priorities into action: at the YMCA, at the community, and at the global levels.

Vision 2030 is a framework for global alignment which allows each of the 120 YMCA National Movements to go at their own pace according to their own strengths and their own communities’ needs, in pursuit of common goals.

Vision 2030 pdf
Position paper

Position paper

Read the World YMCA’s views on young people and the Environment. (2018)