Spread across three continents these five YMCA/YWCA organisations work together on an exchange project focused on youth and young women. The approach varies, but their overall goal is mutual: to create safe spaces for youth to develop and to give them the tools they need to take charge of their lives. Through the Communication for Change program the participants develop their own skills, knowledge, and experience, which will enable them to continue working for international solidarity.

In the community surrounding Illula YWCA in Tanzania, the lack of opportunities for youth has lead to high rates of teen pregnancy, school dropouts, crime and addiction. The participants organise activities to shift attitudes towards women in the communities, as well as act as role models for the youth.

South Africa faces a number of challenges regarding attitudes towards the LGBTQI community. This group is stigmatised in society, and experience lack of rights, isolation and violence. The exchange participants combat this by creating safe spaces for these marginalised youths and by raising awareness.

For Madagascar YWCA it is the plight of young girls that takes center stage. Many girls are victims of mental, physical and sexual violence. By opening a youth house with the aim of being a safe space for girls in the heart of Antananarivo, the participants will offer help and support to these girls.

Bangladesh YWCA focuses on equality. A major issue in the area is online harassment, which they call cyber offences, with the illegal spreading of private images of young girls and boys. The participants will work on trainings about how to use social media, and how to make personal data secure. Additionally the participants in this YWCA will develop a training program and conduct trainings to expand the organisation’s capacity to work on these issues.

Norway’s YMCA-YWCA will target social exclusion among vulnerable youths. At the House of Change, the participants will organise activities and mobilise youth.