By the end of the 1950s, the event had come to be known as the World YWCA Membership Celebration. Extensive documentation on the annual theme was circulated to national associations, which was used not only for the celebration day in April, but was also used at regional meetings, international youth leader camps, and other YWCA gatherings.

In 1972, the World YWCA Executive Committee refocused the event to stress the importance of being part of a global movement and study on a common theme. At this time, the name ‘World YWCA Day’ was adopted. Seventeen years later in 1989, April 24 was established as the date for the annual commemoration of World YWCA Day.

In 2003 in the lead up to the World YWCA Council in Brisbane, Australia, the first annual YWCA Round the World Breakfast was held on April 24, 2003. It was designed to connect YWCAs to the collective power of a movement that is changing the lives of 25 million women and girls worldwide. Over a 24-hour period, from country to country, and continent to continent, YWCAs in over 40 countries participated in the biggest breakfast of the year. In July of that year, the World Council recommended that the YWCA Round the World Breakfast be continued annually on April 24 to create awareness of the World YWCA and the Power to Change Campaign.