f r o m s u b j e ct

Youth Summit

Youth AdvocAcY Summit24 mAY to 1 June 2015

A F R I C A A L L I A N C E YMCAYMCA

Ask not whAt others cAn do for you, but whAt you cAn do for others.

Each one of us, with over two

years of leadership experience

in our various movements at

local and national level, set

off on a new journey with the

hopes and dreams of being

even more impactful in the

work that we do.

it is our collective dream to

become actors in building the

socio-economic development of

our various countries, ultimately

occupying key positions in

government and international

organisations. We considered

this first milestone of Senegal

training as fundamental in

developing ourselves and in

developing our continent and

the world at large.

None of us could truly imagine

what this journey had in store

for us, yet we knew that once

we started our endeavour,

there would be no turning

back. We would be moulded

into even greater leaders

for the future of the YmCA

movement, as well as the

future of a world we see…

yet to come.

the navigational team

comprised seasoned sailors,

7 graduated ambassadors

from the first and second

waves, who have also served

as African YmCA Change

Agents, flying the flag high at

international level. their role

was to give testimony each

morning to

mot i va te

and inspire

us and

warn us

of stormy

seas and

how to

n a v i g a t e

them, as

well as to

conduct aspects of the training

sessions, based on both their

own skills development in

specific areas as well as how

they managed to implement

learnings from trainings, thus

alerting us to avoid landing up

in the doldrums.

to guide us all, at the helm we

had the Executive Secretary

in charge of S2C youth

leadership, and the Advocacy

Officer, as well as the Youth

Representative of the Africa

Alliance. We felt secure that

our experience would be even

keel with our navigational

team, and those at the helm.

their role was to ensure

that we became equipped

sailors in life as we left our

comfort zones of dry land

and embraced the wide

ocean of new knowledge and

experiences.

this is our S2C journey, and

this report will give you a

glimpse of the journey on

which we have set sail.

MEEt tHE CREWAhoy there! Meet the crew… The current wave of S2C Ambassadors represents the dynamism that exists in the various National Movements of the Africa Alliance of YMCAs. Drawn from 15 National Movements, 26 Ambassadors and 4 Senegalese observers were taken through 9 days of intensive training and grooming in Dakar, Senegal, to equip and prepare us for our Subject to Citizen (S2C) ambassadorial journey.

BACkgROuNd tO tHE REpORtthe Africa Alliance of

YmCAs (AAYmCA) is the

largest pan-African youth

network, bringing together

YmCAs in 20 African

countries by empowering

Young people for the African

Renaissance. We espouse

the S2C change philosophy

by providing youth with

Voice, Space and Ability to

influence for positive change,

enabling them to transform

themselves, others and their

communities.

to this end, the AAYmCA

organised a Youth Advocacy

Summit (24 may to 1 June

2015) in conjunction with

the 10th Ordinary general

meeting (2-6 June) in dakar,

Senegal. As youth leaders

from the African YmCA

National movements,

we are enrolled as S2C

Ambassadors in a youth

leadership empowerment

programme for a period

of two years. during this

time, we are to develop

confidence and skills to

influence issues of local to

continental importance and

engage in advocacy to bring

about transformation.

A journey of A thousAnd miles

begins with A step.

2 3

AfRiCAN REAlitiES… HOW wE StARtEdAll aboard!”…comes a booming voice travelling over all the hustle and bustle on the S2c maiden voyage, but we are not too sure that everyone quite hears yet. The excitement is evident, as the new Ambassador crew wait to hear what the S2C voyage has in store for them on day one of the training.

We are told that we are journeying metaphorically and physically to The Point of No Return, and although we are sure that it will be an adventure beyond our imagination, we soon realised that the journey ahead would consist of hard work in order for us to keep afloat and reach our destination.

to see the chAnge you wAnt, be the chAnge you seek.

4 5

tOdAY wE StANdAt A pOiNt Of NO REtuRN.tHROugH StRugglE ANd AdVERSitY,WE ENvIsIoN A BEttER futuRE…AN AFRICAN RENAIssANCE!

With all hands on deck we set sail towards the African

Renaissance monument and then literally got aboard a boat

for goree island.

the African Renaissance monument (french: le monument

de la Renaissance Africaine) is a 49 metre tall bronze statue

located on top of one of the twin hills known as Collines

des mamelles, outside of dakar, Senegal. Built overlooking

the Atlantic Ocean in the Ouakam suburb, the statue was

designed by the Senegalese architect pierre goudiaby after

an idea presented by president Abdoulaye Wade and built by

mansudae Overseas projects, a company from North korea.

Site preparation on top of the 100-metre high hill began in

2006, and construction of the bronze statue began 3 April 2008.

Originally scheduled for completion in december 2009, delays

stretched into early 2010, and the formal dedication occurred

on 4 April 2010, Senegal’s “National day”, commemorating the

50th anniversary of the country’s independence from france. it

is the tallest statue in Africa.

We heard the story of our struggle as Africans and the need for

African pride and belief in an Africa that is driving closer and closer

to the African Renaissance. the statue itself is inspirational: the

woman points behind to relate our struggle to our rather sad

and unforgettable past, the man holds the wife and his son to

depict the pivotal role we play in our struggle for true freedom

and justice, and the child seated on the shoulders of his father

points across the Atlantic Ocean to the future of the Renaissance,

telling of how young people will lead the future struggle in putting

Africa where it rightfully should be: a sustainable continent of

empowered people concerned with social justice, and a continent

that plays a key role in the global arena.

We voyage on to goree island, where we are reminded of a

past where men were “beastly” about their own kind.

the slave house dates back to 1776, and was the last slave

station built by the dutch (earliest ones date back to 1536

by the portuguese). it was one of several built in the same

format: two stories, as were all other buildings on the island.

the staircase with two wings built with full-cement railing

was a symbol in that it gave access to the quarters of the

masters upstairs, isolating them from the hell-like life endured

downstairs by the slaves.

You can see the central corridor downstairs which leads out

to the sea: death or a voyage of no return. We could now,

as Ambassadors, have a clearer understanding of what the

Captain meant about reflecting on our past and where the

point of No Return finds its roots: the master’s floor above with

its high ceilings, and the slaves rooms below with low ceilings,

surrounded by galleries in which were guards, ready to shoot.

AROuNd tHE SlAVES QuARtERS

At any point in time, this single building housed about 150-

200 slaves (men, women and children) kept in different cells.

Some of the rooms had as many as 60 men in them, with their

backs to the wall and with shackles on their necks and arms.

they were freed only once a day to enable them to relieve

themselves, otherwise their room was their toilet!

Since families were separated, it was common to find one

whole family – father, mother and child – torn apart and all

separated.

mullAtOS

it was not unusual for the slave traders to rape the women,

and when they were unable to forcibly abort the pregnancies,

the mullato children born were sent off to be free on the island

or sent to St louis in the north of Senegal.

tHE pRiSONS

for those prisoners ‘stubborn’ enough to defy their masters,

or reluctant to accept their plight, there were even smaller

dungeons that could barely fit a small child. Some of them

would be locked naked in these rooms, filled with salty water

from the sea, for days on end!

tHE WEigHiNg ROOmS

for a man, his price depended on his weight (60kg was the

target weight), and his muscle strength. if a man was not

up to that weight, they were placed in specific rooms where

they were fed until they reached that weight and then were

auctioned like cattle in front of the European buyer leaning over

the top balcony, to evaluate the strength of each slave. the

value of children depended on their tooth growth and that of a

woman on the firmness of her breasts.

tHE dOOR Of NO REtuRN

Once the prices were agreed on, the slaves were moved to

the waiting rooms to await the ships. looking out onto the sea

was a doorway leading out to a palm-wood docking wharf. this

door was referred to as the ‘door of No Return’. Here, as a last

resort, some of the slaves would attempt the impossible task

of escaping.

However, they were either gunned down by guards (who were

freed slaves!) or devoured by roaming sharks (who had been

attracted to the shores previously as sick or dead slaves were

usually just thrown out to sea). Either way, once they passed

through that door, there was no chance of turning back to the

life they once knew.

from this point, their departure to the Americas depended on

the buyers; the father would end up in the uSA, the mother

in Brazil/Cuba, while the child would be sent to Haiti or the

West indies. they would leave without their actual names but

rather with registration numbers and would take on the names

of their masters once they arrived in the plantations.

OuR REflECtiONS

this trip to the monument and the point of No Return on goree

island was aimed at us understanding African Realities. We

were emotionally, mentally and spiritually affected, some of us

deeply reflective about our past and the mantle of leadership

that we were now carrying to bring about change in our beloved

continent.

the outing gave us incredible motivation to stand up for

human rights around the world. the island is a reminder of

what happens when those rights aren’t protected. We as S2C

Ambassadors have a duty to fulfil to our continent that we

advocate for human rights, social injustice and democracy. We

have a duty to leave a legacy that is credible and transparent,

through our responsible Christian identity, and to effect honest,

sustainable, positive change for innovation which celebrates

diversity and inclusion of all.

No amount of ‘classroom-type’ learning could have made this

huge impact on us and motivated us in such a way. Experiential

learning is indeed a crucial element of the S2C journey.

horror is humAn, error too.

only those who hAve dwelt between these wAlls hAve

cherished the price of liberty.

the most obnoxious effect of slAvery

is perhAps the myth of superiority or the inferiority linked to the

colour of one’s skin.

how eloquent they Are, these mute witnesses of our history.

in these momentous times, undoubtedly the most trAgic,

the most ferocious.

eAch drop of teArs from their broken heArt

An oceAn of blood springing out of this steel

fortress.

mAy the sufferings of this historicAl islAnd And this slAve

house be the fertile heAven of A

blissful And frAternAl morrow.

6 7

tHE lifE- CHANgiNg tRip Of A LIFEtIME

mORNiNg dEVOtiONS & BREAkfASt SHOWS

tEStimONY

On our return from our outing, we were thrown into the deep end, with waves of input, tasks, practicals and many, many sleepless nights. Some of us floundered a bit, gulping mouthfuls of water as we learnt to swim in the wonderful world of S2C. We learnt the best way possible, by looking into ourselves and applying every single thing that was taught to us. It was difficult, but it was worth it as, looking back, we had an incredible journey of growth and immense fun learning.

We covered a vast amount of materials, which included the different stages of learning, our African realities, what S2C was all about, root cause analysis, Agenda 2063, YMCA: Vehicle for transformation, mobilisation through S2C, communicating for influence, and advocacy.

After the fundamentals, the content was mainly focused on communicating for influence and advocacy. These topics where covered in depth and we were expected to use our own context to see how we would adequately be able to implement what we had learned in our own lives, communities as well as how we would transfer it to others.

In this report we share the following from our training:

• Morningdevotionsandbreakfastshows• graduatedaMbassadortestiMony• ourtransforMationalhistory• abouts2C• CoMMuniCatingforinfluenCe• advoCaCy• MeetingwiththenationalgeneralseCretaries• ogMexperienCe

Each zone was allocated

specific days and their

responsibility was to ensure

that someone read from

the Bible while someone

else preached. We quickly

established a choir for the

devotions, and this group

also anchored the Ogm

worship sessions, which was

a great honour for us.

devotions were followed

by the Breakfast Show, led

by the media team. this

was a genius way to recap

the learnings from the day

before as we were able to do

so in a fun and creative way,

highlighting our responses

to the training as well as our

way of communicating our

responses through inputs,

interviews and multi-media.

One of the challenges

identified in 2010 during

the 17th World Council

of YmCAs was that the

YmCA did not have shared

messaging; therefore we

could not achieve greater

visibility and impact as a

global movement. the

AAYmCA, through S2C,

acknowledged this as a

problem, and every day

during our Summit, the

facilitators set aside 30

minutes for testimony from

the navigational crew, the

graduated Ambassadors. We

eagerly looked forward to

this segment every day

it was clear to us that in their

own journey, each of the

graduated Ambassadors who

had travelled these waters

before us, made certain

choices. As they shared

with us their courses taken,

we were aware that many

other routes in their voyage

were available to them. they

explained their decisions,

their work, their challenges

and successes. they

shared theory and practical

information with us. We

learnt how they had used

different leadership styles to

ensure that S2C was vibrant

in their local and national

YmCAs. We recognised

their leadership growth and

how they have transformed

others. We were inspired

by their testimonies to not

only follow in their footsteps,

but to also test the waters

in areas they had identified

as challenges or areas we

would like to travel.

everymorning,thesessionsstartedwithdevotionsthatwereledbythethreezonesinturns.thesewerethewestern,easternandsouthernzones.

8 9

ouR tRANSfORmA-

tiONAl HiStORYPart of our training was to delve into our history to ensure we remain rooted in our past so as to appreciate the journey of transformation through the ages, while we deal with present issues according to our YMCA ethos and gear up for the future, by imagining, planning and implementing interventions that truly meet the needs of the young people.

We realised that by going

back to the history of YmCA

and how it all started, we

could see that the vision of

george Williams in 1844

was to involve people. He

saw a problem to be solved

amongst young men and

knew it was impossible to do

so alone, therefore he shared

his dream of empowering

the youth, with his friends,

and together they founded

the Young men Christian

Association (YmCA). this

was the transformation

house for all young men

facing difficulties in terms

of economics (poverty and

unemployment), health and

spirituality at that time.

We studied key aspects of

our history and even had

the opportunity to creatively

dramatise our interpretation

of them. What was clear

to us was that through the

ages, as time has passed,

the YmCA has adapted to

the needs of the time - the

YmCA opened up their doors

to women, various religions

etc., yet never lost the ethos

of being a Christian-based

movement for young people.

We even learnt that the

YmCA founded father’s

day and we all took part

in the #papataughtme

campaign, the first-ever in

the YmCA movement that

was spearheaded by the

AAYmCA, this year.

pApAtAugHt

10 11

ABOut s2COur current transformation philosophy and change model is S2C which is focused on creating space to inspire and influence young people to enable us to make impact in our communities and continent at large. This we understood in line with the Africa Renaissance vision.

S2C was in essence our rudder, steering our learnings and our

personal transformation during the Summit. After a few days,

we began to burn with desire to influence and make change

in our communities, our countries, our continental and indeed

the world.

We realised that as S2C Ambassadors, we are needed:

• AsleadersintheAfricanYMCAmovement;

• Asleadersinourcommunitiestoaffectchange,and

influence for change;

• TorepresentnationalmovementsandtheAAYMCAin

African and global forums, especially to promote S2C, and

thus represent African youth leadership; and

• Tocarryoutspecificawareness-raisingandpromotion

of S2C with stakeholder constituencies from youth to

government, through face-to-face and social media

engagement.

drawing it all together from our learnings and experience at

the Youth Summit, our roles and responsibilities mean we are

expected to:

• Ensureourlearningsareappliedinourleadershipposition

at National movement level;

• RaiseawarenessonS2CinyourNationalMovement,

especially in terms of recruiting new members and

retaining current and new members by ensuring their

involvement in S2C-related initiatives and activities;

• ConductS2Corientationsasneeded;

• ConductS2Ctrainingsessionsasneeded;

• EngageintwoadvocacycampaignsduringourS2C

Ambassadorship;

• RepresentourNationalMovementatlocalandnational

level through participating in awareness-raising,

networking and stakeholder events;

• Enterintocontractwithamentorandengageinthe

African YmCA reverse mentoring model which ensures

sharing of learnings, knowledge and skills in a fluid and

transformational manner between mentor and mentee;

• WriteonearticleamonthtopubliciseandmarketS2C-

related information via the African YmCA website and our

own channels in our National movements;

• Completequarterlyreportsandtaskstimeously;and

• BepreparedtorepresenttheAfricanYMCAmovement

should the need arise.

As S2C Ambassadors, we play the dual role of concurrently

being African YmCA Change Agents to ensure the Africa

Renaissance agenda is in global forums and that Africans

play a central role in global youth decisions. to this end, we

engaged in sessions around our role and the expectations

of us as Change Agents. Of utmost importance, we learnt

about the global YmCA youth empowerment model (which

we also found out was inspired by the African YmCA model)

which focuses on Space, transformation and impact.

Space involves the YmCA being an empowering, creative

and self-determined space for young people to experience

life, discover their potential and develop their talents.

transformation is about the YmCA empowering young people

by offering tools for self-development, training for life skills,

education for increased knowledge and self-esteem, which

leads to impact, where young people will have impact on

their own life situation, their local society as well as the global

world, individually as well as collectively. At this stage, the

incredible honour and blessing, as well as the responsibility

of being selected as S2C Ambassadors struck us, due to our

role as African Change Agents in the worldwide movement.

12 13

f r o m s u b j e ct

AmBASSAdOR’S CREEd

COmmuNiCAtiNg fOR INFLuENCEAs S2C Ambassadors, our journey involves us developing confidence and skills to influence issues of local to continental importance and engage in advocacy to bring about transformation.

We quickly realised that the vast majority of the business of

being an S2C ambassador would revolve around activities that

will engage communication. Communicating for influence

is a technique used for effective communication to elicit the

desired impact; this technique was a major feature of the

training experienced by us.

this involved how to reach the desired audience, audience

assessment, dressing for the occasion, body language, clear

messaging, presentations, delivering a 30 second pitch for

creating good first impressions and as an entry point into

more meaningful communication, writing news articles and

profiles, and social media engagement.

Everything we learnt had a practical assignment attached

to it, so as well as doing presentations, we created news

and profile products for use on the AAYmCA website and

through the webalert. then we took part in the father’s day

#papataughtme campaign. We took photos of ourselves,

each attributing an aspect of our growth and development

to our father or father figure. these were used as part of the

campaign messaging on social media platforms. Some of

us even took this further on our return and held awareness-

raising functions in our YmCAs, using the skills we had learnt

in the Communicating for influence sessions.

We feel confident now going forward that we have both

confidence and a skills-set that will enable us to chart new

territories in our Ambassador journey.

14 15

AdVOCACY

MEEtINg WitH OuR NAtiONAl gENERAl SECREtARiES

An important aspect of our training was to carry out an advocacy campaign.

wehadasessionwiththevariousngssthatwerepresent.thiswasbothanogMpreparationsession and one on our role in the National Movements. We discussed how we could work together in taking our National Movements to the next level using S2C and had input from them on what they expected from us. We had the opportunity to speak openly about some of the constraints we are and will be facing. They responded by promising us their support and cooperation

the advocacy sessions were quite involved, with intense

practical exercises ranging from individual advocacy plans

to a group advocacy plan. the crew were taken through the

basic tenets of an advocacy strategy; approach, formulation,

execution and implementation.

the sessions employed the use of modern teaching strategies

such as prezi, problem tree, the 5 WHYs (dubbed the 5

‘pourquois’ in our collective attempt to learn some french in

Senegal), the results chain model, and stakeholder analysis,

among a host of other techniques to impact the learning and

experience of how to undertake an advocacy campaign.

We were then tasked with developing an advocacy project

that we pitched to our individual National general Secretaries

for approval and adoption while we were still in Senegal.

We even used some of the skills which we learnt in the

Communicating for influence sessions, to approach our

leaders and to pitch our campaign ideas. this whole exercise

was very exciting for us as we were able to get immediate

feedback which helped us to finalise our advocacy projects

in the month after our return. We are now all working on our

advocacy campaigns, with the help of the AAYmCA.

the real litmus test was when we were divided into three

groups and each group was given the task of presenting

an advocacy message to diverse groups in dakar on the

issue of monetary sovereignty in the franc Zone. monetary

Sovereignty is an ongoing struggle to promote the

independence of the rest of African countries that are still tied

to the usage of the currency of their colonial masters and also

the dictation by other world bodies on the determination of

how monetary sovereignty policies are determined in Africa

which often does not address the actual developmental

concerns of African countries.

Before our outing in dakar to participate in the advocacy

programme on monetary Sovereignty we were trained on

what the struggle is all about, the various actors, what has

been done so far, aims, as well as the pros and cons of

monetary Sovereignty.

in our groups we each prepared an advocacy statement to

deliver to our target groupings:

representatives of the ECOWAS Youth parliament; leadership

of the Yoonu Askan Wi (YAW) party; and representatives

from the forum de la Jeunesse au Senegal (Youth forum

in Senegal), a Civil Society organisation with interest in

establishment of a common ECOWAS currency. After our

meetings, we received feedback from the groups with

whom we met, and overall we received endorsement that

we are well equipped to undertake our own advocacy in our

respective countries.

this outing enabled us to immediately put into practice what

we had learnt, both in the Advocacy and Communicating

for influence sessions. Again, we understood and valued

the process of experiential learning, both with regard to

our meeting with our National general Secretaries and

our advocacy outing meeting with respected groupings in

Senegal.

16 17

oRdINARY gENERAl mEEtiNgAfter our intense training at the Youth Advocacy Summit we then entered new waters and took ontheroleofactivecitizensduringtheogM,whichalsocomprisedthesustainabilitysummit.We had many roles to play, involving some of us playing key roles at the opening and closing ceremonies; some acting as rapporteurs for group discussions; others assisting with resolutions andvotingprocesses;mostofuscoordinatingthestandsattheogMMarketplacewhereweviedfor two wins in the categories of most impactful stand and National Movement with the most members in an onsite membership campaign; ensuring the endorsement of the Youth Declaration as a resolution; and all of us actively participating in the dialogue and discussions, where we were able to showcase our responsibility as S2C Ambassadors through the three elements we were now living: using our voice in the space to influence for change

due to our training and the skills we had learnt, we were

given the task of developing the Youth declaration – and it is

important to note that this was done wholly by us, after input

on how to write a declaration during our training. Here follows

our Youth declaration, which was endorsed as a resolution:

We the youth of the African YmCA movement, in particular

serving as S2C ambassadors, represented by 15 national

movements across Africa, submit this youth declaration before

the 10th Ordinary general meeting in Senegal 2015.

We commit that we hold the following values:

• God-fearing

• Integrity

• Accountability

• Transparencyand,

• Self-Determination

We strive to achieve the following competencies during our

Ambassadorship:

• Leadershipskills(decisionmakers)

• Strategiccommunication

• Conflictresolution(teamwork)

• Advocacyand,

• BusinessOrientated(careermotivatedtowards

sustainability)

We believe in the Africa Renaissance and we imagine an Africa

where…

• Active youth participation in decision-making and

sustainable development are implemented in all levels that

benefit future generations.

• WeareasustainableandenvironmentallyconsciousAfrica.

• Wedonotdiscriminate.

• Wearepeacefulandprosperous.

• Quality,affordableandaccessibleeducationisavailable.

• Weareastrongunitedand influentialpartneronaglobal

level.

• Wehaveastableeconomythatempowersyouth.

to this end, we will plan and work towards promoting the

empowerment of youth to take action to achieve the African

Renaissance as inscribed in Agenda 2063.

in doing so, the legacy we seek to achieve is committed young

leaders who are driven by the passion to serve and promote

the involvement of all youth.

We ask that you strive to put sustainable development in the

various national movement agendas and support the cause

of youth development by ensuring the full implementation of

Subject to citizen philosophy at national and local level, and

believe that we have the capacity and energy to drive this

change.

And we pledge to you that we will represent a new breed

of change-driven youth, who use the skills acquired and

knowledge gained to continue to influence transformation in

society.

18 19

CONCluSiONWe reflect on the Summit objectives as originally developed by the AAYMCA. These were as follows:

ExpOSE pARtiCipANtS iN A REflECtiVE WAY tO AfRiCAN REAlitiES - tHE HiStORY Of tHE CONtiNENt, tHEiR iNHERitANCE ANd lEgACYOur two field trips to the African Renaissance monument and

goree island gave us the opportunity to reflect on what had

happened in the past. the trip to goree island was an emotional

one, since it was hard to fathom that this was the reality of our

ancestors. We could better understand why the theme point

of No Return was chosen for the Ogm and we drew strength

from what we saw and learnt, with an even stronger passion

for ensuring that we, along with our fellow youth, become the

voice for the injustices in this world.

Having such a diverse group together from the various

countries, also helped expose us to the different realities.

through group work we would reflect on scenarios in our

own communities and share and reflect on similarities and

differences. this helped us to have a clearer understanding of

the various struggles we face, and how we can take action.

pROVidE YOutH WitH kNOWlEdgE ANd iNSigHt iNtO S2C - tHE RAtiONAlE, tHE RESEARCH, tHE fuNdAmENtAlS, tHE pOSSiBilitiES Of tHiS CHANgE mOdElS2C formed the basis of our training, with us understanding in a

very real way the history, the present through S2C franchising,

and future possibilities. the session on history, highlighting

the YmCA as a vehicle for transformation, helped us to realise

that S2C is for OuR time now and for OuR realities now.

Our manual contained an incredible amount of information

which complemented what we learnt, and provides us with a

reference point now that we are back home.

We again emphasise the value and significance of the

graduated Ambassadors giving testimony and facilitating

sessions. Without any doubt, their contributions were

enormous, and richly contributed to the success of the training,

through sharing their experiences and frustrations and the

opportunities they have had since getting on board, and how

their lives have changed to become the realities of what were

once their dreams.

EQuip pARtiCipANtS WitH tOOlS fOR COmmuNiCAtiNg fOR iNfluENCE: NEWS WRitiNg, pROfilE WRitiNg, pitCHiNg, SOCiAl mEdiA, VidEOSWe were indeed challenged in this respect. Not only did we

produce training assignments, but we also had the opportunity

to audition and act in videos for marketing purposes of the

AAYmCA. Sometimes our creative juices ran dry, at other times

our nerves cracked up… but through the support and mentoring

of our navigational team, the graduated Ambassadors, and our

leaders at the helm, we pulled it off!

EQuip YOutH WitH pRESENtAtiON ANd fACilitAtiON SkillS fOR COmmuNitY ENgAgEmENtAlthough most of the Ambassadors had a few of these skills in

the bag, these have now been enhanced, and we learnt some

pointers of ‘the do’s and don’ts’… We learned skills that can

be used universally as well as noted how important it is to

understand and study the environment we are working with…

by knowing your target audience, and realising that what works

in some places, won’t necessarily work in others.

ENSuRE A full uNdERStANdiNg Of AdVOCACY, iNCludiNg puBliC ExpENdituRE tRACkiNg SuRVEYS We are amazed at how complex yet interrelated all the

elements of an advocacy campaign are. And we are indeed

proud of ourselves for having understood and internalised as

well as applied the entire spectrum of what advocacy involves.

introduce youth to the advocacy campaign around monetary

sovereignty spearheaded by ARCAdE (Association for Research

and Cooperation in Support of Endogenous development),

engage youth with ARCAdE to prepare an advocacy initiative

around this in the community and then conduct the advocacy

campaign in the community

most of us had not even heard about the concept of monetary

Sovereignty. Before the Summit, we were sent a briefing

document to peruse so that we were at least familiar with

the concept. during the Summit, we had the opportunity to

engage with ARCAdE and to deeply appreciate the history

around monetary Sovereignty and the urgent need for action.

the fact that we had the opportunity to question, to clarify

and challenge, made us confident to prepare statements to

decision-makes, and our Advocacy and Communicating for

influence training enabled us to not only fulfil our task of

meeting the three groupings, but to enjoy it and learn from

feedback given to us.

EQuip YOutH WitH SkillS ANd pRACtiCE tO dEVElOp AN AdVOCACY CAmpAigN fOR implEmENtAtiON AftER tHE Summit iN tHEiR NAtiONAl mOVEmENtS ACROSS AfRiCA

By taking us through the entire process, and giving us a

practical to develop our own campaign, based on our local

realities as well as time to finalise the plan after the Summit,

we were really able to internalise our learnings and apply them.

this enables us to create the change we are so burning with

desire to effect.

pROVidE YOutH WitH tHE SpACE tO iNfluENCE fOR tHE ACCEptANCE Of tHEiR AdVOCACY CAmpAigNS BY HOldiNg mEEtiNgS WitH tHEiR YmCA HEAd duRiNg tHE Ogm pROCEEdiNgSthis was a surprising and extremely valuable aspect of our

training. We met with our National general Secretaries after

formulating our advocacy campaigns that we will spearhead

back home. We worked on getting “buy-in” from our NgSs

and also asked for their advice on a possible way forward. We

then took this back to the facilitation team, before reshaping

the advocacy plan.

EQuip YOutH WitH SkillS ANd CONfidENCE tO WRitE ANd dEliVER A YOutH dEClARAtiON tO tHE Ogmthis was an enjoyable experience for us, building our confidence

as individuals who all input into the Youth declaration, building

our team work experience as we had to synthesise all the

different inputs and then collective confidence as a group as

we were very proud that the facilitation team did not change

anything before submitting to the Ogm resolution process,

and, of course, very proud that the Ogm participants adopted

and endorsed the Youth declaration without any challenge or

changes.

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Equip youth with confidence and skills to participate

meaningfully in the Ogm as young leaders

thanks to our training and the personal transformation it

involved engendering us with confidence and skills, and we

believe we were able to participate fully and meaningfully in

the Ogm.

pREpARE YOutH tO pARtiCipAtE iN A REVERSE mENtORiNg RElAtiONSHip, WHEREBY tHE mENtOR ANd mENtEE ENgAgE ANd SHARE lEARNiNgS, ExpERiENCES ANd SkillSWe were orientated around this and were given an opportunity

to choose a mentor we thought was best suited to ourselves.

We then had to formalise it by having both mentee and mentor

sign a contract, in order to ensure a good reverse mentoring

relationship. We have all now selected mentors, and our

mentors have had online orientation in terms of their roles.

ENSuRE A HOliStiC lEAdERSHip ExpERiENCE fOR tHE AmBASSAdORS ANd SENEgAlESE YOutHthis aspect was met throughout the whole journey. We are

sure that on reading this report, you will see that there was a

definite holistic approach taken.

As we docked, we took away with us experiences and lessons learnt from this journey. One lesson learnt wasthatofubuntu, ‘iaMbeCauseyouare’.this isa powerful proverb that says much about the African reality and the changes we, the young leaders of Africa, need to foster for an African Renaissance. The sad past of goreeislandhasgivenusthepassionanddeterminationto move our young people from the state of subjects to rightfully earned citizens, and the Youth Advocacy Summit equipped us with the skills required for the task ahead. We are indeed at the Point of no Return… back on dry land now we have already begun our work: we finalised our advocacy campaign, we have begun writing articles, we have contracted mentors and we are keenly focused on our transformational journey. The S2C Creed, and the Youth Declaration – and what they stand for – willguideusandstayfreshinourminds.everydaywewill work to contribute to the empowerment of young people for the African Renaissance.

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f r o m s u b j e ct

the AAYmCA for investing in the youth and especially in us,

and for believing in our capacity and ability to lead, to learn,

to live out the philosophy of S2C… to continually transform

ourselves and to sow change into the lives of young people

in our countries.

those at the helm during our Summit, our leaders: mutale

Chanda, gil Harper, lloyd Wamai… for organising and

coordinating the entire Summit experience, for their guidance,

their support and constant reassurance that we can achieve

anything if we believe in ourselves... and for pushing us to

achieve beyond even our own expectations.

the navigational team, the graduated Ambassadors:

Skhumbuzo innocent myeza, Akpene kayi Adama-Amavi,

kodjo dodji fiashinou, majorie mambwe, Reginald floulkes

Crabbe, maryse Coly, Ansoumana dieme… for inspiring,

motivating and challenging us and for enabling us to believe

that our dreams can become reality.

Our guest facilitator demba moussa dembele, a Senegalese

lead activist from ARCAdE who specialises on monetary

Sovereignty in Africa, who not only trained and orientated

us on the subject, but also organised and accompanied us

on our advocacy meetings to decision-makers… he held our

hands as we developed confidence and skills around the

practice of advocacy.

the karibu foundation for the core funding support for the

Youth Advocacy Summit, and for their steadfast belief in the

youth of Africa and in S2C. We thank them for assisting to

shape the programme and content and for their presence

during the Summit, inspiring us to push ourselves and to

engage with those who believe in us and in Africa.

Our international family who pay tribute to the African

YmCA movement for our contribution through S2C to youth

empowerment in the global YmCA movement… the World

YmCA for highlighting this and for their participation in the

Summit to engage us on our Change Agent role, and Canada

YmCA for financial contribution, as well as other YmCAs for

supporting the involvement of individual Ambassadors.

And finally to our team of S2C Ambassadors for writing this

report to reflect on our journey… this was not an easy task

and we are truly grateful that they spent so much energy,

time and passion to put this together. thank you Sharnelle

Cader, kenny kafwanka, Jeffrey Shihembetsa and Cedric

dzelu!

We are the wave 3 S2C Ambassadors and we are proud of

ourselves, our National movements, the Africa Alliance of

YmCAs, our worldwide movement… We are the change we

want to see in the world:

Cameroon: Eugene lucien mbee

Ethiopia: Aemro melede

ghana: Cedric dzelu, Afashime Courage kwaku

Kenya: mary Wanyiri, Jeffrey Shihembetsa (unfortunately

levi Agunda jumped ship soon after the training and thus is

no longer an Ambassador – this made us reflect individually

and collectively and we re-committed to each other for the

journey ahead)

Liberia: Beyan E. Harris, decontee george

Madagascar: Randrianarisoa michael tanjonamalala

Niger: Adamou dadi

Nigeria: ibebe ufuoma, Salem gin

senegal: André Samson, marie Jeanne diouf

south Africa: Sharnelle Cader, Sifiso mkhize

sierra Leone: Julian momoh, francess Refell

tanzania: Neema kipokola

the gambia: Oluwole Alvin goode, mabel king

togo: kokou mawuli toto Akpalo, Norbert Evemenga

Zambia: Jacqueline Nguza, kenny kafwanka

OuR tHANkSWe are very grateful to those who made this training such a resounding success. We say a deep and heartfelt thanks to:

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A F R I C A A L L I A N C E YMCAYMCA