The feminist organization YWCA Canada launched their new strategic plan during their Annual Members Meeting in Québec City from May 29 to 31, 2025. It’s centred on excellence and equity and will run for the next four years.
YWCA’s National CEO Aline Nizigama said that they always stood for national advocacy, but they’re also very driven by community action. She added that the new strategic plan is a renewal of their mission and vision.
“Excellence really reflects on the continual process that we go through to enhance how we approach everything, our services and our programs, making sure everything is modernized, and that we are really keeping up with the newest and best practices and how we work and how we engage,” Nizigama told the CONTACT.
“The equity piece is about really living up to our commitment to anti-racism. There was a big focus on anti-Black racism, and how do we combat that in the work that we do? And also truth and reconciliation with regard to Indigenous communities, just acknowledging in Canada the issues that these communities still face.”
Nizigama noted that cultivating a united movement is one of YWCA Canada’s main priorities.
“And it’s about how we continue to drive a unity so that we are all speaking with the same voice, that we can set aside our differences in how we serve the communities and where we are, with the uniqueness of these regional differences, but also demographic differences,” she said.
She added that the plan connects with Black women in Quebec as the plan acknowledges that fair representation matters.
“Me, being a Black woman in this space and really being able to use my lived experience means a whole lot to me,” Nizigama said. “And I know it sends a message to the federation that we really want to continue to change what leadership looks like.”
She added that they have two associations in the province, one in Montreal, which is also led by a Black woman.
“We are sending messages about what leadership looks like today, and if we’re talking about working on equity issues on anti-racism, anti-Black racism specifically, we are recognizing that it has to be led by our community,” she explained.
Nizigama stated that they’re aware that issues are usually complex and “it’s not just about being racialized or Black.” She added that there are layers like gender diversity, Black, racialized queer communities, and religious minorities.
“In the past, we haven’t always been inclusive, as I said, and so we acknowledge issues linked to poverty, lack of access to housing, and lack of access to all kinds of different services,” she said. “We need to look at the demographics. So the marginalized communities are not just the Black community. It’s all the different newcomer communities that face the same challenges.”
Nizigama hopes that this strategic plan will inspire meaningful action and lasting change.
“To me, it’s going to be a good place to come back to, to say, you know what, we’ve set this plan, and then look at where we were a few years back. Look at where we are now. We hope to inspire young people to get engaged. And I mean specifically young, Black, racialized, and gender-diverse women and youth to lead in our communities.
