World Young Womens Christian Assoc

Young women for awareness, agency, advocacy and accountability (yw4a) the world ywca-led consortium continues to strengthen young women's leadership and advocacy capacity, anchoring its work in partnerships with women's rights organisations (wros), faith-based actors, and legal and policy experts. Through this model, young women advanced advocacy, accountability, and gender-transformative change across egypt, kenya, palestine, and south sudan in 2024, focusing on participatory advocacy and ending sexual and gender-based violence (sgbv). (continued on schedule o)the programme's approach remains grounded in collaboration, drawing on the combined capacity of young women, wros, and faith allies to influence laws, shift norms, and mobilise communities for sustained change.impact in 20241. Strengthening organisational and advocacy capacity- 18 wros participated in advocacy and organisational capacity assessments (aoca), with 83% meeting or exceeding institutional advancement targets.- wros engaged in 22 coalitions and networks, including national advocacy platforms in kenya, egypt, south sudan, and palestine.- evidence-based advocacy was strengthened through documentation of violations (e.g. 15 cases in kisii, kenya; 5 cases of sexual harassment in meru schools).2. Advancing young women's transformative leadership- the programme reached 11,624 young women across the four countries (an increase from 9,711 in 2023).- leadership activities included: - riseup! Refresher camps in egypt. - tot training in palestine, equipping 21 young women to facilitate leadership and advocacy spaces. - media advocacy training in palestine and turkey for 14 young women, producing digital campaigns and short films.- young women designed and led over 150 community initiatives, including 33 in palestine alone. These ranged from awareness campaigns to policy advocacy around inheritance, guardianship, political participation, and documenting human rights violations.- in kenya, fem spaces and inua mama mjane hubs integrated economic strengthening, civic education, and self-defence training as strategies to reduce risks of violence.3. Engaging faith-based actors in norm change- 320+ faith leaders participated in interfaith dialogues and national consultations.- in kenya, yw4a faith partners engaged in a national roundtable on femicide and gbv (february 2024), which led to the formation of a multi-stakeholder task force on femicide prevention.- in palestine, the al-hakimat interfaith council convened high-level meetings with judicial and government leaders, and advanced a policy brief on child marriage risks during the gaza war.- the 5th annual conference on gender justice (dec 2024, palestine), held during the 16 days of activism, spotlighted the war's devastating impact on women and girls. Young women co-led sessions, alongside judges somoud damiri and scarlet bishara, as well as high-level faith and legal leaders.- globally, faith to action network launched "women's rights in islam" (2024), a reference text for muslim scholars and advocates on gender justice.4. Influencing laws and policiesyw4a supported significant legal and policy processes in 2024:- egypt: a joint submission to the committee on the rights of the child (crc) on guardianship rights, child marriage, inheritance, and online sexual exploitation.- kenya: development of county-level advocacy (e.g., kisii position paper on youth leadership) and implementation of the meru sgbv policy.- palestine: drafting of advocacy plans, media advocacy campaigns, and sustained lobbying for family protection law and reform of discriminatory clauses in the child marriage law.- south sudan: young women advocated during radio campaigns on positive masculinities and the girl child bill as part of the 16 days of activism.- regionally, young women and wros engaged the african union commission's office of legal counsel (oct 2024), influencing discussions on the maputo protocol's implementation.- globally, young women participated in csw68 (march 2024), hrc56 (june 2024), and the icpd+30 review (2024), ensuring their advocacy fed into un-level processes.overall, in 2024 yw4a deepened reach and influence across all four countries and at global levels:- 11,624 young women reached- 18 wros strengthened- 320+ faith leaders engaged- 12+ policy/legal processes influenced- 150+ community initiatives led by young women- engagement in 5+ international platforms (csw68, hrc56, icpd+30, crc, au processes)yw4a demonstrated resilience and adaptability in a year marked by political instability and conflict, ensuring that young women's voices shaped local, national, regional, and global debates on young women's participation and sgbv.

Key initiative 2 (ki 2) global movement capacity building.as the first year of the 2024-2027 strategic framework, 2024 served as a foundational period for building capacity across the world ywca movement. While the year included many "business-as-usual" activities, it also marked critical efforts to assess, plan, and align financial, human resource, and strategic needs to strengthen the global movement for the years ahead.(continued on schedule o)capacity building under ki 2 remains deeply relational and context-specific, responding to the immediate needs of national associations while also developing structures, tools, and opportunities for long-term growth. However, the world ywca continues to face the challenge of capturing the scope and depth of these decentralised efforts. In response, new, realistic and participatory tracking strategies will be explored to better reflect this work's impact and improve planning, resourcing, and reporting in the years ahead.in 2024, the world ywca supported capacity building through multiple pathways: technical accompaniment, leadership development, cross-sector partnerships, and consistent outreach. These efforts exemplify the movement's values and the power of proximity: staying close to those at the heart of the work.key achievements and updatesadvancing advocacy and learning through global forums- at the 2024 international civic forum in johannesburg, yw4a team members spotlighted digital activism by youth in kenya, reflecting on the role of ai tools like chatgpt in public mobilisation and civic engagement.- at the sexual violence research initiative forum (svri2024), the world ywca showcased the feminist consultation methodology (fcm) and the riseup! Leadership model, drawing interest from funders, partners, and researchers for its potential in bias-free, grassroots research and advocacy.strategic representation and voice- ceo/general secretary casey harden addressed ywca canada's annual meeting, offering a message of global solidarity and shared direction.- the shespeaks platform featured reflections by ywca japan's nanako t., who offered critical insights from the commission on the status of women (csw) on safe spaces, inclusion, and feminist funding.- at the leadership and capacity building institute (lcbi) in atlanta, world ywca senior leaders and board members joined intergenerational conversations on feminist leadership and systems change.- as part of the youth power summit, alice s. From ywca bangladesh represented riseup! And spoke on the partnership with malala fund. At the summit, a malala fund lead researcher affirmed the collaboration, stating:"world ywca was one of our easiest partners - seamless, communicative, and deeply aligned."building regional strength & movement infrastructure- in antwerp, belgium, the world ywca senior team met face-to-face for strategic planning, including discussions with ywca belgium on leveraging the sgma for movement-wide capacity building.- in geneva, a delegation from ywca korea shared insights on their ai-powered advocacy for undocumented migrant women. The visit deepened discussions on ethical tech use, storytelling, and impact strategy, and included partners from the world council of churches.strengthening movement-wide communication and connection- the world ywca secretariat sustained strategic communications through regular internal and external newsletters, special mailers (e.g., csw69 call for delegates, council minutes), and campaign messaging to the global network.- ongoing personalised outreach to mas was maintained via email, whatsapp, and phone calls, complemented by in-person visits in belgium, kenya, korea, greece, nepal, thailand, switzerland (vaud and konekta), and the usa. A planned visit to china was cancelled due to political circumstances.

Key initiative 4 (ki 4) advocacy.in 2024, the world ywca continued championing transformative feminist advocacy while navigating complex global realities, internal resource constraints, and the rising demand for bold, value-based leadership. The organisation maintained its focus on meaningful and principled engagement - prioritising substance over performative participation. With the advocacy roadmap 2022-2024 as a guiding framework, three priority thematic areas remained central: - sexual and reproductive health and rights (srhr) and mental health.- peace with justice.- sexual and gender-based violence (sgbv)key achievements and updates:strategic engagements and global convenings- at csw69 in new york, hosted the flagship panel "dollars and change: investing in grassroots women for social transformation".- supported parallel events organised by national ywcas, covering themes such as: financing to end gbv, gender-responsive budgeting, youth empowerment, pay gaps, safe spaces, and wartime sexual violence.continued advocacy through global and regional platforms- joined act alliance roundtable on the role of faith actors in gender, peace, and security.- co-organised the icpd30 global youth dialogue in benin, shaping the agenda to prioritise youth feminist voices.- participated in world council of churches discussions on menstrual health and joined regional advocacy cohorts to advance srhr leadership.- engaged in the human rights council 56th session in geneva through advocacy meetings and peer learning.- co-signed an open letter with the cyberpeace institute, calling for stronger cybersecurity infrastructure for civil society organisations.digital advocacy and awareness campaigns- released new riseup! Podcast episodes spotlighting young women leaders.- published articles and reflections on menstrual health and youth engagement.- launched the #bulletanddove campaign on the war in palestine.- co-led an online safety campaign for safer internet day with partners, distributing digital posters and sops on safe online practices.solidarity messaging and conflict response- issued memos and joint statements on haiti, lebanon, palestine, and south korea.- coordinated messaging included social media, visual assets, press releases, and partner collaboration.

Global youth mobilization for generation disruptedthe global youth mobilization is an initiative of the big 6, the sixth largest youth-serving organizations, among them the world ywca. In 2022-23, the gym was relaunched as gym 2.0 with partnership of european union- dgntpa. The launch led to work initiated with ifrc as a custodian and fellow big six organization leading the activities. A subgrant agreement was progressed and signed in 2024 start. The plan for the gym 2.0 is to initiate and complete series of grants with ywcas within the next 24 months called as network solutions towards role of youth in progressing sdgs. The initiative aims to support youth-led advocacy and capacity building for youth leadership on sdgs. The program will reach more than 30 countries around the world, engaging youth of these countries for innovations around gender, climate change etc.

Young women leadershipfacilitation and nurturing of spaces and initiatives for young women leadership, including a legacy internship and leadership cohort program, engagement campaigns to share and co-create resources for young women to use in their leadership and advocacy journeys. The legacy internship and leadership cohort program has engaged to date 153 young women from 79 different ywca associations. The coordination and facilitation are rooted in signature methodologies of the world ywca such as the ywca safe spaces, the riseup! Guide for young women's leadership and the intergenerational approach. Young women who have experienced the program have pursued various opportunities to lead in their communities and in the ywca movement, whether sitting on international and national boards or working for other organizations (e.g., un agencies, global funds, etc...) or taking on leadership positions.