Where to start

Let me begin by putting this post in context. It is 6.00am in San Francisco.

For the keen followers of the Display saga, you will be disappointed to hear that it is over. It arrived at the venue last night and the Conference finishes at 11.30am this morning ;)

I attended a very interesting session yesterday afternoon on Image & Impact. The work that has been done in the Latin American and Caribbean YMCA Area is superb. The global work is also progressing well. The key themes coming out are that we are primarily a Global Youth Movement, Yes we also work with Children, Adults and Families but to acknowledge our core, we are a Young People Global Youth Movement.

An interesting comment from LACA was that the move in Latin America is away from what I will call parochialising the National Movements. As far as public profile is concerned, they are no longer Mexico YMCA or Brazil YMCA, nor do they translate the name of Young Men's Christian Association into their own language and use those initials, they are all simply the YMCA. Very interesting, you may notice the strap line just under the Logo on this blog. It is 'Together we are YMCA'. There is a growing frequency in England to refer to the YMCA as a Global Youth Movement working in England.

As I said earlier, this is the final day of the conference which has been a very full 3 Days. We will finish this morning with a Keynote talk from the Secretary General of the World Alliance of YMCA's a very good friend of mine and the English Movement Johan Vilhelm Eltvik.

One of the things I will be taking away with me is the tremendous opportunities facing us. With saying that we also have a very clear challenge before us, we need quality research on our impact, and not least if we are making statements about the empowerment of youth people we need to be able to clearly demonstrate that and for it to be part of every action and breath that we take.

I feel enriched as a result of the YMCA's collective contribution to the people and communities across the world.