On March 21st, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, YMCA Ireland as an all-island organisation wishes to shed light on a very important matter.  We at the YMCA are deeply concerned about the rise of extremism, hate and division that is being fueled in our communities and condemn these acts of violence and discrimination. 

The fundamental principle that we base our work on is A vision where young people, their families and communities flourish in mind, body and spirit. The hateful narrative being instigated at the moment on the island of Ireland against minorities is preventing so many young people from flourishing and feeling safe. The communities being targeted at the moment include migrants, asylum seekers, people of colour, those from the LGBTQI+ community, women, the Traveller community. This largely has to do with the misinformation and disinformation being spread online and on social media. At a time like this we encourage everyone to be more vigilant than ever as to who is creating the content we are consuming and to consider how reliable the source may be. 

Welcome is at the heart of YMCA, and along with our values of opportunity, wellbeing and peace & justice, we care passionately about being an inclusive and welcoming organisation to everyone. 

As an organisation who seek to provide life enriching opportunities to all, especially those most in need of our support, we want to see an Ireland where all people are treated with equal respect, rights and dignity, regardless of who they are and where they come from.”

March 21, globally is marked as the International Day for the Elimination against Racism by the United Nations #FightRacism