THE WORLDWIDE YMCA MOVEMENT

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ANNUAL REPORT

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1 | YMCA EUROPE ANNUAL REPORT

ABOUT US

YMCA EUROPE

The European Alliance of YMCAs was created by several national YMCAs in 1973, with the purpose of setting a collective direction of the European movement and strengthening the work of the YMCA across the continent.

YMCA Europe focused on the development of YMCAs in Southern Europe throughout the 1980s. After the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many local and national YMCAs were re-founded in Eastern Europe and their facilities were brought back to the movement after decades. The role of our European umbrella organization was fundamental in providing guidance, resources and capacity to the new members.

In 2016 a representation oﬃce was opened in Brussels, Belgium in order to strengthen the voice and proﬁle of YMCA Europe among the key European institutions and other civil society organizations.

The main governance body is our General Assembly. An Executive Committee formed by volunteers is elected among the membership of YMCA Europe and a decentralized staﬀ team operates and delivers the Strategic Plan and priorities adopted by the member YMCAs.

Today there are 37 national YMCAs in Europe: 29 of them are full members of YMCA Europe and 8 co-operating YMCAs. Collectively there are more than 4,500 local YMCAs, involving more than 100,000 volunteers and approximately 21,000 members of staff.

THE WORLDWIDE YMCA MOVEMENT

YMCA is one of the oldest and largest youth-focused movements in the world. Founded in 1844, it now operates in 120 countries and reaches 64 million people every year.

YMCA associations are strongly rooted in their communities and oﬀer a variety of programmes and services based on local priorities and issues aﬀecting young people and their communities.

World YMCA is committed to promoting empowerment, social justice and peace for young people and their communities through four key areas – Health, Employment, Environment and Civic Engagement.

These programme areas cover all 18 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and unite us in our mission to empower young people so that they may transform the world for the better.

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YMCA WORLDWIDE

YMCA ARUBA1956

YMCA TANZANIA 1959 YMCA SINGAPORE 1902

YMCA INDONESIA1928 YMCA HONGKONG1901 YMCA MACAU1991 YMCA N.MACEDONIA 1999 YMCA ALBANIA 2008 YMCA MONTENEGRO 2011 YMCA GREECE 1892 YMCA MALTA 1976 YMCA LEBANON 1890 YMCA ARMENIA 1992

YMCA JERUSALEM INTERNATIONAL 1878 GREENLAND YMCA JORDAN 1961 (DENMARK) YMCA CHINA 1885 YMCA INDIA YMCA RUSSIA 1900 YMCA MONGOLIA 1854 2002 SVALBARD (NORWAY) YMCA NORWAY 1878 YMCA SWEDEN 1844 FINLANDYMCA1886

YMCA ESTONIA 1919 YMCA LATVIA 1923 YMCA LITHUANIA 1932 YMCA BELARUS 1994 YMCA POLAND 1923 YMCA GERMANY1848 YMCA ITALY1851 YMCA DENMARK1878

YMCA AUSTRIA 1996 ROMANIA YMCA SERBIA 2008YMCA BULGARIA 1883 YMCA MOLDOVA 1996 YMCA SLOVAKIA 1920 YMCA CZECH REPUBLIC 1920

YMCA UKRAINE1993 YMCA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2011YMCA HUNGARY 1883

YMCA EGYPT1909 CYPRUS YMCA PAKISTAN1876 YMCA NEPAL 1990 YMCA BANGLADESH 1965 YMCA MYANMAR1897 YMCA CANADA YMCA GEORGIA 1991 1851 YMCA USA 1851 YMCA SRILANKA 1882 YMCA

MEXICO1891 YMCA CUBA 1905YMCA BAHAMAS 1966 YMCA JAMAICA1920 YMCA HAITI 1895 YMCA VENEZUELA YMCA COLOMBIA1963 YMCA ECUADOR 1947 YMCA PERU 1920 YMCA PARAGUAY 1921 YMCA CHILE1912 YMCA ARGENTINAYMCA URUGUAY 1909

1902 YMCA ICELAND1899 YMCA FRANCE 1851 YMCA SPAIN 1880 YMCA IRELAND 1849 YMCA ENGLAND AND WALES 1844

YMCA PORTUGAL 1894 YMCA NETHERLANDS 1851

YMCA BELGIUM 1853 YMCA SWITZERLAND 1852

YMCA THE GAMBIA 1979 YMCA SIERRA LEONE 1912 YMCA SENEGAL 1982

YMCA LIBERIA 1881 YMCA NIGERIA1925 YMCA NIGER2004 YMCA SUDAN1889

YMCA ETHIOPIA1951 YMCA KENYA 1910 YMCA CAMEROON1924 YMCA SOUTH SUDAN2014 YMCA ZIMBABWE1968 YMCA MADAGASCAR1924

YMCA SOUTHAFRICA 1865 YMCA ZAMBIA 1958 YMCA GHANA1890 YMCA TOGO 1930 YMCA BOLIVIA 1943 YMCA BRAZIL 1893 YMCA SURINAM 1972 YMCA GUYANA 1882 YMCA PANAMA 1966 YMCA COSTA RICA 1975 YMCA NICARAGUA 1989 YMCA HONDURAS 1990 EL SALVADOR 1990 YMCA BELIZE 1987 YMCA GUATEMALA 1964

YMCA DOMINICANREPUBLIC 1963

YMCA SAINT VICENT1994 YMCA BARBADOS 1880TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 1921

YMCA AUSTRALIA 1851 YMCA PHILIPPINES1911 YMCA JAPAN 1880 YMCA KOREA 1888 NEW ZEALAND1855 YMCA FIJI1971 YMCA THAILAND 1930 YMCA TAIWAN 1945 YMCA MALAYSIA 1905 YMCA VIETNAM 1992 YMCA CAMBODIA 1999

YMCA KOSOVO 2003 YMCA GAZA 1952

YMCA EAST JERUSALEM 1848

YMCAS AND ESTIMATED STARTING YEARS SOME GROUPS STARTED BEFORE 1844 AND LATER CHANGED TO YMCAs

TIMOR LESTE

YMCA ASIA &PACIFIC

World YMCA YMCA Europe

YMCA Asia Paciﬁc YMCA Africa YMCA Latin America & Caribbean

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FOREWORD

We are proud to share with you the highlights of YMCA Europe in 2020. This is a summary of the many eﬀorts that we have collectively made to remain relevant, adding value to the excellent work of the YMCA at local, regional and national levels.

More than ever this goal was crucial.

In cooperation with National Movements and partners, we quickly made adjustments in our movement strengthening, communications, advocacy and representation work with one clear objective: to continue delivering our mission

following the purpose of YMCA Europe´s foundation 47 years ago.

Every month we reported dozens of initiatives through our newsletters and the publications in our platforms. Looking back, also YMCA Europe had to quickly adapt to new realities and still take the opportunity to thrive on chance.

As it was reported at the general assemblies, we successfully completed the 2016-2020 Strategy with positive contributions to the European movement by Creating Spaces, Movement Strengthening and

Representation.

This achievement facilitated a smooth transition in our

governance body and therefore we want to express the deepest gratitude to President Mike Will

and the Executive Committee members that ﬁnished their term in November.

Together with the staﬀ team, our leadership has built a solid ground, being a reference for our member movements, adapting activities to the new context and showing resilience and relevance in these

unprecedented times.

As we started drafting the new

The impact of our Advocacy and Representation work within the main European institutions raised our proﬁle, the joint work with other youth focused platforms was increased and our leading role was recognized by our public and private partners.

The leadership and dedication of the diverse teams that form the European movement, made this year possible.

Our recognition and gratitude goes to each of each of the volunteers, members, staﬀ and representatives of partner

organizations that made this year

a successful and inspiring one. New tools and services were

provided though our Movement Strengthening strategy, an

innovative peace & justice project was approved and implemented in addition to “Roots for Peace”, a new dimension and impact was visible within our

Communications plan.

Strategic Direction, we look forward to the involvement of all our stakeholders in this work.

We have been inspired by the commitment and capacities of the National YMCAs and our diﬀerent networks such as programme groups, committees and working platforms.

Thank you on behalf of our Executive Committee and Staﬀ Team. Looking forward to working alongside with you in 2021!

Thank you in advance for helping YMCA Europe taking the next steps forward. Our main goal is to provide a solid and agile platform to our members, contributing to respond to contemporary issues aﬀecting young people.

Emma Osmundsen Juan Simoes Iglesias

President Secretary General

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Roots for Peace goes on three more years

roots

for peace Executive

Committee Meeting near Berlin YMCA Connects platform YMCA Europe`s Annual Report 2019 launched Youth Matters: our message to the European Institutions Part I YMCA Europe`s General Assembly YMCA #BeResponsible campaign was launched YMCA Europe Roots for Peace Award

YMCA call for Peace in the South Caucasus European National General Secretaries Meeting YMCA Europe`s General Assembly Part II Meeting of the newly elected Executive Committee JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH

APRIL MAY JUNE

JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

2020 AT A GLANCE

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NATIONAL YMCAs IN EUROPE: 29 FULL MEMBERS, 8 COOPERATING MEMBERS

95,000

20,000

2,000,000

4,100

YMCA CAMPS

IN 28 COUNTRIES

74 YMCA PROJECTS

WITH REFUGEES

IN 20 COUNTRIES

56 IMPACT

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PRESENCE

116 BRANCHES 6680 STAFF 24 BRANCHES 34 STAFF 683 BRANCHES 101 STAFF 83 BRANCHES 140 BRANCHES 36 STAFF 11 BRANCHES 35 STAFF 10 BRANCHES 16 STAFF BRANCHES STAFF 7 BRANCHES 7 STAFF 8 BRANCHES 6 STAFF 17 BRANCHES 51 STAFF 25 BRANCHES 60 STAFF 16 BRANCHES 24 STAFF 9 BRANCHES 5 BRANCHES 19 STAFF 262 BRANCHES 94 STAFF BRANCHES STAFF 5 BRANCHES 57 STAFF 4 BRANCHES 9 STAFF 8 BRANCHES 1 STAFF 5 BRANCHES 90 STAFF _{17 BRANCHES} 400 STAFF 18 BRANCHES 259 STAFF 3 BRANCHES 4 STAFF 5 BRANCHES 23 STAFF 1 BRANCH 9 STAFF 30 BRANCHES 237 STAFF 2200 BRANCHES 9536 STAFF KOSOVO YMCA FUNDED IN 1993 25 BRANCHES 19 STAFF 13 BRANCHES 260 BRANCHES 14 STAFF 21 BRANCHES YMCA FUNDED IN 2003 6 BRANCHES 13 STAFF YMCAs & ESTIMAED STARTING YEAR*

Figures provided by the National Movements in 2018

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NORTH MACEDONIA

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COVID-19

During the Covid-19 crisis, YMCAs across

Europe have been determined to help their communities in partnership with other institutions, using their full potential and experience.

YMCA Europe created the Facebook community YMCA CONNECTS, open to all YMCAs across the world.

The groups shared resources on how to maintain physical and mental health, best practices for staﬀ on how to adapt to new home-oﬃce procedures.

We organised webinars on advocacy and fundraising, tools and informal online

gatherings, including producing some song to lift the spirits during the ﬁrst lockdown.

YMCA Europe Peacebuilding Project

Roots for Peace also kept its vocation to

build bridges despite divisions and had its peace activists involved in diﬀerent online activities and campaigns. YMCA Europe has elaborated and run a

Covid-19 Impact Survey which

embraced not only European YMCAs but other geographical areas as well. You can see the key data here.

Due to Covid-19 limitations, the YMCA

Leadership Academy project team

organised on-line meetings to support the participants learning in project design, using state of the art online learning platforms, creating and adapting new materials for online non formal education.

We also launched in April

#beResponsible - an awareness

campaign about the need to wear protective masks.

Also online, YMCAs such as Setubal (Portugal), Scotland, Romania, Czech Republic, Ukraine developed diﬀerent projects and oﬀers for their members. The YMCAs from England & Wales, Sweden, Kosovo, Italy, Greece, Armenia, Spain, Romania or Scotland have pro-actively worked on campaigns and a number of projects such as the delivery of food parcels and other goods to those in need or adapting their programmes to the online format.

The Back on Track report was launched by YMCA England and Wales in August 2020.

The aim of this research was to ﬁnd out from young people about the impact that Covid-19 had on themselves.

Learn more Learn more

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STORIES

HANNAH, GERMANY

IAN, NORTHERN IRELAND

The Europe I want, it`s a place

where the voice of young

people is to be heard. Where

they are empowered and

given responsibility, no matter

where they are coming from...

An organisation that puts

young people at the forefront of

its work, an organisation that

brings together the best of

countries, cultures and

communities to fulﬁll their

mission and impact youth…

In these very challenging times, when it seems hard to know what steps

to take next, what helps us in our work is that we work with youth, for

youth. And our youth has a very clear view of what our role should be in

Europe, and the kind of Europe they want.

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7 MIRJAMI, FINLAND

MARIAM, GEORGIA

What YMCA Europe must do for our

future and the future of Europe is to

stand tall for the values that we all

share in the YMCA and have open

conversations to engage young

people in activism to actually not

assume but hear people out…

YMCA Europe has to continue

building a solid base for the

young people and give them the

chance to speak and be the voice

not an echo...

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8 ACTIVITIES

Events based on trainings have also been a key pillar within YMCA Europe´s annual projects. This year this ﬁeld has become especially relevant for the global

movement.

YMCA Europe joined and promoted World YMCA “Leaders Talks” sessions on the health, social and economic impact of Covid-19 during May-June 2020. In addition, our Staﬀ Team designed sessions on fundrasing, advocacy, movement strengthening and project management during the lockdown period.

The incoming Executive Committee elected in November were also beneﬁciaries of governance, strategic planning and YMCA Europe´s identity and history as part of their induction process.

Key Progress in Movement Strengthening Area for 2020: Movement Strengthening is a key Strategic Priority of YMCA

Europe.

It is a process of assisting National Movements in understanding and achieving desired changes in prioritised spheres of their work for the beneﬁt of the target groups through self-analysis,

empowerment of people and external expertise.

CAPACITY BUILDING

Ÿ Movement Strengthening Toolkit is developed and published;

Ÿ International Organic Governance project is on: questionnaires are elaborated and open for National Movements to analyse their governance sphere;

Ÿ Health Check Overview 2019 is done;

Ÿ The data collection for "Impact Covid-19 Survey" is completed with 13 National Movements participating

in Europe and 41 National Movements taking part globally;

Ÿ European Staﬀ Conference is being prepared, the Registration is open;

Ÿ Movement Strengthening Library is created;

Ÿ Field Groups meetings of YMCA Belarus and YMCA Ukraine took place;

Ÿ Crisis Leadership Coaching Groups for 6 National Movements took place;

Ÿ Minimum Standards for National Movements were designed in the International Global Team;

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9 PROGRAMMES

It means that many participants of the course will receive seed grants to implement their projects in 2021.

adapting new materials on non formal education ready to be used virtually.

Meanwhile the project team has managed to negotiate with the donor to create a contest for the projects with some ﬁnancial support for the winners.

This is a new setting and

procedure for YMCA Europe, but also an opportunity to develop our educational digital tools, which will be kept to expand

participation within our education programmes.

While the original action plan for the year was disrupted by COVID19

pandemic, Roots for Peace was up and buzzing in 2020, nevertheless.

In addition there was still a window of opportunity to organize the Roots Local Capacities for Peace Award project with around 60 young people from diﬀerent ethnic backgrounds coming together for 10 days at YMCA Georgia Camp Orange in August 2020. More than 30 activities and initiatives were implemented in an online format, involving more than 75 people.

YMCA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

Co-funded by the European Youth Foundation, "YMCA Leadership Academy: Global Leaders for Local Communities" Project was planned to start in March 2020. 30 young leaders from 25 European countries were recruited to initiate their training journey.

One of the most important outcomes of the course is the design and implementation of social projects with an impact on the community.

Following a new time-frame

caused by Covid-19 limitations, the project team organised four on-line meetings to support the participants learning about project design, using online learning platforms and creating and

ROOTS FOR PEACE GENERATION NEXT

YMCA Europe welcomed “Generation Next” - the new member in its project pool in 2020 - an extraordinary success during a year marked with closures and restrictions.

Funded by our long-standing donor and partner - Bread for the World, the Generation Next project will run for 3 years and will provide

hundreds of young people in the South Caucasus with scholarship opportunities to complete their higher education or participate in upskilling summer schools, held in cooperation with selected academic institutions.

Learn more

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So, the odds were deﬁnitely not in favour – nevertheless, the “Roof for Roots” team persisted, hoping for the change… And it did occur!

With the majority of Covid-19 restrictions gradually lifted and the situation in the region returning to normal, all that had to be done was to roll up the sleeves and make “Roof for Roots” happen…

The event was implemented from August 15th to 25th and involved 60 young people (mostly aged 15 - 20),

representing ethnic Georgian, Armenian & Azerbaijani communities.

The event had 2 sessions, 5 days each and focused on workshops dedicated to reconciliation, civic engagement, human and minority rights, exposure visits to local historic and nature sites and

representation of own cultural traditions.

ROOTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

“Roots has become a big part of my life… Here we are all equal. And every time I go home, I feel like a better person!” - Salome Kalabegashvili - 18 Years Old; Ethnic Georgian; Volunteer of Tbilisi YMCA & Student at Tbilisi Agricultural University . "Roots is where I felt welcome and that I belong... That I am not the only one with challenges in life; and that I can overcome them… It is where all the activities are inspired with the atmosphere of love. I am happy now! “ - Chinara Kojaeva - 20 Years Old; Ethnic Azerbaijani; Works at Innovations & Reforms Center in Tbilisi

“Skills, fun, multicultural environment, integration, bonding, challenging & overcoming stereotypes – this is Roots!” - Rima Marangozyan - 21 Years Old; Ethnic Armenian; Student of Journalism at Tbilisi State University

“Roots is where expectations are exceeded… And we, coming from diﬀerent ethnic groups, learn about each other and how to work together. This is how you become the true citizen of your country. ” Anvar Jafarov - 21 years Old; Ethnic Azerbaijani; Student of Medicine at Tbilisi State University

ROOTS PEACE AWARD

The fourth phase of Roots got oﬀ to a ﬂying start in early 2020 with a new project component, the Local Capacities for Peace Award receiving high engagement from all over Europe with nominations received from the YMCAs of Artsakh, Georgia, Ukraine and Ireland.

The Roots Peace Work Institute Alumni were granted the exclusive right to vote and decide upon the winner of the Award, and the majority of them cast their votes for the YMCA Georgia project “Roof for Roots”. When the tensions on the Armenia

-Azerbaijan border escalated severely in early summer, the chances of having “Roof for Roots” got fainter as Armenian & Azerbaijani youth residing in Georgia were exactly the target groups that would spend 10 days together with their Georgian peers at YMCA Georgia “Camp Orange” – in the

environment fostering peace, tolerance and understanding…

Learn more

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9 COMMUNICATIONS

STAY

WHEREVER YOU ARE_{STAY CONNECTED!}

SAFE

#YMCACONNECTS

At the beginning of 2020, YMCA Europe launched a series of campaigns aimed mainly at young people and their

situation in the current context and beyond.

YMCA Connects

The campaign was launched in April and the main goal was to provide mental health support to young people and

communities aﬀected by the Covid-19 pandemic as millions are being isolated at home.

YMCA Europe took the initiative to target

European Institutions with a campaign to remind them to invest in youth during and after the CoVid19 emergency.

We created a draft of a statement, contacted our Big 6 partners and coordinated with them to reach a consensus on a common statement.

Once we ﬁnalised the position, we made a plan of dissemination on all our social media platforms (and our Big 6 partners).

We set up the YMCA CONNECTS Facebook group where young people around the world were able to interact with peers from other countries, to distribute materials online, make suggestions for spending your free time at home, posting videos, sharing thoughts, etc...

As YMCA, it is our duty to lead the way with civic responsibility: it was not something we had to as a part of our regular activities, we did it because it was the right thing to do.

We feel close to our fellow citizens, especially the most vulnerable ones.

We also launched in April #beResponsible - an awareness campaign about the need to wear protective masks.

Young People Matter

We chose 19th of May as a launch day because on this day the Council of Ministers of Youth had a meeting planned, and we could launch the campaign at a moment where European institutions were more receptive to youth action.

International Day of Peace

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21st.

It is of paramount interest to the global community to contribute towards building peace, as it represents the basis of prosperity and progress. And it is essential to address the issue at grassroots level, since it is impossible to achieve real peace until society is prepared and ready for it.

This is exactly what we wanted to do on September 21 through messages of peace and solidarity published by young people from YMCA organizations.

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Together with our “Working Group on

Refugees” and our national and local

partners, we have managed to put together a database with most of the projects for refugees and migrants across Europe directly managed by YMCAs. The database is available online and presents 56 projects from 15 countries.

The camp program provides many possibilities for working with young people in the ﬁeld of non-formal and outdoor experiential education which is one of the YMCA ﬂagship programs among the YMCAs worldwide.

Since its founding, the YMCA Europe Camping Program Group has implemented several events aiming to bring together the camping leaders across Europe.

As part of that eﬀort, the Programme group and the partners from national and local YMCAs across Europe managed to put together an online database with 74 campsites in 28 countries.

YMCA EUROPE`S PROGRAMME GROUPS

Programme groups of YMCA Europe:

Ÿ Camping Program Group

Ÿ Working Group on Refugees Ÿ ESY - European Sports YMCA

Ÿ ESG - European Scouting and Jungschar

Ÿ European TenSing

Ÿ Christian Orientation Group

Ÿ Youth Policy Group

Ÿ Youth Empowerment Space - YES

Learn more

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ADVOCACY

The year 2020 was particularly challenging for the work of all youth NGOs in Brussels: meetings were not possible anymore in person, nor conferences or regular interactions with decision makers.

Nevertheless the Brussels Oﬃce of YMCA Europe was able to continue its work, and took on several new items on the agenda. Since March 2020, all activities of the Brussels oﬃce have been moved online, due to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This caused a change in the type of

activities, but not a signiﬁcant slowdown in the frequency and number of activities.

The Brussels Oﬃce works on 3 main areas:

Ÿ Advocacy covers all matter related to development of policy positions, representation to EU institutions and other actors, development of campaign contents and relations with fellow NGOs and other actors;

Ÿ Fundraising covers all search for funding opportunities to fund YMCA Europe’s activities or our members` activities.

Ÿ Project covers all instances where the Oﬃce provides work or expertise for an active project.

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PARTNERSHIPS

#YOUTHMATTERS CAMPAIGN WITH BIG 6

YMCA Europe took the initiative to target European Institutions with #YouthMatters campaign to remind them to invest in youth during and after the Covid-19 emergency.

We created a draft of a statement together with our Big 6 partners and coordinated with them to reach a consensus on a common statement.

We chose 19th_{of May as a launch day because on this day the}

Council of Ministers of Youth had a meeting planned, and we could launch the campaign at a moment where European institutions were more receptive to youth action.

Our messages reached the most important EU institutions: The current Presidency of the Council of the EU, The next Presidency (Germany), The President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, The Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel, The President of the European Council Jean Michel, The President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, The Chair of the CULT Committee Sabine Verheyen MEP.

The representatives of these institutions have all agreed to meet with YMCA Europe when the Covid-19 restrictions will allow it. This is a very important result for our visibility and credibility on the EU stage.

A consultation process to adapt the strategic direction of both the World and the European levels started in 2020 taking into consideration the new scenarios and needs caused by the impact of the pandemic.

Our Communications and Movement Strengthening staﬀ increased the cooperation with the World Alliance team, sharing tools, working platforms and expertise in both ﬁelds.

General Secretaries meetings and the induction sessions for our new Executive Committee.

In this respect, YMCA Europe has been especially involved in designing the surveys and tools used across the movement, including the analysis of the outcomes.

YMCA Europe´s strategic journey and main pillars are aligned with World YMCA vision and strategy. This partnership has been more relevant during 2020 both on the governance and the management spheres.

Coordination and joint working included a new approach to Communications and Movement Strengthening as key areas for both the European and the global dimension.

YMCA Europe was represented at all forums and working spaces created by World YMCA (Global Staﬀ Team, Covid-19 response actions, campaigns and advoacy work).

World YMCA was also

represented through its Secretary General at YMCAs Europe´s two general assemblies, all European National

PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WORLD YMCA

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12 GOVERNANCE

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Following our Constitution, the main annual governance event had to take place before June 30th and due to Covid-19 the “in person” meeting planned for May 21-24 in Brussels had to be postponed.

On June 26th, YMCA Europe´s General Assembly gathered close to 80 delegates representing 29 national European YMCAs.

This ﬁrst virtual General Assembly kept all the usual ingredients. So as well the pragmatic submission and approval of reports, we also had the inspirational moments that are so important for our federation. A very special message to all YMCA delegates was received from Mr. David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament who expressed the need to continue creating spaces for youth participation in civic life.

In the present context that we live in Europe, this youth involvement is more needed than ever - Mr. Sassoli shared, also stressing the EU commitment with youth empowerment.

On November 20th, over 75 delegates from 35 countries took part at YMCA Europe's General Assembly (Part II).

A new Executive Committee was elected under the Presidency of Emma Osmundsen from YMCA England & Wales.

In the transition ceremony, President Mike Will thanked and congratulated Emma for taking this step, a milestone in YMCA Europe´s history as she became the ﬁrst female President in our history.

A priority for our governance body has been to agree on the frame for our upcoming Strategy. This work started in February as the previous strategic period 2016-2020 was closed and evaluated.

The new Executive Committee took over this task immediately after their elections on November 20th and a new draft was agreed in December, using the previous inputs from the network of National General Secretaries, the Staﬀ Team and other key stakeholders.

Learn more

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12 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

GOVERNANCE

UNTIL NOVEMBER 2020

President: Mr. Mike Will, Scotland

Vice President: Mr. Stepan Cerny, Czech Republic Treasurer: Ms. Beate Turck, Germany

Recording Secretary: Ms. Diana Zarembiene, Lithuania Mr. Sven Larsen, Norway

Ms. Marta Huretska, Ukraine Mr. Edgar Mifsud, Malta

Ms. Anita Beguelin, Switzerland

Mr. Pascal Rosenthal, Germany

FROM NOVEMBER 2020

President: Mrs. Emma Osmundsen, England & Wales Vice President: Mrs. Jenni Enqvist, Finland

Treasurer: Mrs. Silvia Lazaridis, Germany

Recording Secretary: Ms. Diana Zarembiene, Lithuania Mr. Eneko Lopez de Dicastillo, Spain

Mr. Vitalii Bohniak, Ukraine Mr. Richard Schweizer, Switzerland

Ms. Marina Martynenko, Russia

Mr. Pascal Rosenthal, Germany

Secretary General (non-voting): Mr. Juan Simoes Iglesias, Spain

PAST PRESIDENTS

Mr. Terry Ratclife, England Mr. Jan Nissén, Sweden Mr. Peter Posner, England Mr. Ed Eggink, The Netherlands Mr. Mike Will, Scotland

PAST SECRETARY GENERALS

Mr. Egon Slopianka, Germany Rev. Doelf Weder, Switzerland Rev. Johan Vilhelm Eltvik, Norway

STAFF AT 31/12/2020

Mr. Juan Simoes Iglesias, Spain

Secretary General

Mrs. Martina Hudcovska, Slovakia

Finance Executive Secretary

Mr. Vardan Hambardzumyan, Armenia

Executive Secretary - Programmes

Mr. Marius Pop, Spain

Director of Communications

Ms. Olga Lukina, Belarus

Executive Secretary for Movement Strengthening

Mrs. Ilenia Ventroni, Italy

Advocacy, Project and Fundraising Oﬃcer

Mrs. Sarka Cihakova, Czech Republic

Accountant

Mr. Revaz Shavladze, Georgia

Project Assistent

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13 FUNDING

PARTNERS

NATIONAL YMCAS IN EUROPE

COOPERATING IN PROJECTS AND

YMCA EUROPE´S FULL MEMBERS

21 | YMCA EUROPE ANNUAL REPORT CVJM Aktion Hoﬀnungszeichen

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FINANCES

INCOME EUR

National Contributions 193,828

Grants & Special Contributions 147,909

European Institutions 50,624

Operational Income & Refunds 92,554

TOTAL 484,914

EUR

Personnel 294,800

Travel & Meetings 15,468

Oﬃce, Operational, Sundry 159,012

Programmes & Projects 15,607

484,887 Surplus (+) Deicit (-) 27 TOTAL 484,914 EXPENDITURES INCOME STATEMENT Ex.rate 31.12.2020 1 EUR = CZK 26.245

YMCA Europe consolidated summary 2020

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CURRENT ASSETS

EUR Assets (less depreciation) 1,296

Cash 255,024 Debtors 96,016 TOTAL 352,336 CURRENT LIABILITIES EUR Creditors 217,823

Funds (Special, GW Fund) 68,171

Subtotal _397,216

RESERVES 121,409

TOTAL 352,336

(Reserves include Fixed Capital, General Reserves, Current Year Surpluses / Deﬁcits)

BALANCE SHEET

Long term liabilities

Loan 111,222

Deﬁcit of Past Years - 166,289

Ex.rate 31.12.2020 1 EUR = CZK 26.245

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Basis for Opinion

In Brno on March 31, 2021 H Z Brno spol. s r. o. Minská 160/102, 616 00 Brno Czech Republic [email protected] http://hzbrno.cz/ Certificate number of the audit firm 416 Ing. Jan Jareš Certificate number of the auditor 0823

AUDITOR`S REPORT*

We have audited the accompanying financial statements of European Alliance of YMCAs (YMCA Europe) – (Evropská aliance YMCA) (hereinafter also the “Company”) based in Nové Město (Praha 1), Praha, Na poříčí 1041/12, PSČ 110 00, IČ: 68406649, prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the Czech Republic, which comprise the balance sheet as at 31 December 2020 and the income statement, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information. For details of the Company European Alliance of YMCAs (YMCA Europe) – (Evropská aliance YMCA) see in the introduction to the financial statements.

In our opinion, the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of European Alliance of YMCAs (YMCA Europe) – (Evropská aliance YMCA) as at 31 December 2020, and of its financial performance for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the Czech Republic.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the Act on Auditors and Auditing Standards of the Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic, which are International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), as amended by the related application clauses. Our responsibilities under this law and regulation are further described in the Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report.

*Quotation from "Independent Auditor’s Report" 31 December 2020. Full version of the report available

We are independent of the Company European Alliance of YMCAs (YMCA Europe) – (Evropská aliance YMCA) in accordance with the Act on Auditors and the Code of Ethics adopted by the Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic and we have fulﬁlled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these

requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is suﬃcient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

HERE

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15

SECTION

YMCA WORLDWIDE

YMCA ARUBA 1956 YMCA TANZANIA 1959 YMCA SINGAPORE 1902 YMCA INDONESIA 1928 YMCA HONGKONG 1901 YMCA MACAU 1991 YMCA N.MACEDONIA 1999 YMCA ALBANIA 2008 YMCA MONTENEGRO 2011 YMCA GREECE 1892 YMCA MALTA 1976 YMCA LEBANON 1890 YMCA ARMENIA 1992

YMCA JERUSALEM INTERNATIONAL 1878

GREENLAND YMCA JORDAN 1961 (DENMARK) YMCA CHINA 1885 YMCA INDIA YMCA RUSSIA 1900 YMCA MONGOLIA 1854 2002 SVALBARD (NORWAY) YMCA NORWAY 1878

YMCA SWEDEN 1844 _YMCA FINLAND 1886 YMCA ESTONIA 1919 YMCA LATVIA 1923 YMCA LITHUANIA 1932 YMCA BELARUS 1994 YMCA POLAND 1923 YMCA GERMANY 1848 YMCA ITALY 1851 YMCA DENMARK1878

YMCA AUSTRIA 1996 YMCA SERBIA 2008 YMCA BULGARIA 1883 ROMANIA

YMCA MOLDOVA 1996 YMCA SLOVAKIA 1920 YMCA CZECH REPUBLIC 1920 YMCA UKRAINE

1993

YMCA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2011YMCA HUNGARY 1883 YMCA EGYPT 1909 CYPRUS YMCA PAKISTAN 1876 YMCA NEPAL 1990 YMCA BANGLADESH 1965 YMCA MYANMAR 1897 YMCA CANADA YMCA GEORGIA 1991 1851 YMCA USA 1851 YMCA SRILANKA 1882 YMCA

MEXICO YMCA BAHAMAS 1966 1891 YMCA CUBA 1905 YMCA JAMAICA 1920 YMCA HAITI 1895 YMCA VENEZUELA YMCA COLOMBIA 1963 YMCA ECUADOR 1947 YMCA PERU 1920 YMCA PARAGUAY 1921 YMCA CHILE 1912 YMCA

ARGENTINA YMCA URUGUAY 1909

1902 YMCA ICELAND 1899 YMCA FRANCE 1851 YMCA SPAIN 1880 YMCA IRELAND 1849 YMCA ENGLAND AND WALES 1844

YMCA PORTUGAL 1894 YMCA NETHERLANDS 1851

YMCA BELGIUM 1853 YMCA SWITZERLAND 1852 YMCA THE GAMBIA 1979

YMCA SIERRA LEONE 1912 YMCA SENEGAL 1982 YMCA LIBERIA 1881 YMCA NIGERIA 1925 YMCA NIGER 2004 YMCA SUDAN 1889 YMCA ETHIOPIA 1951 YMCA KENYA 1910 YMCA CAMEROON 1924 YMCA SOUTH SUDAN 2014 YMCA ZIMBABWE 1968 YMCA MADAGASCAR 1924 YMCA SOUTH AFRICA 1865 YMCA ZAMBIA 1958 YMCA GHANA 1890 YMCA TOGO 1930 YMCA BOLIVIA 1943 YMCA BRAZIL 1893 YMCA SURINAM 1972 YMCA GUYANA 1882 YMCA PANAMA 1966

YMCA COSTA RICA 1975 YMCA NICARAGUA 1989 YMCA HONDURAS 1990 EL SALVADOR 1990 YMCA BELIZE 1987 YMCA GUATEMALA 1964 YMCA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1963 YMCA SAINT VICENT 1994 YMCA BARBADOS 1880 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 1921

YMCA AUSTRALIA 1851 YMCA PHILIPPINES 1911 YMCA JAPAN 1880 YMCA KOREA 1888 NEW ZEALAND 1855 YMCA FIJI 1971 YMCA THAILAND 1930 YMCA TAIWAN 1945 YMCA MALAYSIA 1905 YMCA VIETNAM 1992 YMCA CAMBODIA 1999

YMCA KOSOVO 2003 YMCA GAZA 1952

YMCA EAST JERUSALEM 1848

YMCAS AND ESTIMATED STARTING YEARS

SOME GROUPS STARTED BEFORE 1844 AND LATER CHANGED TO YMCAs

TIMOR LESTE

YMCA ASIA & PACIFIC

World YMCA YMCA Europe

YMCA Asia Paciﬁc

YMCA Africa

YMCA Latin America & Caribbean

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15 WORLD YMCA IN 2020

COVID

World YMCA shared in the global journey of the worldwide YMCA Movement in 2020. In March, it developed a three-part response to Covid-19 in 2020: building ‘Resilience’, launching ‘Recovery’, and initiating a process of ‘Reimagination’.

RESILIENCE

A series of Leaders Talks in April and May – designed to source wisdom to cope with crisis - assembled 1000 people online, addressed by 20 global leaders. A Resilience Playbook was issued. Two ‘Youth Voices’ online fora were run in May and June: ‘The future we want’, and ‘A future without racism’. Online

ecumenical thanksgiving services were organised in May, June and July, and the World Week of Prayer in November.

RECOVERY

World YMCA set up the YMCA COVID Solidarity Fund, and approved grants of almost CHF 380,000 to support 27 National Movements struggling in the face of the pandemic.

REIMAGINATION

World YMCA organised a series of ‘Padare’ online sessions in July and August, bringing together 190 people in 55 countries to debate the challenges facing YMCAs. The resulting handbook ‘Becoming an ‘Adaptive YMCA’ for the 21st Century’ was issued in December. Building on the Padare debates, in November a ‘Reimagine Lab’ was launched in Australia, to revolutionise YMCA responses to mental health.

ADVOCACY & PARTNERSHIP

In April, May and December, World YMCA and the rest of the ‘Big 6’ youth organisations highlighted the role of young people helping their communities in the time of Covid-19 and the massive challenges they faced. They called on governments and policymakers to put young people at the heart of the solutions in post-pandemic recovery eorts. In December, World YMCA and the rest of the Big 6 joined WHO in launching the ‘Global Youth Mobilization for Generation Disrupted’ to respond to the impacts of Covid-19 on young people.

PROGRAMME

YOUTH LED SOLUTIONS

World YMCA launched the Youth Led Solutions Initiative, empowering young people to lead change. Its ﬁrst summit was held online with Y USA in October, on the topic of climate action. ‘Solution Teams’ from nearly 50 countries submitted ideas for combating climate change, and are now being seed-funded.

CHANGE AGENTS

The fourth Cohort of Change Agents concluded in October, with 135 Agents from 50 countries receiving diplomas. Despite lockdown, the cohort completed its curriculum. 750 Change Agents have graduated since 2012.

COMMUNITIES OF IMPACT

YMCA worldwide Communities of Impact on Refugees & Migrants (led by YMCA Canada) and Employment & Entrepreneurship (Y Care International, USA) involved 15 National Movements throughout 2020. Communities are tasked to scan, share and scale the very best of what the global Movement is doing all around the world. At year-end, World YMCA launched three new Communities of Impact, on Mental Health (YMCA Australia), Climate Action (Asia and Paciﬁc Alliance of YMCAs), and Policy & Advocacy (YMCA England & Wales).

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Rue de l`Industrie 10 Brussels, 1000 Belgium www.ymcaeurope.com [email protected] Published February 2021

THE WORLDWIDE YMCA MOVEMENT

ANNUAL REPORT

ABOUT US

CONTENTS

15

14

FOREWORD

roots

2020 AT A GLANCE

NATIONAL YMCAs IN EUROPE: 29 FULL MEMBERS, 8 COOPERATING MEMBERS

95,000

20,000

2,000,000

4,100

YMCA CAMPS

IN 28 COUNTRIES

74

YMCA PROJECTS

WITH REFUGEES

IN 20 COUNTRIES

56

IMPACT

PRESENCE

5

6

COVID-19

7

STORIES

HANNAH, GERMANY

IAN, NORTHERN IRELAND

The Europe I want, it`s a place

where the voice of young

people is to be heard. Where

they are empowered and

given responsibility, no matter

where they are coming from...

An organisation that puts

young people at the forefront of

its work, an organisation that

brings together the best of

countries, cultures and

communities to fulﬁll their

mission and impact youth…

In these very challenging times, when it seems hard to know what steps

to take next, what helps us in our work is that we work with youth, for

youth. And our youth has a very clear view of what our role should be in

Europe, and the kind of Europe they want.

7

MIRJAMI, FINLAND

MARIAM, GEORGIA

What YMCA Europe must do for our

future and the future of Europe is to

stand tall for the values that we all

share in the YMCA and have open

conversations to engage young

people in activism to actually not

assume but hear people out…

YMCA Europe has to continue

building a solid base for the

young people and give them the

chance to speak and be the voice

not an echo...

8

ACTIVITIES

CAPACITY BUILDING

9

PROGRAMMES

9

9

COMMUNICATIONS

STAY

SAFE

9

YMCA EUROPE`S PROGRAMME GROUPS

10

ADVOCACY

11

PARTNERSHIPS

12

12