On 19 March, YMCA Europe hosted the YMCA AI Sprint – Digital Learning Day, a European-wide initiative designed to boost AI literacy among YMCA staff, volunteers and young leaders within the HP-YMCA Digital Hubs.
The event brought together 35 YMCA organisations across Europe, with more than 726 participants registering to take the Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course, a strong start toward our goal of 1,000 learners in a single day.
Learning AI Together
The YMCA AI Sprint – powered by Microsoft – offered a simple yet powerful 2 hour learning session, where local YMCA teams explored the fundamentals of AI in a collaborative and engaging environment.
Participants included youth workers, project coordinators, volunteers, and young leaders, all eager to understand how AI can support their daily work and the communities they serve.
Looking Ahead
The partnership with Microsoft and Founderz ensures that digital empowerment is accessible to all YMCA teams across Europe — preparing us for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.
The YMCA AI Sprint is just the beginning. By equipping staff, volunteers and young leaders with AI skills, YMCA Europe is helping its community stay relevant, effective and confident in the AI age.
Whether running programmes, mentoring youth, coordinating volunteers, or leading a local YMCA, this course is a gateway to meaningful, impactful learning.
We don’t want the momentum to stop here. YMCA Europe is committed to continuing AI skilling and upskilling across our movement and we’re looking for more organisations that want to grow, learn and empower their teams.
Interested in hosting a similar AI Sprint or Digital Learning Day?
Register your organisation HERE and join us in shaping the future together.
Ready to start learning AI today? The Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course is free and available now!
This initiative was delivered through the YMCA–Microsoft partnership on the Founderz platform, and brought to life locally within the HP–YMCA Digital Hubs. Through the HP HOPE programme, these hubs provide the infrastructure and access needed for YMCA teams across Europe to engage in digital learning and AI upskilling — ensuring that opportunity is not limited by access to technology.
To recognise the incredible participation across the network, YMCA Europe organised a prize draw for organisations involved in the AI Sprint.
- €300 voucher winners: YMCA Boyarka (Ukraine), YMCA NS-Khust (Ukraine), YMCA Zdolbuniv (Ukraine), YMCA Arad (Romania)
- Xbox winners: YMCA Villeurbanne (France), YMCA Spain, YMCA Serbia, Young Initiative Association (Romania)
Together, these prizes represent a total value of €2,800, supporting and celebrating the commitment of youth organisations to digital learning and innovation.
