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YWCA

The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.

Not to be confused with YMCA.

Founded

1855 (1855)

Worldwide

The World office is currently based in Geneva, Switzerland, and the nonprofit is headquartered in Washington, DC.


The YWCA is independent of the YMCA, but a few local and national YMCA and YWCA associations have merged into YM/YWCAs or YMCA-YWCAs and belong to both organizations, while providing the programs from each (an example being Sweden, which did so in 1966).

Governance structure[edit]

The World Board is the governing body of the World YWCA, and includes representatives from all regions of the global YWCA movement. The World Council is the legislative authority and governing body of the World YWCA. The 20 women who serve on the World Board are elected during the World Council, which meets every four years to make decisions that impact the entire movement. This includes the World YWCA's policy, constitution, strategic direction, and budgets. The Council includes representatives from the 100+ member associations that are affiliated with the global YWCA movement.

Programs[edit]

YWCA Week Without Violence[edit]

Each year during the third week of October, YWCAs worldwide focus on raising awareness to end violence against women and girls.

YWCA Week of Prayer[edit]

Starting in 1904, the World YWCA and the World Alliance of YMCAs have issued a joint call to prayer during the Week of Prayer and World Fellowship. During this week, the two movements pray and act together on a particular theme in solidarity with members and partners around the world. The week-long event is a Bible study based on that year's theme.

World YWCA Day[edit]

In 1948, World YWCA's Observance Day was born, to help each member see how she could act locally in relation to the theme for the year. Some chosen themes for the Observance Day have been: My Faith and My Work, My Place in the World, My Contribution to World Peace, I Confront a Changing World, Toward One World and My Task in Family Life Today. In 1972, the event name was changed to World YWCA Day, and the date of celebration for World YWCA Day became April 24.

Partners[edit]

The World YWCA is involved and is a part of the Big Six Alliance of Youth Organisations (World Alliance of Young Men's Christian Associations, World Young Women's Christian Association, World Organization of the Scout Movement, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation). It is also a member of Accountable Now, ACT Alliance, and has consultative status with United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). World YWCA works in partnership with a number of ecumenical players (World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation, etc.) and a number of international institutional and government donors.

Mary S. Sims, The YWCA: An Unfolding Purpose (New York: Woman's Press, 1950)

Mary S. Sims, The Purpose Widens, 1947-1967 (New York: YWCA, 1969)

Anna Rice, A History of the World's Young Women's Christian Association (New York: Woman's Press 1947)

Karen Garner, Global Feminism and Postwar Reconstruction: The World YWCA Visitation to Occupied Japan, 1947

Carole Seymour-Jones, Journey of Faith: The History of the World YWCA 1945-1994 (London: Allison & Busby 1994)

Dorothea Browder, A Christian Solution of the Labor Situation: How Workingwomen Reshaped the YWCA's Religious Mission and Politics (Journal of Women's History, Vol. 19, Summer 2007)

List of other YWCA articles

official website

World YWCA

official website

YWCA Canada

official website

YWCA USA

held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick

Catalogue of the British YWCA archives

,Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.

YWCA of the U.S.A. Records, 1855-