Happy Birthday Youmanity!
Youmanity is ten years old!
The organisation was officially founded in London in June 2008 as a non-profit association that invited people from all walks of life, ethnicity, religion and sexuality to join forces. The ‘sharing aspirations, inspirations and experiences’ paradigm was the association’s vision. Within two years from its launch, Youmanity had over three thousand registered memberships. The main mission was simple; bring high-profile professionals together with aspiring, young people in a holistic mentoring scheme. This ‘nurturing’ scenario helped many socially disadvantaged young people to became not only more confident, but also more employable.
Youmanity is now a vibrant melting pot of people speaking many different languages yet all looking to celebrate two basic values: diversity and inclusion.
How could such important values be promoted in a concrete and measurable way?
There is no real or solid way to quantify these actions - words have different meanings for so many different people. However, what does unite people from different cultures is the universality of human emotions; how society as a whole makes them feel. Maya Angelou’s quote sums up what lies at the heart of Youmanity:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”
Again, how can the effect of this powerful quote be quantified? Feelings cannot be plotted on a graph. But feelings, conveyed by visual representations, can influence they way we perceive the world around us. This is how Youmanity’s annual photography award was set up in 2010. Every year amateurs and professional photographers worldwide submit incredibly moving images that are showcased in exhibitions for the public to enjoy.
In May 2018 Youmanity was awarded charity status by the Charity Commission in recognition of our work promoting inclusion and equality.
Youmanity has delivered countless project over the past ten years. To view some of the many social issues tackled by the charity click HERE
