Every year in the third week of October, YWCAs around the world participate in the Week Without Violence Campaign– a week long series of community events promoting diverse approaches to creating a world free of violence.
Download it and contribute to the fight against GBV by sharing the content in social media, planning engaging activities and/or advocating with other tools shared in this document!
A digital annual report detailing key developments and achievements from the World YWCA in 2020, including information about events, campaigns, and resources.
Every year on April 24, YWCAs around the world celebrate World YWCA Day. For 160 years, YWCA leaders and pioneers have taken action in communities to make human rights a reality. For World YWCA Day 2021, we will celebrate the individual leaders that make up our powerful and longstanding global movement, the theme for this year is: “A Celebration of YWCA Leaders.”
Take this opportunity to celebrate leaders who inspired you, supported and empowered you to be a leader in your community and beyond, to be the change you want to see.
Read the toolto find more information on the theme, ideas on how to celebrate the day, and how to engage in social media with visuals and social media covers in the tool.
Dont forget to engage on social media using the hashtag #YWCALeaders #WYD2021.
Listen to World YWCA and the Norwegian Church Aid Podcast for the Geneva Peace Week 2020 with young women leaders Vera Syrakvash from Belarus, Amany Abuawad from Palestine, Mary Fatiya from South Sudan & Maria Osula from Kenya discussing on Organising & Acting for Peace & Justice: Young Women Leading Change against Gender Based Violence.
Since 1904, the World YWCA and World YMCA have traditionally collaborated together for the World Week of Prayer and World Fellowship. Celebrated each year on the second week of November, both organisations join efforts to produce a booklet with a theme, a set of bible studies for each day, and an annual bible reading plan so that communities around the world can come together in prayer for a specific cause linked to current realities.
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world immeasurably. It has exposed unjust structural systems and demonstrated how a global emergency affects lives disproportionally, especially those who are more vulnerable to inequalities. We are therefore called upon to reflect on all the good things in our lives, and challenged to take action to rebuild a world that promotes justice, love and peace in our communities and beyond.
The pandemic has also come with new opportunities for personal and spiritual growth. It has shed light and helped us see what is truly essential in our lives, how can we rediscover ourselves and how can we best invest our time spreading kindness and supporting those in need, including investing in our own mental and physical health.
This year, the World YWCA and World YMCA- Week of Prayer and World Fellowship is an invitation to journey together under the theme: Rays of hope: creating resilient communities through practical spirituality
Every year on April 24, YWCAs around the world celebrate World YWCA Day. It’s a day to observe our common membership and achievements in a movement that advances the human rights and leadership of women, young women and girls. It’s also a time to recognize our movement’s efforts in creating positive change for all women around the world.
Aligned with the theme of the coming World Council 2019 in South Africa, we will focus on how young women can transform and change the power structures that often dominate our societies, preventing us from achieving our human right of equality
World YWCA Day 2019 theme: “Young Women Transforming Power Structures”
The 2019 toolkit for Week Without Violence, YWCA’s annual global campaign to end violence against women, young women, and girls. The toolkit includes boilerplate language, key messages, social media information and sample language, digital assets, advocacy and media resources, and information for engaging with stakeholders. The campaign takes place during the third week in October.
Many leaders and activists in the broader women’s movement agree that words that once imparted visions of social change have become devoid of their original meaning. For example, words like safe spaces, empowerment, and engagement are being used differently by different members of the broader women’s movement. To remedy this, and provide leaders and on the ground activists with a common language, a glossary of definitions can be highly useful.
This glossary tries to account for the most commonly used words – whether they are “technical terms”, “operational words” or “specialized jargons”. It tries to provide definitions that can be easily understood by everyone, whether they are members of the movement, aspiring members, allies, partners or stakeholders who work with us.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, many women and young women remain on the frontlines of home, family and community care. These women also face important barriers when it comes to seeking and accessing help. We’ve created this content with advocacy specialist Tina Bouffet to help them access the information and the support that they need, whether it relates directly to the virus, or to the pandemic’s broader impacts on society. YWCA leaders can download and use these resources for COVID awareness and work in communities. If you need open files to translate these materials in different languages, please write to worldoffice@worldywca.org.
