Introduction

Article #25 of the Africa Alliance of YMCAs stipulates that the Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) will be called after every 4years. During the 10^th OGM held in Dakar Senegal in 2015, a resolution was passed under business agenda min/OGM/ 12/6/2015:  

1. Renaming of the Ordinary General Meeting

Taking into account the current trends and our purpose and meeting time, it is proposed that we rename our ordinary General Meeting to General Assembly which will be held every four years.

The 2019 General Assembly will be held in June from 4^th to 8^th June 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The GA will bring together the Africa YMCA Fraternity, Staff and Volunteer leaders including international Partners to celebrate the successes, purposes and impact of our existence referencing the last 4 years. The 2019 General Assembly theme will be decided upon through consultation with member movements and is anticipated to build on theme, the Point of no return, from the General Assembly in Dakar in 2015. Further to this the theme will take into consideration the Africa We Want as envisioned in Agenda 2063, the Y 3.0 Pillars, the Power Space and the S2C Philosophy

What to expect

The setting

The 2019 General Assembly is expected to be a blend of Post Modernism (Future) and contemporary African ambience. The experience will be a dramatic recap of the 2016 Dakar, journey ‘’The Point of No Return’’ to date; A Journey of exploration, innovation, designing, repositioning and making strategic strides towards the Renaissance, the Africa We Want.  The process will unfold with session leaders and participants in symbolic African garb, imagery, music, dance and decor. The narratives will highlight the past, the present and the future within the contexts of Agenda 2063 – AWW, our theory of Change, the Power Spaces, all enshrined in the Y3.0 Framework. The outcome will be the unveiling of the expected strategic milestones for the Africa YMCA for the next 4 years.  

The Agenda:

The General Assembly 2019 is envisioned to be a space for

1. Learning, sharing and capacity building: Participants will have the opportunity to share from their unique and collective experiences in the youth empowerment cause and the pursuit for institutional sustainability. This is expect to impact on the capacity to continue to grow as strong movement that is producing citizens to drive the Africa Renaissance Agenda.  This will be achieved through staff and volunteer caucuses, exhibition, excursions and seminar discussions.  

• Experiencing the Power Space; Participants will have a first-hand interaction with the power space with the anticipation that as individuals they will experience self-discovery, unlock potential and connect with opportunity. At the same time the it is expected that participants will get skills to replicate this experience in their YMCAs

• Participatory Governance: Voting delegates will have the opportunity to elect new leaders for the Alliance of YMCAs in Africa. In addition to these delegates and the Executive Committee will make important decisions on the governance of the movement in Africa including the Strategic direction for 2019 to 2023 and constitutional amendments.  

• Inspirational Devotions and Key note addresses: The General Assembly is an opportunity to reflect on our faith and belief in our Christian calling as a movement. In addition to this we will have individuals who will share inspirational addresses to stir up hope and challenge us our cause for youth empowerment and sustainability.

This General Assembly will also receive the new General Secretary and also be the culmination of the celebration of the 40^th Anniversary of the Africa Alliance of YMCAs. In addition to this 22 National Movements will receive their full charter as a result of the on-going assessments and capacity building by the AAYMCA

Who will participate `

According to Article 24/1 of the constitution each National Movement will nominate 3 voting delegates or their proxies (Article.24/2) but is invited to send as many participants as possible for this empowering experience.  Only NMs who have completed their Fairshare to the AAYMCA will be eligible to present voting delegates.  In this regard NMs can begin to register their delegates for the assembly. The General Assembly will also have as participants Regional and international in total the General Assembly 2019 is expected to attract 250 delegates.   

How to be part of the Assembly

1. Registrations for our General Assembly #GA2019 are finally open. The 2019 General Assembly will be held from 4th to 8th June 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The GA will bring together the Africa YMCA Fraternity, Staff and Volunteer leaders including international Partners to celebrate the successes, purposes and impact of our existence referencing the last 4 years. To register please contact your YMCA National Movement/Office and they will be able to provide all the info you need, in case of any questions just reach out to us! Your registration must be approved by your YMCA National Movement!