NYC - BONA

National Youth Service
There has been a debate in the last few years around the idea of a national youth service programme. There are NGO's who have been active in this work for some time (e.g. the Joint Enrichment Project and the South African Students Volunteers). The National Youth Policy proposes the following regarding national youth services:
National Youth Service should combine the following themes:

Development: where the skills of young women and men can be employed on projects which promote development in South Africa;
Skills training: an opportunity for young people to gain new experiences and develop new skills which will benefit them later in life;
National Unity: where young women and men are given the opportunity to work together with a spirit of reconciliation and national unity;
Service: where young people will volunteer their services for the benefit of the broader community.

The National Youth Service Programme will operate along the following principles:

be inclusive of all young people, regardless of race, sex, or geographical location be linked to community service, internships and career-oriented studies;
be accredited within the National Qualifications Framework (NQF);
be linked to the national strategy for economic growth which give special emphasis to rural development projects;
be linked to financial support for education which promote a common sense of nationhood, reconstruction and development.

National Youth Service will accommodate the needs, interests and opportunities of three target groups.
These target groups are:

Out of School and Unemployed Young People;
Youth who returned from exile;
Young cadres.

The National Youth Service Programme will provide opportunities to those young men and women who are no longer at school, unemployed and returning from exile.
These people will be re-integrated into society through skills and work programmes which are youth-focussed.
The National Youth Commission will prepare a detailed Green Paper on a National Youth Service Programme. If you have any suggestions relating to Youth Programme Services please forward them to:
The National Youth Commission's Department of Communication
Private Bag X 938
Pretoria
0001