YMCA Case Study
THE FUTURE OF HISTORY
Written by Stuart Wood
AEN breaks down an event case
study from one of the world’s
longest-running associations, which
is keeping an eye on its future with
some thoughtful legacy projects
6
NOT MANY ASSOCIATIONS boast a
175-year history, but the Young Men’s
Christian Association (YMCA) is no ordinary
organisation.
Founded in 1844 by Sir George Williams,
the YMCA today boasts more than 120
national chapters, and reached 42m young
people in 2018. It provides projects and
services devoted to youth and leadership
development around the world.
For its 175th anniversary, the YMCA
returned to the city in which it was founded
– London. YMCA175 was a conference
organised by YMCA Europe, as a celebration
of the association’s history and its members.
It welcomed more than 3,000 people across
four days, from 4-7 August.
The event team was led by freelance
event manager Mike Bromfield, a member of
the Conference News 30 under Thirty class
of 2019. Bromfield says: “YMCA175 aimed
to put young leaders at the heart of the
event. It was striving to create new ideas and
solutions, and scale existing ones, to address
social issues.”
YMCA175 featured an impressive
lineup of speakers, which included the
United Nation’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma
Wickramanayake; UN General Assembly
President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés
and Amnesty International’s Kumi Naidoo.
The event also struck a unique partnership
with TED-Ed, which provided one-to-one
coaching to global young leaders, delivering
keynote talks in main stage plenary sessions.
It’s fun to stay at ExCeL
ExCeL London was chosen as the host venue
for both its large capacity and its sustainable
credentials. Samantha Shamkh, head of
conventions, ExCeL London, said: “It was
inspiring to have thousands of YMCA young
people, staff, guests and volunteers from
100 countries here for a fun-filled, colourful
and diverse gathering at ExCeL London.
“With its unmatched connectivity and
ability to draw world-class speakers across
almost any subject, London remains the best
destination for any association event seeking
to inspire, celebrate and look forward – just
as the amazing YMCA175 did.”
Although the YMCA is an association with
a long history, the legacy projects which
followed in the wake of YMCA175 have
been keeping an eye towards the future.
Bromfield says: “Following the success of
YMCA175 and building on its legacy, YMCA
was approached by the UN Youth Envoy
to host global Watch Parties for the UN’s
inaugural youth climate summit that took
place at the end of September in New York.
The UN is now looking ahead to a calendar of
youth-solution summits in the future.
“Another legacy initiative born out of the
event was the showcasing and collation
of history and heritage. Thanks to a grant
from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, a
unique exhibition of YMCA’s global history
is embarking on a six-month tour of venues
across the country.”
The Gallery
“YMCA175
aimed to put
young leaders
at the heart of
the event. It
was striving to
create new ideas
and solutions to
address social
issues.”
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