Programme Director
Chairperson of the NYDA
Members of the NYDA Board
Directors-General
Chief Executive Officers
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Officer in Charge
Representatives of different entities
In June this year, during Youth Month, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) will be celebrating three years of its existence. On this occasion the country will also be commemorating the 36th anniversary of the youth and related uprisings.
It has been a remarkable journey with successes but yet not a simple one, we have had our fair share of challenges which were not and still not insurmountable. On this occasion we will be expected through the President of the Republic, to present to South Africa the State of the Youth Report. This is a legal requirement as per the NYDA Act.
Today, we have arranged this conference to share with yourselves, our key stakeholders, the National Government Departments, Public Entities, and Private and Civil Society organisations, the strategic "South African Youth Context Manuscript” and the "Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS)”.
The NYDA has, working in collaboration with research institutions developed this Youth Context Manuscript which is consistent with the National Youth Policy, which covers economic participation; health and wellbeing; education and skills development; social cohesion and civic participation; youth work and national youth service.
In addition to these policy imperatives, the manuscript also covers youth demographics and vulnerable youth groups such as disabled youths, youth in conflict with the law and youth-headed households.
The development of this manuscript is a phase in the process towards achieving the goal of developing the Status of Youth Report. It provides a description of the young people based on existing literature and data. Beyond the statutory requirements, the manuscript is an important information resource that provides up-to-date information on youth in the country.
I am pleased that we have begun to prepare for this all important report which should inform country's efforts towards youth development.
South Africa's population is largely made up of young people; those who are below the age of 35 years constitute about 77.6% of the total population. This calls for policy making, national planning and national programme implementation to be informed by accurate, up to date and easily accessible information on young people in the country.
The current context of young people in South Africa raises a number of cross cutting questions that needs to be strategically addressed by all of us. Given that the population age structure of the country is relatively young, the most critical question to ask is whether South Africa is positioned to benefit from the large youthful working age population.
Is South Africa pursuing macro and micro economic policies that promote employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people? Can the health system and its programmes support a healthy and productive young nation? This publication puts firmly on the table issues for debate and present data that indicate where South Africa stands on youth development issues.
In addition, the National Youth Development Agency will present the draft of the Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS) for South Africa. A vigorous consultative process has been undertaken by the NYDA to formulate this strategy. The IYDS is a co-coordinating tool and a road map for all stakeholders in South Africa to integrate and mainstream youth development in their programmes.
The IYDS is an important framework for operationalising an integrated approach to youth development in South Africa. South Africa has chosen an integrated approach to youth development understanding that, for many reasons, young people are the pillars for meaningful development of South Africa. The country has to increase and systematically direct investment towards young people if the country is to advance socially and compete with world economies.
The strategy thus details strategic development programmes that will benefit youth and generally the South African economy. In doing so, the strategy proposes a number of interventions to address key issues of youth development such as employment, education and skills development, creation of a cohesive society and nation building and building a healthy and productive cadreship of young people.
The IYDS is therefore an important milestone for South Africa's quest to begin to explore ways of improving the potential of young people's contribution to the development of a growing and stable economy. Once the strategy is adopted by Cabinet, hopefully in April this year, it is expected that everyone implementing programmes in the country will prioritise young people as main beneficiary of their respective programmes. This will not only benefit the youth, but will ensure that South Africa's economy remains competitive in the world market.
In developing the Status of the Youth Manuscript, the NYDA has collaborated with a number of reputable research institutions. These include the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC), Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) and the Population Unit of the Department of Social Development (DSD).
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provided technical and financial support towards the writing of the manuscript. This collaborative nature is an indication of how a government agency such as NYDA can share costs and utilise resources of other state funded institutions to implement programmes and deliver high quality products and services.
I would like to commend the NYDA, HSRC, MRC, StatsSa, the Population Unit of DSD and UNFPA for a sterling job to complete this phase of the project and hope that you will continue to work tirelessly towards finalising the Status of the Youth Report that the State President is required by legislation to table before Parliament this year.
To all our invited guests and experts, I trust that you will take time to enrich this document so that the report that is produced out of this process can assist South Africa to respond better to the needs of young people.
I wish a fruitful conference and look forward to your final product.
I thank you
