YMCA Europe

General Assembly 2024
2024-05-23 - 2024-05-26 | Athens, Brown Acropol Hotel, Greece
We kindly invite you to register for our General Assembly (Athens, Greece, May 23rd-26th 2024).
The General Assembly venue is Brown Acropol Hotel at Athens city center.

Deadline for registrations is March 1st.

Please note that the registration fee covers only the programme, lunches, dinners, coffee breaks, materials and use of working spaces from Thursday 23rd (arrivals and start of programme at 16.00) until Sunday 26th mid morning (departures). Accommodation is not included so we encourage you to proceed with your own arrangements as soon as possible.
There are different hotel, hostel and apartment rates near hotel Brown. YMCA Athens has kindly offered to provide support to each delegation in finding the most suitable accommodation.

For further support please feel free to contact Leda Mamali at secgeneral@ymca-athens.gr

European TEN SING Conference
2024-05-18 | Online

Camp Europe kick-off event: Campacity
2024-04-15 - 2024-04-21 | Toledo, Spain
The initial year was very successful for Camp Europe with 16 projects implemented by partner organizations across the continent. And we are already setting sights on 2024 – major kick-off expected to take place in charming Toledo, Spain on April 15 – 21, 2024.
“Campacity” will bring together up to 60 Camp Leaders from Europe and USA to network, share and plan for the future. The preparation work is well under way with the first online planning meeting taking place yesterday – engaging key leaders and decision-makers from YMCA of the USA, YMCA Spain and Camp Europe Team.
More info and registration form

YMCA Leadership Academy | Session I
2024-04-08 - 2024-04-14 | Bratislava, Slovakia (Slovak Republic)
International Activity One, 5 full days of work, 8-14 April 2024, Slovakia (8 April – arrival date; 14 April – departure date)
Full info here.

Versatile Action in Youth Work (Part II)
2024-04-02 - 2024-05-01 | YMCA Siderno, Via Marina 7, Siderno, 89048, Italy
The project is organized with the strong cooperation between KFUM Idrætsforbund and YMCA Siderno.
The Erasmus+ Project “Versatile Action in Youth Work – VAYW” will have two parts: one in Denmark (July 2nd – July 8th 2023) and one in Siderno ( April 2024), each session involving 25 young people.
Versatility is a fun and safe way to make specific activities to specific target groups and members. It is easy to adjust and arrange activities so it is inclusive and fun for all.

Mindful Bytes - let’s facilitate discussions about digital wellbeing!
2024-03-20 17:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Online
Almost everything we do today involves using a phone or accessing the internet, whether for professional purposes like running a webinar or personal ones such as scrolling after an exhausting day. But what impact does this online presence have on our mental health? And more importantly, is it safe to be long-term connected to everything going on online?
These questions will be addressed during our dedicated workshop on digital wellbeing, scheduled for March 20th at 5:00 pm CET.
As every challenge has a solution, we will introduce you to our card game – Mindful Bytes. Originally created in English, the game has been translated into 14 languages and is now available as an app!
Join us on March 20th to discuss the challenges of digital wellbeing and to test a solution that has been used by hundreds of youth workers and young people internationally.
Bonus: You’ll get to experience various perspectives on digital wellbeing in youth work with our guests from different countries across Europe.
Registrations open:

YMCA: Bridging Body-Mind-Spirit Webinar
2024-03-14 15:30 - 17:00 | Online
Are you seeking the best ways to connect with youth? Do you want to be updated about the latest challenges that youth is having in their personal life? Please join our webinar!
Rob van Loon (the Netherlands) is a motivational speaker and specialised in everything connected with youth empowerment. He travels the world to coach and speak in public about this topic.
Topics that are touched during this 1,5 hour webinar, are connected with selfcare, self-confidence, your definition of happiness, finding your purpose, but also the influence of social media and family and friends on the development of a young individual.
The webinar will suit the best youth workers, young leaders, youth but any audience is welcomed.
The language of the educational event is English.
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HP Gaming Garage Webinar
2024-02-27 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Gaming nowadays is so much more than a simple leisure activity – it builds unique skills and develops future ready competences. Turning a recreation avenue into a simultaneous education journey offers unprecedented opportunities for both – students and teachers.
On February 27th (12.00 CET) we are going LIVE with a dynamic webinar featuring Mayank Dhingra, Senior Education Business Leader at HP, as our keynote speaker!
We will explore the possibility of enabling organisations to access the unique opportunities within HP Gaming Garage, bringing the worlds of work and gaming together for the new generation – discovering novel approaches and methodologies designed to enable participants to access future-proof skills in an ever-developing digital future.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect, interact and explore options to diversify and level up your organisation’s game!
Register now!

Ukraine. Solidarity in Action: YMCA's Impactful Response
2024-02-22 15:00 - 16:00 | Online
Join us LIVE on February 22nd at 3 pm CET for an inspiring webinar and discover firsthand how YMCA is making a difference through support, projects and activities, including the integration of Ukrainian refugees.
Be part of our story of resilience, compassion and impactful initiatives. Save the date for an insightful session on our commitment to making a difference for the Ukrainian communities and beyond.
Register now:

Call for Participants | ImpactYOUth: Measuring Youth Development Together
2024-02-22 | EU Parliament & EU Thon Hotel, Brussels, Belgium
YMCA Europe invites you to join the Final Dissemination event of the MIYO project, an Erasmus+ funded initiative implemented jointly by WOSM, YMCA and the National University of Maynooth. The ImpactYOUth event marks the end of the project and aims to present the project’s final output: the MIYO Impact measurement toolkit.
Join us on 22 February 2024 in Brussels, Belgium, to learn about the methodology, the pilot studies and network and reflect on the future of youth impact measurement.

About the Project
Youth organisations play a pivotal role in the fabric of society. By nurturing personal development, we enable young individuals to acquire essential life skills such as leadership, teamwork, and effective interpersonal communication. These skills form a cornerstone for an individual’s successful navigation through life, fostering self-confidence and resilience.
Throughout the history of youth work, its positive impact has been captured and presented through different compelling narratives: individual success stories, humanitarian actions, or community development accounts. Each narrative has illustrated the immense value of our work. However, to truly understand the full extent of our impact and enhance our programmes for even more significant effect, we recognised the need for a robust and applicable research methodology.
The MIYO project aims to reinforce links between research, policy, and practice by increasing the empirical evidence of the impact of youth programmes. The cross-sectoral collaboration between the youth sector and academia will ensure the methodology is academically valid and reflects youth organisations’ actual needs and capacity.
The project’s final output, the impact assessment toolkit, is being tested in six member organisations and will be publicly accessible, allowing over 300 youth organisations belonging to YMCA and WOSM networks and beyond to access, test, and study the methodology, research guidelines, and resources. Youth organisations will have full access to the data collection and analysis tools and be better equipped to evaluate and improve their educational offer. Through a strong dissemination dimension, MIYO partners aim to build synergies between policymakers, youth associations, and the research community, linking participatory and inclusive research to evidence-based decision-making. More information about the project can be found here.

Programme
The event consists of two parts:

EU Parliament 09:30 – 12:00

The opening segment of our event is dedicated to presenting the MIYO Impact measurement toolkit and its application by six member organisations, along with study results. The presentation will be followed by a round table that will spotlight insights from those who played a key role in designing the toolkit: experts from the National University of Maynooth, representatives from YMCA and WOSM. MEP Michaela Šojdrová will host this round table.

EU Thon Hotel 14:00 – 16:50

The second part of the day will have a hands-on approach, where participants will learn more about the practicalities of the methodology, data collection and analysis instruments and explore how they can apply it in the context of their organisation. The concluding segment of the event will centre on a concise workshop followed by open market presentations.

Language
The event will be held in English.

Who should apply?
We welcome young leaders from YMCA interested in piloting this methodology in their country context. We will prioritise participants representing different National Organisations to ensure a broader geographical reach.

Cost
The organisers will take care of the following expenses:
● International travel expenses (focusing on affordability and eco-friendliness);
● Stay at a Hotel in Brussels on 21-23 February in shared rooms;
● Food, from breakfast on 22 February up to breakfast on 23 February;
● Costs associated with the program and its administration.

Application Form
LINK for Application Form
Deadline for application: 20 December 2023

Contact information
Should you have any queries, don’t hesitate to contact Olga Lukina via email at Olga[at]ymcaeurope.com

European Unify Conference 2024
2024-02-22 - 2024-02-25 | Hotel Globus, Prague, Czech Republic
Please register for Unify 2024 by using the following link, provided by the organizers, YMCA Czech Republic.
Registrations are limited to 130 person, so please register in time to have your place booked!
Register here
More information here

Extraordinary General Assembly | Online
2023-12-14 17:00 - 18:30 | Online
More info soon.

YMCA Europe Generation Next Evaluation Workshop
2023-11-23 - 2023-11-26 | ibis Yerevan Center, Yerevan, Armenia
In a couple of days YMCA Europe staff and representatives of partner organisations and universities will ensemble in Yerevan (23-26 November), Armenia, to evaluate the current phase of the Generation Next project.
This YMCA Europe large-scale and long-term initiative, with core funding from Bread for the World Germany, was launched back in 2020 – just before Covid and wars would lockdown then tear apart the humanity.
Notwithstanding unprecedented force majors the project stayed resilient and agile, impacting lives of young people in Armenia and Georgia through opening up their life skills and empowering them for civic engagement.
The Evaluation Workshop will be the concluding activity of the project, analysing the lessons learnt, planning future steps, and celebrating the achievements reached.
The Workshop* will bring together representatives of YMCA Europe and its partner organizations – YMCA Georgia, Sweden, Ukraine, the American University of Armenia (AUA). The AUA YMCA Scholarship holders will join the special session to be held in the premises of the University.
Here are a couple of Generation Next impact stories published by the American University of Armenia, one of the project partner academic institutions.

10th National General Secretaries Forum
2023-10-23 - 2023-10-25 | Ernst Sillem Hoeve, Soestdijkerweg 10b, Den Dolder, 3734 MH, Netherlands
The YMCA Europe’s National General Secretaries (NGS) Forum is a platform that brings together the national leaders of YMCA organizations across Europe.
The purpose of the forum is to provide a space for national general secretaries to exchange knowledge, discuss best practices, and collaborate on strategic initiatives that will strengthen the YMCA movement in Europe. Learn more

More info about the 10th NGS Forum soon

Study session: Give Peace a Chance
2023-10-16 - 2023-10-20 | European Youth Centre Strasbourg, 30, rue Pierre de Coubertin, Strasbourg, 67000, France
An event organised within the framework of YMCA Europe Roots for Peace Project in cooperation with the Council of Europe Youth Centre Strasbourg.
The major aim of the activity is to enhance the capacity of young people to act as advocates and multipliers of peace and reconciliation in their respective communities, through sharing the experience and know-how of YMCA Europe in conflict transformation work.
Utilizing the various tools, frameworks, and perspectives gained through the sessions participants will be encouraged to design and elaborate peace activism ideas that they can implement in the future as a follow-up activity to this study session. The ideas can be both local and cross-border initiatives. The most relevant and feasible ideas will receive institutional and/or financial support from YMCA Europe.

Peace Work Institute Reunion
2023-09-13 - 2023-09-19 | East Jerusalem YMCA, YMCA street, Beit Sahour, Palestine
The aim of the Peace Work Institute alumni Reunion is to be a relevant concluding activity within the scheme, where the results are evaluated and best practices shared.
The whole Peace Work Institute was designed as an experiential learning scheme. The knowledge, skills and attitude gained by the participants at the residential sessions were put into practice through homework tasks and by the follow-up projects. During the session, variety of educational tools have will be applied when delivering the training modules, including plenary inputs and discussion, small group discussions and exercises, games and role plays, personal reflections and individual work, evaluations, etc.

Youth Unify Camp 2023
2023-08-20 - 2023-08-26 | Bethel Mission House, House Béthel Széchenyi street 8-12, Piliscsaba, Hungary
Youth Unify itself will be in Piliscsaba, which is next to Budapest. You should plan your travel to Budapest.
Essential Info

Dates – 20-26 August 2023
Location – Bethel Mission House, Piliscsaba, near Budapest, Hungary
Age – Aimed at 14-24 year olds (younger or older participants also welcome)

Cost: €220
Reduced Fees:
€120 (Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania etc.)
€50 (Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Russia etc.)
Please contact us if you have questions about Reduced Fees.

Registration is OPEN HERE
Registration Info: buzaserzsebet[at]kie.hu
General Info: ymcayouthunify[at]gmail.com

Programme includes:

Whole camp meetings involving talks, Christian worship, recreations, personal stories
Daily small groups where young people can build deeper friendships and discuss themes in detail
Optional morning prayer
Local cultural presentations and experiences including excursions
Sports & Crafts

Volunteering
Volunteers required to help with small groups, pastoral support, arts & crafts, sports etc. If you are interested please contact email above.

Planning Committee
Youth Unify 2023 Planning Committee has members from Ukraine, Hungary, England, Germany, Czech Republic and Egypt

The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.

ESG Leadership Training and Seminar 2023
2023-08-16 - 2023-08-20 | Sovar, Petőfi u. 1., Balatongyörök, Hungary
The program is divided into two parts:

the Leadership Training is for those who are between 14 and 18
the Seminar is for those who are 18 and older

The Leadership Training brings leaders from all over Europe together to experience other ways of Scouting & Jungschar. You get to know the differences and similarities of our work and have an insight to the Scouting methods.
The program consist of pioneering technology workshops, terrain games, cooking on the fire, singing, sports, hiking, unforgettable evenings around the campfire and much more.
The Leadership Seminar gives you the opportunity to meet leaders from all over Europe and to join different workshops and lectures on intercultural communication, YMCA International and experience pedagogy.
In addition, you can exchange your ideas with the other leaders on many exciting topics to take back new ideas and ways of working in your YMCA. And of course there will be campfires, hiking and lots of fun. All participants of the seminar are invited to the annual meeting of the ESG.
How much does it cost?
EUR 160 for Western European participants
EUR 100 for Eastern European participants
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us: esg[at]kie.hu
More info: https://esglts.kie.hu/
In case you want to advertise the event in your local community, feel free to use the below flyer, or share our posts from social media:
Instagram: @esgymca @ymca_hungary @ymca.europe
Facebook: @YMCA.ESG @KIETappancs @ymcahungary @ymcaeurope
