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World YWCA 

It's World YWCA Day: Let's Celebrate!

 

Every year on April 24, YWCAs around the world observe World YWCA Day. It’s a day to observe our common membership and achievements in a movement that advances the human rights and leadership of women, young women and girls. It’s a time to recognise our movement’s efforts in creating positive change for all women around the world.

 
Let’s raise our voices and celebrate our achievements!

 
Our 2016 theme: Creating a more inclusive world
Our 2016 theme for World YWCA Day is ‘Creating a more inclusive world.’ We are rich in diversity, and our members and supporters include women from many different faiths, ages, backgrounds, beliefs and cultures.

At World Council 2015, we passed a resolution on non-discrimination, whereby we agreed that we would work to eliminate all discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion or belief, health, status, age, class, caste, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression, including practices, attitudes, policies and laws in their communities and countries. Let’s celebrate our solidarity with and support for ALL women, young women and girls, while continuing our work to create a more inclusive world.

We are all working toward the same common goal that “by 2035, 100 million young women and girls will transform power structures to create justice, gender equality and a world without violence and war; leading a sustainable YWCA movement, inclusive of all women.”
Have a look at “getting involved” section of this toolkit for suggestions on how you can use this theme in your local WCA and how you can participate in social media activity with the World YWCA to mark this special occasion.

A new goal….a new image

At World Council 2015 we adopted our new bold goal. And to match this goal we need a new bolder image—one that brings to the World YWCA and our key attributes to life. One that speaks to our diversity, inclusiveness and the global nature of our work--while also showing our ability to transform the world through bold, transformational, young, intergenerational women’s leadership.   
We are in the process of refreshing our brand, and you’ll see more on this in the weeks to come. In the meantime, we invite you to:
 
Have a look at our new World YWCA video and use it in your work.

The World YWCA is excited to launch our NEW blog site SHE SPEAKS.

She Speaks is a blog that features contributions from young women and girls who are leading social and economic change in their communities. The contributors share stories about the challenges they face in their community and offer solutions and insights that can bring about sustainable change–especially to the lives of young women and girls. On SHE SPEAKS, you can also find interesting news, jobs and global opportunities.
 
Click here for the most recent blog update.
 

Getting involved in World YWCA Day

Here are a few things you can do locally to mark the occasion: Host an event

  • In keeping with the 2003 tradition of the Round the World breakfast, host a breakfast. Invite diverse participants and discuss potential solutions for creating a more inclusive world.  See the discussion guide on page below and also see the sample invitation template you can download to invite people to any World YWCA Day event.
  • Hold a seminar/conference/discussion group and invite participants of all ages, faiths, cultures, races, sexual identity, health status and class/caste to discuss their challenges and perspectives.
  • Recognise outstanding women leaders who promote inclusiveness both in your community and within your association.
  • Organise a women’s networking event including local partners and supporters. Discuss how you can work together to promote more inclusiveness in your community.
  • Host an “Open House” and invite top community leaders to become acquainted with the YWCA and the role you play in creating a more inclusive world. 
  • Create a photo, video or art contest and invite people to send you images or clips of what diversity looks like to them. Kick off the contest on World YWCA Day. Then using the submissions you receive, develop an exhibition or a film festival and invite members, partners and supports to attend.
  • Develop a fundraising campaign. Inspire people to create a more inclusive world by donating to the YWCA for women’s leadership programmes.
  • Organise a community party, concert, barbeque/meal, run/walk or film festival and invite all the young women’s/women’s groups in your area. Invite them to bring food or beverages to share.
  • Organise a prayer session. See the worship guide we used at World Council 2015 for inspiration. 
 
Click here to download invitation template!

Express your opinions on creating a more
inclusive world

 
  • Write a blog and post it on your own website and/or send it to us so we can also share it on the World YWCA website.
  • Offer to give a speech to a key organization in your community about the YWCA and the work you are doing to create a more inclusive world.
  • Write an editorial article and submit it to key publications in your community.
  • Engage on social media (see the separate social media section below).
 

Start a conversation!
Use the questions below as discussion starters for both in person and online activities:

 

  • How can we create a more inclusive local community? A more inclusive member association?
  • What are the benefits of creating a more inclusive community? What are the challenges? How can we overcome any challenges?
  • Who are the people/groups who are most marginalized in our community? How can we reach out to them?
  • How can we ensure that girls, young women and women are included in important decision making groups in our community?
  • How can we reach out to more young women and girls in our community?
  • How can we work with other young women and women’s group in our community to ensure the full diversity of our voices is represented in key decision making arenas?
  • How can we challenge the power structures that exclude girls, young women and women in all our diversities?
  • What is our vision for a more inclusive world? How are we going to get there?
 

Key messages

Here are the key messages to incorporate into all your activities on World YWCA Day.

 
  1. We are rich in our diversity. Let’s celebrate on #WYD16
  2. Together we can create a more inclusive world.
  3. YWCA women, young women and girls are transforming power structures to create a more just, equal and inclusive world. 

Engage in Social Media!

Use your social media channels to create awareness and buzz around World YWCA Day and our theme of “Creating a more inclusive world”. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

 

Twitter

Be active on Twitter - Be sure to tag @worldywca and hashtag #WYD16
Together, we can create a more inclusive world. #WYD16
Let’s celebrate our diversity. #WYD16
We are rich in our diversity. Let’s celebrate on #WYD16
YWCA women, young women and girls transform power structures for a more inclusive world. #WYD16
World YWCA: creating a more just, equal and inclusive world. #WYD16
Include women, young women and girls in key decision making platforms. #WYD16
Support women, young women and girls for a more inclusive world. #WYD16


Click here for World YWCA Day 2016 Twitter Chat
 

Facebook

Post some news about your association’s activities to celebrate World YWCA Day 2016 on the World YWCA Facebook page.

Tag World YWCA and we can share your posts, photos and videos.

 

Blog

Send us your reflections on this year’s theme and we will post it on our Women Leading Change blog site(s). You can submit a blog either before or after World YWCA Day to marcia.banasko@worldywca.org
 

World YWCA website

Share your plans for the day with us and we will share them with the movement and beyond through the World YWCA website. Email: lina.boren@worldywca.org
 
Participate on our video-photography contest!

Participate in our World YWCA Day Photo and Video Contest

To celebrate the 2016 World YWCA Day theme of “Creating a more inclusive world,” we invite you to submit photos and videos that complete the following sentence: “To create a more inclusive world, we need to….”

Please upload your send your photos/video by 25 April (23h Central European time) to daniela.zelaya@worldywca.org. 
Please send us your videos using
www.WeTransfer.com by 23h, Central European Time on Monday, 25 April (23h Central European time).
Be sure to tag your photos and videos #WYD2016


We will award one winner in the photo category and one in the video category a YWCA T-shirt and certificate of recognition. Photos and videos will be judged based on their creativity and originality.

Photo specifications:
Photos can be taken with a camera, smartphone, tablet or any electronic device or can be a scanned print. Please save them in a low resolution (2MB or less) so we can use them in a variety of online formats.
Video specifications:
Videos can be taken with a smartphone, tablet or video recording device. Please limit your video to 1 minute or less and  send them to daniela.zelaya@worldywca.org using www.wetransfer.com with your contact information (name, age, country and adress).

General rules:
  1. Number of submissions per person: Each participant may submit up to five photos and/or videos in total.
  2. Copyright: Contest entrants acknowledge that all photos submitted are their own original works of art and do not infringe on any copyrights, trademarks or intellectual property rights of others. There may be no watermarks visible on the entries.
  3. Permission to use entries: Contest entrants agree that they have the express permission to use the image of any person photographed for purposes of this contest and for potential use of the World YWCA in future information and advocacy materials.
  4. The World YWCA reserves the right to disqualify any entries deemed offensive, exploitative or inappropriate in any way.

History of World YWCA Day 

 

1947: The World YWCA Council in Hangchow, China decided to establish an Annual YWCA Membership Celebration. They encouraged YWCAs worldwide to observe this day with a specific theme and programme.
 
1948:  The movement decided this special day would be called "World YWCA Observance Day" and be commemorated the last week of April.
 
1972:  The World YWCA Executive Committee refocused the event to stress the importance of being part of a global movement, and adopted the name ‘World YWCA Day’
 
1989: April 24 became the official date for World YWCA Day.
 
2003: The first annual YWCA “Round-the-World-Breakfast” was held in the lead up to the World YWCA Council in Brisbane, Australia. It was designed to connect YWCAs to the collective power of a movement that is changing the lives of women and girls worldwide.
 
 
2015, In World Council year we invited YWCAs to hold a “Round-the-World-Breakfast” with the theme Envisioning 2035. Over the last quadrennium, the World YWCA has undergone a 2035 envisioning process to map out a 20 year programme of action.  At World Council 2015, we adopted the Envisioning 2035 proposal.
 
2016: World YWCA will launch its new Young Women's blog. 


About the World YWCA 

  • The World YWCA is a faith-based organisation which advances the empowerment, leadership and rights of women, young women and girls in more than 120 countries around the world.
  • We are a volunteer-based movement, which has been at the forefront of progressing women’s rights for more than 160 years.
  • We are rich in diversity, and our members and supporters include women from many different faiths, ages, backgrounds, beliefs and cultures. Yet we are all working toward the same common goal:
 
By 2035, “100 million young women and girls will transform power structures to create justice, gender equality and a world without violence and war; leading a sustainable YWCA movement, inclusive of all women.”
Our vision:
A fully inclusive world where justice, peace, health, human dignity, freedom and care for the environment are provided and sustained by women’s leadership.

Purpose:
The World YWCA develops the leadership and collective power of women and girls around the world to achieve justice, peace, health, human dignity, freedom and a sustainable environment for all people.
 
Our guiding values:
  1. Placing women, young women and girls’empowerment at the centre of our work
  2. Respecting diversity and upholding thehuman rights principles of participation, non-discrimination and accountability
  3. Modelling intergenerational and sharedleadership
  4. Operating with integrity and ensuring goodgovernance and accountability at all levels
  5. Valuing the history and ongoing work of theYWCA movement in its diversity of contexts and regions
 
 
Copyright © 2016 World YWCA, All rights reserved.


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