Last Updated (Friday, 18 December 2015 14:06)
ASIA AND ALLIANCE OF YMCAs
4th Leaders’ Quadrennial Roundtable
3-6 December 2015, YMCA Chiangmai, Thailand
Quadrennial Program Plan 2015-2019
‘Call for Servant Leadership’
We, the 41 participants from 14 National Movements that gathered at the 4th Leaders’ Quadrennial Roundtable held in Chiangmai, Thailand, were reminded again of our YMCA identity as a Christian faith-based ecumenical, volunteer movement fostering participation of youth to respond to issues in the society. We also recognized that the call for servant leadership for this quadrennial is rooted from our history as a labor movement serving the most marginalized members of society in the 19th century.
Rev. Dr. Chang Yoon-Jae, in his keynote address underscored Justice, Peace and Life: An Ecumenical Trinity Agenda for YMCAs in Asia and Pacific. Here are some excerpts from his paper:
Asia is a continent where justice is denied, peace is under threat and life is constantly abused and destroyed. As the most populous continent, it has been the home for the largest number of the poor in the world, with more than a billion hungry people, for military dictatorships, for terrorism, for religious fundamentalism and militant religious ideologies, for threats to religious freedom, for gross violation of human rights and human abuse, for the abominable caste system, for rampant abuse of women and children and human trafficking, for striking contrasts between the rich and the poor, and for the continued exclusion of millions of people from access to basic health care, education and shelter.
The Kingdom of God means how this world would be ruled if God sits on the throne instead of the Roman Emperor. Jesus’s definition of the Kingdom of God was an alternative justice that was interested in what fell ‘outside’ the boundaries. It focuses on the people who are excluded from society. Jesus compares this noble Kingdom of God to a mustard plant, which is like a weed. The mustard plant is not a perennial tree, but merely an annual grass. The Kingdom of God that Jesus declared was a kingdom for people who were like weeds — without name, without power and without wealth. In particular, it was a kingdom of grace that was given to people who were called ‘sinners’ according to the Jewish purity code.
The Bible says that to know God is to act out justice, and to defend the rights of the poor and weak. Without pursuing justice, we cannot build peace, because peace is the fruit of justice. There is also a fundamental link between justice and life. The prophet Isaiah was certain that when justice is realized the people of the Lord will enjoy the blessing of long life. Furthermore, justice is the basic order of God’s creation. Creation is the expression of God’s justice and righteousness, wisdom and dynamism.
YMCA is a movement organization working to establish God's kingdom on earth, following Jesus' movement. It is, in other words, an association of sisters and brothers who in faith dare to break away from the current unjust, violent, and unsustainable civilization of self-destruction and to pronounce and establish a new order of God’s justice, peace, and life by living and practicing it in their grassroots communities.
Quadrennial Vision
Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs is a non-profit movement that seeks to empower the people, especially the youth, to be servant-leaders in our YMCAs and in our society to respond to the social realities and to transform their community through creative and innovative approaches.
Goals
The goals of APAY for this quadrennial (2015-2019) are:
- Youth empowerment
- Social Relevance
- Institutional Viability
Youth Empowerment
It was strongly recognized that youth empowerment is integral component for the life of the movement. The youth empowerment we seek for this quadrennial calls for the engagement of local, national and regional movements to enable youth and to give them authority to think, to say and to do youth-led actions by providing them with necessary resources and stewardship to accomplish the mission of the YMCA.
Social Relevance
It was emphasized that the social relevancy of YMCA programs are an important component of movement strengthening; for if the programs of the YMCA are seen as relevant to meeting the needs of society, they will attract the participation of members of the community, especially its youth, and thus expand the membership of the YMCA and its significance in society.
It was decided at the LQR that the following APAY programs are important to addressing important issues in the region:
- Global Alternative Tourism Network (GATN)
- Climate change e-learning curriculum
- Green teams
- Gender mainstreaming
- Global Citizenship Institute (GCI)
- Interfaith Cooperation Forum (ICF)
- Natural disaster response
- Social entrepreneurship and social enterprises
In general, several strategies were identified to increase the effectiveness of these programs and to enhance the participation of APAY’s member movements: (1) better communication of the content of these programs from the regional to the national to the local level and (2) an exchange facilitated by APAY between YMCAs successfully implementing these programs and YMCAs wishing to initiate them.
Institutional Viability- is a demonstration of good governance through accountability, transparency, and integrity; partnership support through sharing of ideas, programs and resources with like-minded organizations; sustainability through possession of resources and clear mission, demonstrating strong financial disciplines and good operational practices that are socially responsive; and recognized image and impact.
Emerging Issues
The following issues that were identified in this LQR in which APAY and its member National Movements should consider addressing during the next four years include:
- Disaster response
- Ageing society
- Participation of women in YMCAs
- Modern-day slavery
- Health
- Human trafficking
- Unemployment
- Migrant workers
- Refugees
- Climate change
- Obesity
- Peaceful reunification
- Peace dialogue among youth from different countries
- Nuclear power stations
- Child care
Strategies
The strategies and success indicators formulated for each of the goals and sub-goals serve as key guide points that would lead us towards a strengthened and sustained movement. (Refer to attached table)
Conclusion
We are called to be catalysts towards achieving an alternative society that is founded on peace based on justice. Thus, we reaffirm our commitment to accomplish the vison and goals set forth in this quadrennial for a strengthened movement.
Table: Goals, Strategies and Success Indicator
Goals/Sub-goals | Strategies | Success Indicators |
Youth Empowerment | ||
1.1 Initiate servant-leadership education and continue youth exposure on social issues in the communities |
|
Develop “servant-leadership” framework/curriculum
At least 2 persons from each national movements join At least 2 persons from each national movements join |
1.2 Create spaces to engaged in dialogue, planning and program/activity implementation |
|
|
1.3. Attract and sustain the youth participation and leadership; |
|
|
1.4 Support the WAY Youth Empowerment thrust |
|
Social Relevance
Programs | Strategies |
GATN | Expand the number of GATN sites |
Increase publicity about the program | |
Better preparation of participants by the sending countries | |
Enhance interaction between sending and receiving countries | |
Tell the story of the social impact of this program (how is the local economy impacted, for instance |
|
Climate change e-learning |
Translate materials into non-digital format for people without access to the internet and/or for non-youth |
Host web site for national movements to upload their materials related to climate change | |
Do not limit e-learning to climate change | |
Green teams | Produce training manual as a resource for participants when they return home after workshops and for others |
Expand tree-planting programs | |
Focus on children as a target group | |
Gender mainstreaming | Encourage all national and local YMCA movements to have a gender committee |
Continue to promote the leadership of women in the YMCA | |
Initiate programs that respond to women’s issues in the region | |
GCI | Follow up with the GCI alumni as a way to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned are being utilized by the national and local YMCAs |
Create a network of GCI alumni | |
Form national forums of GCI alumni to plan activities at the national level | |
ICF | Appoint YMCA contact people who are active in justpeace issues to link with ICF national forums in select countries |
Conduct mini-School of Peace (SOP) programs at the national level | |
Provide more information about this program to the national movements | |
Natural disaster response | Establish a disaster response desk |
Develop disaster response policies and guidelines | |
Organize training of trainers workshops on disaster response | |
Social entrepreneurship and social enterprises | Provide training workshops on how to establish and manage a social enterprise |
Target youth as the staff and beneficiaries | |
Create a web site listing the social enterprises that offers a platform for investors to support specific social enterprises |
Institutional Viability
Goal/Sub Goals |
Strategies |
Success Indicators |
Good Governance |
||
Increased knowledge |
Develop & implementation of Training Package Face to face Training/ Online training module |
All NMs are trained |
Standards |
Governance Standard Package |
Developed Standard Package |
Compliance |
Develop & implement Reporting & Auditing Structure |
Annual Self Audit Continuous Improvement Framework |
Partnership Support | ||
Develop Internal Partnership |
Resources Sharing Networking and supporting |
Increased programs Increased impact Increased income Annual Reporting on impacts |
Develop External Partnership |
Resources Sharing Networking and supporting Co-working with like other organizations |
Increased programs Increased impact Increased income Better relationship with partners Annual Reporting on impacts |
Sustainability | ||
Mission Focused |
Review of Mission Statement Mission Oriented Programs Educate Stakeholders on our Mission |
Mission Statement reviewed
Well informed Stakeholders |
Financial viability |
Annual Financial Reports
Successful Resource Mobilization |
Audited Financial Reports Reviewed Strong equity base |
Adequate Resources |
Human Resource Management |
Recruitment and Induction and ongoing staff |
Sufficient infrastructure |
development Suitable facilities & infrastructure |
|
Socially Responsive |
Effective & Relevant Community Based Programs Responsive Community Needs Diverse and Inclusive principles |
Social impact monitoring |
Recognized Branding |
||
Publicly Recognized |
Marketing and Promotion |
Increasing donors, fund raising, programs/ contracts acquisition and participation |
Monitor Impact |
Conduct Branding Surveys |
Benchmarking Survey outcomes. |
Crisis Management |
Develop Crisis Management Policy at all levels. |
Crisis Management Policy adopted and implemented. |
Social Media Management |
Develop Social Media Policy at all levels. Implement Social Media Training |
Social Media Policy adopted and implemented. |
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