Living Challenge 21, Shaping YMCA Youth Policy and Action
Statement of the YMCA Deliberation on Youth Policy and Action,
Cheonan, Korea, 7-12 August 2002

Salt of the earth who are change agents and deriving courage and wisdom from the Prophet Jeremiah when he was called by God in his youth, we are gathered to reflect and commit ourselves towards genuine involvement of young people in the YMCAs.

We, 29 YMCA youth volunteer leaders and professionals in the Asia and Pacific region, gathered together in Cheonan, Korea from August 7-12, 2002 for the YMCA Deliberation on Youth Policy and Action to examine the youth and student policy and program development in our YMCAs in the light of Challenge 21 and the most recent regional gatherings where "Vision 21", "One in Spirit, One in Action" and "YMCA Youth Vision for Building Civil Society" were crafted.

Despite these efforts to influence and motivate the YMCAs to strengthen the student YMCAs and provide space for youth participation, we still experience the following situation:

• weak youth involvement in program development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• inadequate compliance with "Challenge 21" and lack of mechanism for implementation and assessment of "Challenge 21".
• unclear understanding of the nature of YMCA as a voluntary, ecumenical, membership, Christian movement.
• limited youth participation in YMCA structure.

These compel us to urge our YMCAs for action and reiterate the calls we made in the past. We present the following guidelines with the hope that they will assist in the formulation and implementation of local YMCA Youth Policy and Action:

YMCA as a membership-based movement
The identity of the YMCA in the community as an ecumenical, Christian, youth-driven and membership-based movement should be clear.

We strongly propose to :

• Examine the membership concept of YMCAs to make it more relevant to young people
• Integrate the Christian basis of the movement in all programmes and YMCA systems and processes
• Ensure membership education emphasising that the YMCA is a membership-based, youth-driven, Christian movement
• Develop and disseminate resource materials (e.g. textbooks, manuals, etc.) on the YMCA movement's history, contextual programming, movement building, particularly addressed to youth membership and student YMCAs

Implementing Challenge 21
Challenge 21 as the contemporary YMCA mission statement should be seriously studied, translated into respective National Languages and implemented in the local context of the YMCAs.

We put forward the following:

• Enable YMCAs to adhere to gender equity, emphasizing the inclusion of young women in both lay and professional decision-making structures
• Consider setting up of groups to study the contents and implications of Challenge 21 and implementing action plans related to Challenge 21. (e.g. making children aware of their rights, environmental protection campaign in campuses, etc.)
• Disseminate Challenge 21 to all YMCAs at all levels using various forms
• Conduct mission and structural review processes in relation to Challenge 21 at the national and local levels
• Set up regular policy evaluation considering Challenge 21 and contemporary realities at all levels

Youth Participation in YMCA Structure

Youth participation is crucial in sustaining the identity and carrying out the Mission of the YMCA as a movement. Youth empowerment should not create a generational gap but foster a community where young people can contribute and learn as much as the adults and older generation. YMCA should recognise and enhance the capacity of young people as leaders of today and not only of tomorrow.

We advocate for:

• Defining youth in terms of age and character as present-day leaders
• The appointment of full-time secretaries responsible for student and youth work
• Setting up applicable indicators for youth participation
• Local YMCA support to and regular dialogue and collaboration with the student YMCAs

We re-assert to:

• Ensure at least 1/3 youth representation in all decision-making and policy-making bodies of YMCAs (e.g. Boards, committee, task groups, staffs)
• Provide space/opportunity for autonomous youth activities/programs

Youth Programme Involvement

Young people's genuine involvement in the YMCAs is upheld in the Challenge 21. Therefore, they have the role and responsibility to participate in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes in various capacities.

We urge YMCAs to:

• Integrate the youth work in all professional trainings. Provide opportunity for youth participation in the Basic Training and Advanced Studies Programme.
• Provide opportunity for programme development for the youth and by the youth
• Build youth capacity for programme development, implementation and evaluation.

We re-affirm the need to :

• Organize and strengthen student YMCAs particularly in the universities and colleges
• Work on the reformation of education system to include alternative education processes
• Develop and implement leadership development programmes that emphasize the value of community, enhancing youth leadership skills to work with the civil society.
• Support young people to take initiatives in creating alternative lifestyle movements and to build networks that promote life-affirming values
• Ensure meaningful youth participation in YMCA programmes
• Provide relevant information and space for information sharing among young people (e.g. strengthening of YouthNet, space in Asia Pacific magazine, newsletters, websites etc.

Our increased understanding and analysis of current events and trends had driven us to strive for the above recommendations. Young people hold a crucial key towards communities upholding justice and peace. The youth's dynamism, creativity, and deep sense of justice are essential qualities the YMCA needs in order to reach out to its vision of a transformed world.

In the past few days, we listened to each other's wisdom. We again recognised that globalisation renders young people vulnerable to exploitation, insecurity and, suppressed creativity and critical thinking. Yet, we need to have a global perspective that brings forth a global-local interconnectedness. The YMCA should remain locally rooted but at the same time grounded upon the global value of the Reign of God. An understanding of this interconnectedness would bring us to finding alternatives to the growth-oriented development process with a prevailing lifestyle of consumerism and competition over material wealth.

The exposure at the rural community known as Hongseong offered realistic and inspiring examples of development alternatives and gave us a chance to seriously consider living in community. We witnessed an alternative educational system that nurtures young people as human beings, essential part of the community and not as potential machines that will run the operations of the markets. An economic system that gives priority to life and living together as people through the use of eco-friendly and community friendly systems and mechanisms demonstrated that quality of life meant not comfort through material possessions but comfort in a holistic lifestyle. We appreciated the principle of a life-sharing community that nourishes people and fosters closer relationships. The community culture and relationships are enhanced through information sharing system provided by a community newspaper and other means.

In this Deliberation we are inspired, motivated, frustrated, renewed and transformed in spirit and action. We confirm that the YMCA is a continuously self-renewing movement with the youth as its core.

With a firm belief in God, we are determined to persistently seek and carry out social change for peace, for justice, for life!