International Perspective - Renewed partnership for the African Renaissance

By: Simon Pluess, Executive Secretary, World Alliance of YMCAs

 

Held from 4-6 May, the Partnership Summit drew together 120 participants, with a focus on renewing and strengthening relationships between Africa and international partners to ensure the vision and mission of African YMCAs is deepened and enhanced. Participants gathered to share their experiences and good practices and define guiding principles for future collaboration Topics involved programme development and effectiveness, leadership, human resources, governance, communications, membership development and resource mobilisation.

International Perspective
Bringing some of most important African YMCA leaders and international partners together in one place, is like a long awaited dream come true!

 

How it all began
The experience of the last couple of years, in particular the multilateral partner groups for movement strengthening in Africa, encouraged both the African YMCAs and international partners to engage in a process aimed at finding ways to enhance mutual cooperation and learning at all levels. Also, African YMCAs, under the leadership of the African Alliance of YMCAs, have committed to a shared vision and strategy, built on a common core identity. This process also requires alignment with the key stakeholders of the African YMCAs: its international partners. 2010 was chosen as the year where this process could be taken to the next higher level.

 

Preparing together for shared ownership:
The Africa Partnership Summit was organised as a joint initiative between the African YMCAs and their international YMCA partners. For the first time, a Steering Group of partners and African leaders worked together over several months preceding the Summit to ensure the event produced the expected outcomes. In order for the participants to arrive with a high level of preparation, a pre-summit survey was launched in February 2010, which then identified key trends and issues to be included in the Summit programme.
 

Participation and Sharing as the key drivers of the Summit
The objectives of the summit were defined as follows:
• Assess progress and challenges in African YMCAs (including impact of partnership relations on movement strengthening);
• Assess progress and challenges in international partnership relations with African YMCAs;
• Agree on future guiding principles and values; and
• Identify and agree on good practices.

 

After having been welcomed by his Excellency the Mayor of Accra, and some inspirational speeches by some of the leaders present, the Summit started off by giving the participants the choice of 15 key topics for group discussions. From this, 11 themes were then taken to specific workgroups, where participants analysed the present situation, both in terms of challenges and strengths. The group results were then presented by the group leaders in a huge marketplace style of setting, where summit participants could move freely from stand to stand, ask questions to the group presenters and give input with additional ideas.

 

Groups then moved into a second phase, where they had to define together future directions, principles and good practices for each of the themes. A renewed marketplace session allowed for everybody to contribute to the different group results.

 

The group results were then consolidated by a writing team into a final document, which then was further discussed in plenary and adopted by summit participants.

 

A solid report, highlighting future directions
To mention a few of the most striking resolutions taken at the Summit:
• Commitment to share good practices across African YMCAs, in particular through meetings and a virtual platform provided by Africa Alliance, as well as peer to peer mechanism and mentoring
• Commitment to increased, effective, open and regular communication within and between YMCA movements, as well as with external stakeholders, such as media.
• Commitment to socially relevant programmes, with focus on youth: the Subject to Citizen programme was widely applauded and should serve as a key driver in this regard.
• Commitment to strategic and annual plans to prioritise resource mobilisation, so as to allow for diversification of income and long-term sustainability of African movements.
• Partnerships should take a holistic and long-term view, and always ensure that the YMCAs in question are strengthened and become sustainable.
• Partners should align to the African YMCA shared vision: Empowering young people for the Africa Renaissance.

 

Speaking together at the same level
“Many participants came to me and said that this was truly the first time they had the chance to talk together with their partners at the same level, undisturbed from the classical question, whether funding will be made available or not,” said James Ekhow Rule, the newly elected president of the AAYMCAs.

 

Young people becoming the driving force for a new vision
A significant contribution to the summit results came from young African YMCA leaders. “Usually, with this type of meeting, the majority of participants are the elders. This time it was different, and for me it is a sign that a new class of brilliant young African leaders start speaking up and advocate for a vision and an agenda in line with the realities of the African youth,” commented Mutale Chande, newly elected Youth Representative of the AAYMCAs. “This is not about a rebellion, but about a constructive collaboration with the older, more experience leaders, so that the YMCAs in Africa can see a new day and become a mouthpiece for the voiceless African youth,” she concluded.

 

Not just a good feeling
When asking Carlos Sanvee, the General Secretary of the AAYCMAs, about his evaluation of the event, he said, “Accomplishing such a Summit with a good feeling is a great. But, making sure that joint commitments translate into tangible results for the better of the African people is even more important. I appeal upon all African leaders and international partners to use the outcomes of the Summit as roadmap that will guide new vision, policies, workplans and partnership relations in the years to come.” Let’s make it happen!

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