YWCA was formed in 1855 by two women. Four years later, it became an international movement. In 2008, YWCA is in 155 countries worldwide and implemented in 22 000 communities. More than 30 million women are in the program.

YWCA has given a platform to young women to develop their capacity of building their leadership, to flourish regarding less their age, religion or other issues. According to the panelists, the women involved in the movement, especially young women, are what contribute to the success of the YWCA, what contribute to hold the movement together.

Being a feminist movement and a Christian organization has many challenges and misconceptions. Can we be Christian and feminist? Panelists explained how the Christian perspective can help the women, that a Christian association is a safe place for women to express their ideas, to discuss controversy. The principle is that it is possible to just be a woman.

Volunteers are important to the movement. Through volunteering the women in the movement can empowered. Volunteers bring in the contacts, their knowledge and that is important for the movement. One of the challenges for future is to let the world know more about the organization.

Fundraising is one of the biggest challenges for this organization. It is difficult for NGO’s to find money, especially in South-Africa, because of government issues and the number of NGO in the country. 10 years ago, the YWCA started to build its own fund. Thus far this fund has raise 10 Million dollars and the movement can now distribute this money to others organizations. Their goal is to reach 25 million dollars through this fund.

Audience actively participated to the session. The facilitator invited participants to take part in the discussion by asking everyone in the room to present themselves and tell what they like about themselves. We found women who believed they can achieve so much, who are open minded, adaptable, confident, and passionate about their work and the life. She also encouraged Inter-generation dialogue by asking women under 30 to ask question to older ones. For conclusion, participants were asked to express their recommendations in one word. Solidarity, passion, love, partnership, self and age-esteem, inspiration, unity, trust, communication, volunteering, support, compassion, responsibility, perseverance, respect, determination, joy and YWCA were among the answers.