Canadian delegation to the 2010 World Council of YMCAs

I’m writing from Hong Kong where the World Council of YMCAs met last week and where the YMCA World Urban Network is now underway.  We’ve made the transition from a 1,100-person conversation about global citizenship to a much smaller one on the health of children and youth with chief executives of large urban Associations.

In between these two meetings, YMCA Canada’s Board Chair Marty Reynolds, VP International Mary Ann Roche and I traveled to Shanghai to meet with the National Council of YMCAs of China.  It was our first meeting in ten years.  While there, we saw signs of significant growth and innovation in their community work — the direct result of a creative collaboration with the YMCA of Greater Vancouver and other Canadian YMCAs in the 90s, they said.

Having attended three other World Councils in a different role, I already had a frame of reference going into this experience.  It’s a gathering that can, at different times, take the shape of a family reunion, summer camp, the Olympics, and a meeting of the UN General Assembly!  This year’s meeting was all this — and more.  It was a venue for friendships to be made and renewed; an education on a local-global scale; a celebration of unity within diversity; and, lots of serious work on critical issues facing the YMCA and the communities we serve in more than 125 countries.

From my perspective, the ‘more’ came from:

• the leadership of 250+ young people (including seven from Canada)
• the commitment made to the Resource Mobilization Strategy — a $1M investment to raise $3M in new funds for the YMCA’s global agenda
• the eight workshops delivered by Canadian delegation members:  Janet Fry, Marilyn Kapitany, and John Lilley (volunteer engagement); Medhat Mahdy (migration); Debbie Hoekstra, Susan Low and Michelle Smith (YMCA Peace Week); Bob Gallagher, Sandy McIntyre and Patricia Pelton (board-staff partnership); Tom Coon and John Schmitt (resource mobilization); Zane Korytko and Stephane Vaillancourt (collaboration); Jim Commerford (brand revitalization); and, Rachel Beaulieu-Salamido, Koray Demirbag, Carlo Dimailig, Charlotte Humphries, Sara Krug-Little, Zaid Murakami, and Alexandra Rhead (40 developmental assets).
• the tribute given by the Canadian delegation to Sandy McIntyre from Ontario who has served as our representative on the World Council’s Executive Committee, and the vote of confidence given to Patricia Pelton from Alberta who is taking on this role
• the strategic guidance provided to the delegation before and during the meeting by YMCA Canada’s World Relationship Committee and its chair, Susan Waterfield

A highlight of the week was the appointment of a new Secretary-General Johan Wilhelm Eltvik and the election of new officers:  President Ken Colloton (USA), Deputy President Fernando Ondarza (Mexico) and Treasurer Helen McEwan (New Zealand.)  They are highly capable leaders who will collaborate with the Executive and the Global Staff Team to create an action plan by March 2011.  They’ll focus on five or six priorities like technology, youth leadership, HIV/AIDs, and migration/immigration.   Their vision also includes national YMCA bodies with relevant expertise leading initiatives related to the priority areas — and deepening their international experience.

On the last day of the meeting, I posed three questions to Ken, Johan and Patricia:

1. What has excited you about this World Council?
2. What can we expect in terms of change over the next four years?
3. How can Canada help?

All three were excited about the meaningful involvement of young people in the meeting.  Ken described their energy as similar to Hong Kong’s vitality.  Patricia said the opening ceremonies were very moving, on par with the opening of the Olympics in Vancouver for her.  As for change, each spoke in a different way about the need to modernize global YMCA operations and to introduce proven approaches for greater sustainability.  They stressed the importance of cohesion, moving at just the right speed to keep the YMCA world united.  Patricia said that she saw the World Alliance as having the potential to become a centre of excellence in knowledge transfer and as a catalyst for creative multilateral relationships. 

Johan had many good things to say about Canada’s contributions over the years to the Global Operating Plan and as a trusted partner in the ongoing conversation about capacity building.  He called on Canadians to continue playing a leading role and to consider taking on a specific challenge or two tied to the World Alliance’s new action plan.

While we’re certainly open to this call, it was Patricia’s observations on how the YMCA world can help Canada that I’d like to discuss with you in the months ahead.  She remarked that we are well behind other regions (especially Africa) in engaging young volunteers.  She asks: should we be looking to our partners to show us how to develop truly global citizens in word and action?  Should we expect our partners to hold us accountable for our progress on this front over the next four years? 

At the World Council, we talked about two dimensions of global citizenship – an awareness of global issues and actions motivated by a collaborative spirit.  Our delegation agreed that the upcoming strategic planning process for 2012-2015, including the governance review, would offer opportunities to focus on youth and to take our ideas about citizenship global.

Do you think of yourself as a global citizen?  If so, what experiences shaped your understanding of your rights and responsibilities for the planet?  What can we do to help develop a new generation of globally-minded and engaged citizens?

Scott

PS:  The news from the YMCA of Haiti’s General Secretary Gwénaël Apollon was very encouraging.  In our meeting with him last week, he told us that the YMCA will be the first new building to be constructed in Port-au-Prince since the earthquake.  The first eco-friendly building in Haiti’s history.  He also expressed gratitude for the ongoing support of the YMCAs of Québec and for the exceptional Canadian response to the crisis.

YMCA of Haiti's General Secretary Gwénaël Apollon speaks with Canadian delegates.