Youth And Women Development
Legislative Mandate, Policies and Strategies,
- National Youth Development Act No:54 of 2008
- National Youth Policy of 2009/2014
- Integrated Youth Development Strategy
- Youth Development Centre’s Policy of 2012/2015
- Youth Development Centre’s Guidelines of 2012/2015.
- Department of Social Development’s National Youth Development Strategy
Youth Development Centres
- The department provides funding to youth organisations registered as NPO’s to implement youth programmes and services throughout the province.
- Advertisements are made for the Non-Profit Organisations to submit business plans to secure funding are made to the public through newspapers every year.
- The Youth Development Centres targets youth between the ages of 14-35.
- The target includes school going and out of school youth, youth in conflict with the law and those who abuse substances.
The following are services and programmes offered to young people at the Youth Development Centres:
- Provision of information to young people on education and training, employment, self- employment, citizenship and health and wellbeing.
- Provision of access to internet services for livelihoods information and computers for typing livelihood- related documents like CV’s, business plans etc.
- Career counseling (employment and self-employment).
- Career Guidance Workshops
- Life Skills Workshops (includes substance abuse content)
- Entrepreneurship Workshops
- Job preparedness Workshops
- Basic Computer Literacy Trainings
- Linking young people to exit opportunities
Youth Development Programmes
Intergenerational dialogues:
- The programme creates a conversation about the negatives and positives influences and effects of generational gaps between the young and old on socio-economic and cultural matters that relate to the positive human development of youth from the older generation in society. It targets youth between the age of 18-35 and Older Persons.
Life Skills Programme:
- It takes young people in and out of school through workshops on modules that will relate to health and well-being, citizenship and democracy, HIV/AIDS and other modules.
- Its target group is youth in and out of school between the age of 18-25
Youth camps
- This camps are meant to inculcate survival mechanism to youth in difficult circumstances, how to respond to challenges and leadership skills.
- The target is youth from all races, following age cohorts: 15-18 and 19-23, school going and out of school.
Youth Clubs
- It is meant to create an opportunity for the youth to expose their talents and gifts through cultural activities, sports and events like beauty contests for instance.
- DSD through its Community Development Facilitators in partnership with YDCs facilitates the establishment of the Youth Clubs in communities.
EVENTS
National Youth Day
- It’s a Commemoration of the 1976 Soweto Uprising wherein youth were killed for protesting against the introduction of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in schools and Apartheid.
- It is celebrated every 16th June of every year.
- The department contributes by dedicating its programmes as the June Youth Month programmes.
International Youth Day
- The United Nations’ (UN) International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12 each year to recognize efforts of the world’s youth in enhancing global society. It also aims to promote ways to engage them in becoming more actively involved in making positive contributions to their lives and communities.
- It circulates amongst the Districts in the Province in terms of hosting.