YMCA International Department

YMCA International Partnerships

Check out Young Leaders visit to Zambia (April 2012)

Check out our visit to Zambia (2010)

Zambia

The partnership between the YMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo, YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford, the YMCA of Stratford and the YMCAs of Zambia began in 2006. Since then, we've been a part of strengthening a peer to peer education project in five areas throughout Zambia. Over the course of the past 4 years we've reached approximately 15,000 youth with more education and training on the prevention of HIV/AIDS.This project is undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

YMCAs across Canada are engaged in partnership with YMCAs around the world. YMCA Canada has created a map to showcase our partnerships.Visit the YMCA Canada Partnership Map.

Africa Alliance of YMCAs             

Read the Africa Alliance Newsletter

The YMCA of Zambia is a proud part of the Africa Alliance of YMCAs which is working to build and strengthen communities across the continent of Africa. This movement unites YMCAs in 17 African countries with a focus on youth development in Africa to promote cooperation within the continent and the worldwide YMCA family. Visit the Africa Alliance Website.

Subject to Citizen

In the fall of 2009 our International Programs Specialist was invited to attend a conference for youth (29 and under) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This was a gathering of approximately 70 youth from various African countries and several partner countries. This was the beginning of the Subject to Citizen movement—as we moved during those weeks from being subjects to becoming engaged citizens. The S2C Campaign is about creating a youth civic competence so that we can stand up, influence and advocate for positive changes in our lives from our leaders and policy makers. To read more about our experiences, please visit the Subject to Citizen Blog.

In May 2010, many of these young leaders met again in Accra, Ghana to share how they brought this movement home and brainstorm to create new ways of sharing the importance of becoming citizens. Artist and musician, Chemphe, helped participants to create a song that would speak as an anthem to this empowering way of approaching our world.

Click here for our Partnership History.