Myself and Anita Seabridge attended the 25th anniversary of the Spanish YMCA’s in Madrid on the 1st – 3rd December 2005. We were invited because we have a good international link programme with them – I attended as I created the initial partnership whilst Anita attended in her capacity as international volunteer co-ordinator.

On the day that we arrived, we had a get together meeting in which we met all of the other people representing international YMCA’s that also have partnerships with Madrid. We were welcomed by Juan Simones, the general secretary of the YMCA of Spain. We were also welcomed by Angel Ballesteros, the director of international volunteering for Spain. These are the people with whom we have direct contact with when communicating with Spanish YMCA’s. We then met Jose Corrales, who is the president of YMCA Spain. The evening was an informal gathering where we all talked about our own YMCA, as well as the YMCA movement as a whole. There were many countries represented, such as Mexico, Malta, African nations, France, Italy, Ukraine plus many more, as well as numerous people from different parts of the USA. There were lengthy conversations with Johan Eltvik, the general secretary of the European YMCA alliance and Bartholomew Sahaha, the general secretary of the World Alliance of YMCA’s.

On the Friday, we were invited to the anniversary celebrations in the Palacio de Congresso de Madrid, where we listened to people talking about the Spanish movement. The main guest speaker was HRH Felipe de Borbon, the prince of Spain and the heir to the throne. We presented the prince with flowers and a gift, which included Romford YMCA’s annual report. There were also many government officials and VIP’s at this occasion. After the speeches, we were able to meet other VIP guests. The general secretary of the world alliance introduced me to the British ambassador to Spain, Stephen Wright. We talked at length about Romford YMCA, and about how government policies affect the running of the YMCA, charities and childcare. We then had a six course meal, with all the dignitaries present. Romford YMCA were individually mentioned in the speech for their partnership work and ongoing support, which meant that I had to stand and acknowledge this.

We made some really useful connectives, and hope to use these to further develop Romford YMCA’s international work. We made, in particular, a very good connection with Bartholomew Sahaha, who invited us to his residence in Geneva. We also invited him to visit Romford YMCA when he is in the UK next.

Overall, this was a very useful visit as well as an enjoyable one.

Alison Fordham,

Childcare Manager.