VISION

An international community that celebrates diversity, lives sustainably, and embraces the capacity of young people to effect positive change.

MISSION

To empower young people and support community development both locally and globally.

VALUES

Collaboration Accountability Respect Empowerment Sustainability

YCA HISTORY

In 1978, HRH, the Prince of Wales, launched a two year, round-the-world youth expedition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe. More importantly, this was an attempt to address the lack of real challenge and opportunity facing large numbers of youth. Operation Drake involved 200 international youth in three-month programs centred on science, community service, and adventure in remote parts of the world. Operation Drake was an outstanding success, and this inspired the British organisers to launch a much larger and more ambitious successor program. In 1984 Operation Raleigh was launched, involving 4000 participants from over 40 nations. Past participants from Operation Drake organised Operation Raleigh Canada. These volunteers committed to selecting Canadian participants, forming a Board of Directors, and fundraising 50% of each participant’s cost. The Canadian organisation also organised a Canadian Arctic Expedition in 1988, involving 25 youth from 15 nations. Although Operation Raleigh concluded as planned in 1988, it surpassed expectations and ignited the energy and enthusiasm of hundreds of volunteers. High interest remained and an international movement began and the program continued to provide young people with the opportunity to gain benefits of a volunteer experience. In 1989, past participants, volunteers and sponsors in Canada, Australia and Guyana took the initiative to create Youth Challenge International. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) endorsed YCI by providing $150,000 start-up capital and partially funding YCI’s inaugural project in Guyana (1990). A group of Australian volunteers, alumni of Operation Raleigh, provided a huge boost to the success of this first program, sending four participants and several Group Leaders. Upon their return to Australia in 1991, these  Australian volunteers- mostly students at UTS, as well as UTS Senior Lecturer, Mark Darby, a Group Leader in Guyana - set about to make this great opportunity available to other Australian youth. With dozens of Australian volunteers having participated on projects in Guyana and Mexico, Youth Challenge Australia was founded in 1992. In 1993, Australia completed its first of what was to be three consecutive Pacific projects in the Solomon Islands, with 16 Australians and 35 other participants from the Solomon's, Mexico and Canada. In 18 years over 2000+ Australian youth have participated in Youth Challenge projects worldwide, and a staggering number of community development projects across numerous sectors have been completed through the participant's labours and fundraising monies.

The Youth Challenge International Partners Internationally, four independent, autonomous Youth Challenge organisations work together to deliver field programs involving common goals and methodologies. These autonomous organisations are each financially self-sufficient, deriving their income from local private & public sector donations, and from local volunteers’ participation fees. Although the Youth Challenge partners are each independent, all members of the network recognise that their work and livelihood is fundamentally interdependent, requiring close consultation, co-operative decision-making and joint planning.