The theme of the 21st YMCA World Council was a transforming YMCA in a transforming world.  ‘So many delegates told me they found the event transformative, and many are going home better prepared to pursue the transformation journey’, said World YMCA Secretary General Carlos Sanvee.  

We asked ourselves in Toronto: what does it take to transform one life? What does it take to transform hundreds, thousands, millions of lives? In hundreds of countries? Over generation after generation: 180 years to date. The answer is: it takes a Movement, with something deep, powerful and timeless at its core. The bonds that unite so diverse a Movement are so strong.

The biggest event in the global YMCA calendar - the Movement’s highest governing body and much much more - gathered over 1,300 people from over 80 countries, including 60 high profile sponsors and partners.  Bookended by spectacular opening and closing ceremonies …

• we elected new Officers (President, Deputy President, Treasurer) and Members of the World YMCA Executive Committee. See below.

• we welcomed YMCA Niger and YMCA Ukraine as associate members of World YMCA.

• we committed to continuing the Movement-wide conversation on the expression of YMCA’s 21st Century Christian identity.

• we announced the four winners of the YMCA Impact Awards, and the President’s Award. See below.

• we graduated the 6th cohort of YMCA Change Agents.

• we looked back over 4 years and looked ahead, through the President, the Secretary-General and the Treasurer. More

• we went on 16 Excursions, seeing 6 YMCAs at work in and around Toronto.

• we held 2 days of rich debate (with 45 sessions and 150 speakers) around our responses to global challenges in our shared work across the four Vision 2030 Pillars of Community Wellbeing, Meaningful Work, Sustainable Planet and Just World. We heard keynote addresses from Dr Marie Wilson of the Canadian Truth & Reconciliation Commission and astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield.

• we ran Daily Devotions: a safe and sacred space for all. More

• we ran the Tomorrow Party: a chance for delegates to envisage the YMCA and the world in 2 years, in 4 years, in 8 years.

• we welcomed over 60 exceptional partners, signing a Memorandum of Action with Habitat for Humanity, and discussing next stages of the ‘Generation Peace’ project with UN Assistant Secretary General for Youth Affairs Felipe Paullier, while welcoming our friends from the ‘Big Six’ (the world’s largest youth empowerment organisations), our pro-bono Vision 2030 partners Accenture, Deloitte, EY and McKinsey Health Institute, and our longstanding ‘digital equity’ programme partners, HP.

‘Meet the Officers’ and the new Executive Committee

Meet the winners of the 2026 Impact Awards

World YMCA Impact Awards were presented to YMCAs in England (Community Wellbeing), Ghana (Meaningful Work), New Zealand (Sustainable Planet) and India (Just World) on 23 July within World Council. In addition, the President’s Award honoured Kathy Kuras, of YMCA Greater Austin, Texas, the creator of the North American YMCA Green Network.

Speaking at the Award Ceremony, UN Assistant Secretary General for Youth Affairs Felipe Paullier said: ‘I want to congratulate you all, not just for what you have achieved, but for the choices you make every day, to serve.’ More

Meet 12 transformative actors for Vision 2030, whose own lives have been transformed by the YMCA

See our global YMCA impact figures, and contribute if you haven’t already

For the first time since 2017, National Movements were asked directly how Vision 2030 is showing up in their work. 58 of 120 responded, a near-50% response rate, and the first meaningful reach data the worldwide YMCA Movement has collected in nearly a decade. It’s only part of the picture: the full report follows in December 2026, but the early numbers are striking.

The reach so far: Responding YMCA National Movements to date reached 28 million people directly in the most recent reporting year, 9.6 million of them young people, through over 5,400 local YMCAs and branches. That’s already approaching the Movement’s entire 2017 total of 39.3 million, and climbs to 65 million once staff, volunteers, and indirect beneficiaries are counted.

Any National Movement which has NOT YET completed the survey is asked to do so by 30 October - thank you.

The worldwide YMCA journey, 2022-2026

Last look …

News, updates or comments? We welcome your input: please let us know!

The YMCA worldwide empowers young people and communities to be and to lead the change they want to see. YMCA’s vision is a world where every person lives in harmony with self, with society and creation. Its mission is to empower young people and communities worldwide to build a just, sustainable, equitable and inclusive world, where every person can thrive in body, mind and spirit. 

Founded in London in 1844, the YMCA has grown to reach over 65 million people a year across 120 countries, with nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches.