About World YMCA
World YMCA is the coordinating body of the worldwide YMCA Movement. Our purpose is to strengthen, connect, and represent YMCAs around the world, enabling them to deliver a greater impact for young people and communities.
Headquartered in Vernier (Geneva), Switzerland, our staff team works across every continent. The World Alliance of YMCAs dates from 1855, when Henri Dunant (then of the Swiss YMCA, and later the founder of the Red Cross Movement) proposed its creation. He did so at the moment when the Paris Basis – our foundational YMCA document – was drawn up.
World YMCA exists to serve the worldwide YMCA Movement by supporting the implementation of YMCA Vision 2030, our shared strategic framework built on four Pillars: Community Wellbeing, Meaningful Work, Sustainable Planet, and Just World.
Guided by our Movement-wide mission to empower young people and communities to thrive in body, mind and spirit, we work across four strategic priorities:
- Strengthening the global YMCA Movement through capacity-building, leadership support, and Movement-wide alignment.Enhancing collective YMCA impact by developing shared tools, resources, and platforms for learning, innovation, and action.
- Raising the voices of young people and and the profile of the YMCA itself by advocating globally, convening key actors, and amplifying the stories and solutions of young people.
- Ensuring organisational sustainability through sound governance, digital transformation, and a values-driven team culture.
As a trusted convener and catalyst, the World YMCA mobilises resources, fosters global partnerships, and helps YMCAs expand their capacity to lead transformative change.
Just some examples of World YMCA’s work:
- Vision 2030 Accelerator Summit (Mombasa, 2024): We convened 430 delegates from 60+ countries to align and accelerate YMCA efforts across the four Vision 2030 Pillars.
- Meaningful Work Standards: We led a global consultation with over 10,000 young people to define 12 global standards for meaningful, dignified employment.
- Change Agents Programme: We have trained 900 young leaders from around the world to become YMCA ambassadors and changemakers in their communities.
- Partnership for Digital Equity: We are collaborating with HP to deliver digital skills training and technology access to underserved youth in local YMCAs.
- Youth-Led Climate Action: We support grassroots environmental initiatives, such as tree-planting campaigns and youth-led climate education programs, in partnership with YMCAs in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.