The Young Christian Workers (YCW) is a Movement run for, by and amongst young people. It is a Movement that works for a world where young people can make a difference, where they can “Be the Difference”.  It seeks to bring about the transformation needed in order for all young people to live a life of dignity, worthy of the Creator.

As a movement of young people, the YCW recognises that young people are the experts of their own reality and are often the best placed people to be the means of transformation in their own lives and their lives of their peers.

To fulfil its mission the YCW makes contact with young people through schools, colleges, parishes, youth groups and activities. It establishes small groups which offer a safe environment for young people to share and explore their experiences and act together for change. In these regular group meetings, which always take place in the presence of a chaplain or adult companion, young people are given the encouragement and means to come to know their true dignity and worth, which is so often not the case in modern life and especially in the world of work.

As members of a YCW group which they themselves lead, supported by the “adult companion”, they follow an inductive method of analysis and experiential learning: ‘See, Judge, Act, Review’ through which they develop their awareness and understanding of the issues and concerns of young people, reflect on and discuss these realities in the light of Christian values and decide on appropriate action. This method enables young people to develop leadership skills and is proven to have great value in the formation and development of adolescents.

Local YCW groups engage in a variety of actions which the young people themselves discern and decide. A firm principle of YCW is that these actions are youth led and are part of a formative process of observing and evaluating a concern before taking action. The action itself than becomes the focus of review and learning.

The YCW regularly takes up a particular issue which, through survey of its members, it identifies as a matter of real concern to young people. Around this topic the leaders build a project using its methodology which leads to either personal or group action for change at local and national level.