Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
National Youth Service Project on
Employability, Entrepreneurship and
Sustainable Livelihoods in Sub‐Saharan Africa:
Synthesis Report
December 2013
Contents
1. Overview of the National Youth Service (NYS) project ............................................................ 1
2. Project outputs ....................................................................................................................... 2
2.1 Research on NYS, employability, entrepreneurship and sustainable ..................................... 2
livelihoods ........................................................................................................................................... 2
2.2 Learning Forum on National Youth Service in Sub‐Saharan Africa ......................................... 3
3. The potential of NYS programmes to support youth employability: .......................................... 5
Insights from the research and the Learning Forum ....................................................................... 5
3.1 Positioning NYS as a strategy for youth employability ........................................................... 5
3.2 Promising practices for NYS to become a support for youth employability ........................... 8
3.3 Key insights from the Learning Forum .................................................................................. 10
3.3.1 Integrating a youth development and leadership approach in NYS programmes ....... 10
3.3.2 Recognising self‐employment as an important livelihood strategy ............................. 11
3.3.3 Understanding and assessing the impact of National Youth Service ........................... 12
3.3.4 Enhancing youth employability through service: Addressing the demand side and
engaging with the private sector .................................................................................................. 15
3.3.5 Building a learning network among National Youth Service practitioners ................... 15
4. Recommendations for strengthening NYS programmes ......................................................... 16
4.1 Youth involvement in NYS programmes ............................................................................... 17
4.2 Programme design support: Employment, self‐employment and livelihoods ..................... 17
4.2.1 Employment and exit opportunities ............................................................................. 17
4.2.2 Self‐employment, entrepreneurship and livelihoods ................................................... 17
4.2.3 Private sector engagement ........................................................................................... 18
4.2.4 Regional exchange ........................................................................................................ 18
4.3 Prioritising research in NYS programmes in the region as it relates to youth employment
and self‐employment ........................................................................................................................ 18
4.4 Creating platforms for networking, learning and engagement ............................................ 19
4.5 Leadership development and funding .................................................................................. 19
4.6 Enabling environment ........................................................................................................... 19
5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 19
References ........................................................................................................................................ 22
Appendix 1: Learning Forum Programme ......................................................................................... 23
Appendix 2: Learning Forum delegate list ........................................................................................ 25
Page | 1
1. Overview of the National Youth Service (NYS) project
Youth unemployment is one of the most pressing challenges facing countries in Sub‐Saharan Africa
today. The economic and socio‐political marginalisation of young people deprives African countries of
its greatest assets and undermines the human rights of young people to participate meaningfully in
all spheres of society, including the economy. The preamble of the African Youth Charter recognises
the imperative for youth empowerment and development and acknowledges that “youth are
partners, assets and a prerequisite for sustainable development and for the peace and prosperity of
Africa with a unique contribution to make to the present and to future development”.
The MasterCard Foundation has invested most of its resources in supporting financial inclusion,
learning and economic empowerment among young people in Africa. Given the Foundation’s
commitment to enabling young people to realise their socio‐economic potential, The MasterCard
Foundation partnered with two leaders in the service field – Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP)
and Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa (VOSESA) – on a unique project focussed on
National Youth Service in Sub‐Saharan Africa.
While National Youth Service is not widely recognised as a player in
the youth development space, it has the potential to support young
people to become economically productive and civically engaged.
National Youth Service Programmes often operate at scale, involving
as many as 80 000 young people (in the case of Ghana) and also have
the ability to target disadvantaged young people. The potential for
NYS to foster employability among young people, however, is
contingent on the extent to which NYS programmes are intentionally
designed and implemented to support young people to access
economic opportunities, whether through formal employment or
self‐employment.
Noting the lack of information on NYS programmes in the region, ICP and VOSESA in partnership with
The MasterCard Foundation set out to understand the extent to which programmes are designed to
promote youth1 employability as a key outcome and to identify promising practices for ensuring that
NYS contributes to supporting the economic inclusion of youth. The overall goal of this project was
thus to:
Grow the knowledge base about NYS programmes in sub‐Saharan Africa with the intention of
influencing policy‐makers and programme implementers to more intentionally design and
implement NYS programmes that assist young Africans with accessing employment and
livelihood opportunities post‐service.
1 Many African countries consider youth to be people under the age of 35, which is different from the UN definition that defines youth as those between the ages of 15 and 24.
I really believe in young
people, and particularly the
young people of Africa, and
want to applaud you for your
work to help young people,
because our future rests on
our young people.
‐ Learning Forum participant November 2013
Page | 2
To achieve this goal, the focus of the project was on a major study, which was qualitative in nature. A
Learning Forum was convened in Johannesburg, South Africa in November 2013 to share the research
findings and to promote exchange, networking and knowledge‐sharing among NYS practitioners and
other youth service stakeholders in Sub‐Saharan Africa.
This report provides a brief description of the research papers produced for this project and describes
the Learning Forum held in November 2013. It then summarises the key takeaways and insights gained
through the research and Learning Forum. Thirdly, the report outlines opportunities for further efforts
to strengthen NYS programmes in Sub‐Saharan Africa, drawing on the research findings and feedback
from Learning Forum participants.
2. Project outputs
2.1 Research on NYS, employability, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods
For the purposes of this project, National Youth Service is defined as “an organised period of
substantial engagement and contribution to the local, national, or world community, recognized and
valued by society with minimal monetary compensation to the participant” (Sherraden 2001:2). By
employing this definition, both voluntary and mandatory National Youth Service programmes in the
region fall within the scope of the paper.
The five research papers produced for the project are briefly described below.
1. An overview report on the National Youth Service landscape in Sub‐Saharan Africa
This paper provides a descriptive overview of the NYS landscape in Sub‐Saharan Africa by documenting
the status of country programmes in the region and reporting on a variety of programme design and
implementation elements, which show to what extent programmes are intentionally structured to
support youth employability. The research looked at aspects such as the scale of the programmes,
institutional arrangements, financial resources, goals, objectives and target groups. The report
focusses in depth on 15 of 20 active NYS programmes in Sub‐Saharan Africa, identified through the
research. The paper draws on an extensive desk review, 13 semi‐structured interviews, and
programme information that was verified in 12 out of 13 of these countries.
2. A report on promising practices from Sub‐Saharan Africa with respect to the relationship
between NYS, employability, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods
This paper asks the question: How intentional are NYS programmes in approaching their task of
developing young people’s capabilities for employment, self‐employment and sustainable livelihoods?
It identifies twelve promising practices for enhancing youth employability and livelihoods through NYS
programmes, drawing on the landscape study data, data from seven additional NYS programmes, and
a literature review on youth transitions and youth unemployment.
Page | 3
3. Three country case profiles on NYS programme design and implementation for youth
employability and livelihoods: Kenya, Ghana and South Africa
The three case profiles were conducted by in‐country researchers and explore the extent to which
NYS programmes in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa are intentionally designed to improve the
employment and livelihoods prospects of young people in those countries. The topics covered in each
of the papers include the country youth unemployment context, NYS programme design and
implementation, programme challenges with respect to youth employability, and promising practices
for supporting young people to access employment as well as self‐employment opportunities. In each
country a literature review was done on the socio‐economic and political context, two focus groups
were conducted (one with current NYS servers and a second with NYS alumni) and between ten and
thirteen interviews were conducted.
To download the papers and to view a list of the NYS programmes involved in the research visit
www.learning‐forum.org/papers.php.
2.2 Learning Forum on National Youth Service in Sub‐Saharan Africa
A Learning Forum on National Youth Service, Employability, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable
Livelihoods was held from 25 to 26 November 2013 at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg, South
Africa. The event was convened in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, along with the South
African National Treasury and The Jobs Fund, and the South African National Youth Development
Agency (NYDA).
The Forum welcomed 90 participants representing a total of 26 countries, 20 of which were Sub‐
Saharan African countries. Over half of the participants were from South Africa (55) while 35 hailed
from West, Southern and East Africa2 with a small number of attendees from France, Germany, the
United States, Norway, Canada and the United Kingdom. Government representatives from NYS
programmes and youth ministries accounted for 40 participants, NGO representatives for 36, the
private sector for 10, inter‐governmental agencies for 3 and trusts/foundations for 2.
As the first gathering of its kind in Sub‐Saharan Africa, the Forum presented a unique space in which
to share the research findings from the landscape and promising practices papers, as well as the three
country case profiles (described in Section 2.1). Drawing on the research and the experience in the
room, participants were able to have a practical discussion about how to strengthen NYS as a support
for youth employability and how to ensure a better return on investment for government and the
private sector. A variety of methodologies were used to promote discussion, learning and networking
among participants – Open Space Technology, World Café, research presentations and panel
discussions.
The conference opened with a panel discussion among a youth representative and leaders from civil
society, government and inter‐governmental organisations about the need to strengthen youth
2 Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Page | 4
service on the African continent. Following this, ICP and VOSESA presented the research findings
emerging from the project. Participants were then asked to identify topics for discussion during the
afternoon sessions which focused on the role of NYS in preparing young people for employment and
promoting youth entrepreneurship. The following topics were discussed in each of these sessions:
Table 1: Learning Forum topics for afternoon sessions
Preparing young people for employment Fostering youth entrepreneurship
1. Multi‐stakeholder collaboration
2. Aligning programme design and curriculum with
labour market opportunities
3. How to partner with the private sector on
training and employment
4. Changing the mindsets of young people about
self‐employment
5. Strategies for creating work‐ready young
people
6. How to provide flexible employment
opportunities
7. What makes an enabling socio‐economic and
political environment for youth employment?
8. Strategies and techniques for job identification
1. How does one identify opportunities in the
market for entrepreneurs?
2. Access to finance
3. How are NYs entrepreneurial programmes
structured?
4. Can entrepreneurship be taught?
5. What should be the focus of entrepreneurship
training?
6. What is the link between entrepreneurship and
citizenship?
7. What can NYS do for youth entrepreneurship?
8. Access to other resources (e.g. mentoring and
support services for incubation)
The morning of day two focussed on exploring the importance of monitoring and evaluation of NYS
programmes and possible strategies for conducting assessments. Following this, participants
discussed opportunities for how service can help young people to build livelihoods. One afternoon
session focussed on the role of the private sector in enhancing youth employability through service.
During the closing session, participants suggested possible strategies for strengthening youth
employability, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods through NYS and building the network in
the region.
Evaluation feedback from participants revealed that the top three reasons why participants attended
the Learning Forum were to:
1. learn more about promising practices in NYS with respect to employment and self‐employment
2. network with other NYS practitioners
3. learn more about the overall landscape of NYS in Sub‐Saharan Africa.
Interestingly, while the majority of participants did not attend the Forum to learn more about
entrepreneurship, the majority of participants who filled out the survey noted that they found the
session on the role of NYS in promoting entrepreneurship to be the most useful session. In addition
to this, participants rated the sessions on promising practices emerging from NYS programmes and
the role of the private sector in enhancing youth employability through service the most useful
sessions.
Participants reported that the key takeaways from the Forum included the opportunity to connect
with people from other NYS programmes, learn about how NYS programmes in other countries
operate, and learn what NYS programmes can do to promote entrepreneurship, among other things.
Page | 5
Participants also appreciated the diverse representation from African and other countries and the
participatory and informative nature of the methodologies employed for the Forum. Going forward
participants recommend involving a wider array of stakeholders, particularly youth and private sector
actors, extending the programme over more than two days to foster more discussion, and creating
more opportunities for group work and feedback sessions.
Visit www.learning‐forum.org for the final programme and more information about the event.
3. The potential of NYS programmes to support youth employability:
Insights from the research and the Learning Forum
3.1 Positioning NYS as a strategy for youth employability
Increasingly it is being recognised that in the 21st century young people face an extended and complex
transition into adulthood. The reasons for this in the African context are numerous. There are few
pathways available for young people to develop the skills and social capital needed to transition to
work. This in turn limits their opportunities to achieve many of the markers commonly associated with
autonomous adulthood. Many young people also find themselves outside the cultural and state
systems that are intended to enable their transition. Furthermore, some of the available pathways do
not sufficiently prepare young people with the skills required for today’s labour market, which
requires high skill levels. Finally, rapid economic growth in African countries has not translated into
sufficient new jobs to absorb young people who are unemployed.
This reality underscores the need for youth to have access to multiple pathways to support their
transition to adulthood and the world of work. In Sub‐Saharan Africa youth service constitutes one
such pathway.
The academic literature supports the notion of youth service as a positive pathway for young people.
Spera, Ghertner, Nerino and DiTommasa (2013:5) argue that volunteering can serve as a “pathway to
employment through increases in one’s social capital and human capital”. Other scholars contend that
service can help young people to develop the skills, experience and opportunities to access
employment post‐service (Patel 2009) and that it serves as a stepping stone towards employment
(Simonet 2009).
While research on the impacts of youth service is lacking, the limited information available suggests
that service does enhance employability (loveLife 2008; Spera et al. 2013:23) largely because it is
associated with increased work skills and advanced educational achievement (Sherraden and Eberly
1982; loveLife 2008). Other positive outcomes of service programmes, such as improved mental
health, enhanced civic responsibility, increased social integration, higher self‐esteem, sense of
leadership and confidence may also be associated with employability (Mohan 1994, Wilson and
Musick 1999, Eberly and Sherraden 1990, Flanagan et al. 1998, Funk 1998, Perry and Katula 2001,
loveLife 2008).
Page | 6
While NYS has been a feature of post‐liberation societies in Africa dating back as far as 1964, there
appears to be a renewed and growing interest in National Youth Service as a response to the
widespread challenge of youth unemployment.
Since 2005, eleven new NYS programmes have been launched in Sub‐Saharan Africa. According to the
research, there are currently 20 active NYS programmes in Sub‐Saharan Africa, 18 of which are
country‐based while 2 are operating across the African continent and 1 in West Africa. In addition, ten
countries in Sub‐Saharan Africa are in the process of developing or about to implement NYS
programmes and there is some momentum toward establishing regional service programmes in East
Africa and Southern Africa.
This spike in attention to National Youth Service has followed the launch of the African Youth Charter
in 2006, the 2008 financial crisis, the Arab Spring, and other protest movements (e.g. The Occupy
Movement), which have all highlighted the need to engage young people more equitably in society.
The research confirms that NYS is operating at an impressive scale in a number of African countries
(e.g. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe) and that governments make relatively large
financial investments in NYS programmes (estimated at US$ 240 610 118 for the nine countries for
which the study was able to source financial data).
Although some governments appear to be investing in NYS in order to reach large numbers of
unemployed youth, the potential of NYS to facilitate economic participation among young people rests
on the extent to which it is effectively and intentionally designed to achieve youth employability
outcomes. As a result, the study sought first to understand how NYS programmes are designed and
implemented in relation to youth employability outcomes. It thus examined aspects such as
programme goals, target groups, curriculum, training, partnerships, access to finance and post‐service
support.
The landscape research, which focussed on 15 of the 20 active NYS programmes, found that all but 1
of the 15 programmes have a programme goal or objective related to youth employment or
employability. Although eight programmes included mention of youth development in their goals and
objectives, youth development did not emerge as a primary programme aim.
The majority of programmes surveyed are voluntary programmes and run for at least one year. Only
a few programmes run for less than a year, while six have a programme duration of two years. While
some programmes target university or high school graduates who are in the process of transitioning
to work, others target young people who have not finished secondary school and/or other
disadvantaged youth such as homeless youth, rural youth, young women, orphans (e.g. as seen in
Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and Cape Verde).
Partnerships with government, civil society organisations, inter‐governmental agencies, and to a
lesser extent the private sector, were evident among all NYS programmes surveyed. These
partnerships are typically intended to promote sustainability and to enhance programme quality. The
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United National Volunteers (UNV), United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Peace Corps, and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) have provided financial
Page | 7
support and technical assistance to a number of the NYS programmes surveyed. Many programmes
are implemented through local civil society organisations, which have an important role to play in
teaching young people about development issues. NYS programmes in the study tended to have
stronger connections with government than with the private sector. The partnerships with
government were typically related to training and placement of servers while the private sector
partnerships were associated with practical training opportunities, employment opportunities, and
funding for enterprise endeavours.
A focus on soft and hard skills development was identified in nearly all the programmes surveyed. The
Positive Youth Development (PYD) approach offers a useful way of categorising these skills into five
outcomes that help young people make the transition to adulthood. Dubbed “the five Cs”, these are:
1. Character (sense of self and independence in relation to others)
2. Confidence (self‐esteem and leadership)
3. Connectedness (having strong connections with close family and friends as well as wider
networks)
4. Citizenship (having a sense of responsibility towards community)
5. Competence (sense of control over actions and decisions).
Most programmes articulated the development of character as a core programme goal. Instilling a
sense of confidence was also cited by many programmes as a quality they seek to engender among
youth. Many of the programmes assessed in the study have the explicit aim of ensuring that
participants develop a feeling of belonging and being part of a nation or region, and some include a
focus on diversity and belonging. More often than not, citizenship was the primary lens through which
programmes sought to foster character, confidence and connectedness among youth. Citizenship was
also defined as a desired outcome, and was typically defined in relation to nation building, patriotism,
peace, and a sense of responsibility for national and regional development.
The NYS programmes in the study employ a number of strategies to develop competence in both soft
and hard skills among young servers. This includes a focus on life skills such as discipline, leadership
and financial management. Programmes also foster competence through technical training, although
the focus, design and length of the training differs across programme. Only some of the programmes
design training opportunities in response to the particular interests and talents of the youth
participants in any one year. As a result, technical training through NYS is not always aligned with a
young person’s skills or passion. Furthermore training opportunities were only occasionally linked to
market opportunities at the country, regional and/or local level. A few programmes provide
opportunities for accreditation and formal certification to enhance a young person’s competence (e.g.
in Namibia, Gambia and South Africa).
Although none of the programmes specifically noted building financial assets as a key aim, many do
pay stipends to the young servers and provide some form of financial literacy training. Research on
financial asset building suggests that financial assets have multiple positive effects, such as access to
fixed assets (such as houses), access to productive assets (equipment for business purposes), and
increased ability to raise other financial assets (such as mortgages and stocks). Other positive
outcomes include human capital development and altering young people’s sense of their future
prospects. In this way, building financial capability among youth servers can contribute to their
Page | 8
competence (sense of control over actions and decisions) as well as their character (sense of self and
independence).
Other approaches to promoting youth employability identified through the study include job
preparedness training, access to further education and training, and gaining practical experience
through service. Evidence of job preparedness training was found in South Africa, the Economic
Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) Programme, Burkina Faso, Zambia and Ghana, for
example. In some NYS programmes job preparedness training does not form part of the actual
curriculum, but is facilitated by pairing young servers with mentors. This is the case in Zimbabwe and
Liberia. Some programmes, such as the Namibian NYS, are set up with the specific goal of facilitating
access to further education and training during or on completion of the service year. Finally most of
the service programmes provide young people with an opportunity to apply the technical skills learned
as well as to gain experience of the workplace.
Many of the NYS programmes surveyed are also designed to connect young people to further
opportunities. Most of the programmes were acutely aware of the limits of the labour market to
absorb young people into full‐time jobs and they thus developed, or were considering developing,
mechanisms to help the young people become self‐employed after their service. The study shows that
in the main, three strategies were being used:
The first is to introduce young people to business opportunities in different sectors.
The second is to run a short training course on how to start a business.
The third is to provide loans or grants to young people wanting to start their own businesses or
facilitating connections to other programmes and companies that could do the same.
A few programmes have developed strategic partnerships with public and private organisations to
support entrepreneurship and business development among its servers (e.g. Nigeria, Gambia and
Namibia).
Recognising that everyone is not an entrepreneur, programmes also focus on exit opportunities for
young servers related to the formal market. These were generally facilitated through partnerships
with government and to a lesser extent the private sector, as well as with employment placement
agencies.
3.2 Promising practices for NYS to become a support for youth employability
Taken together, the research shows that NYS forms part of government’s strategic response to the
youth unemployment crisis in the region and is often orientated, although to varying degrees, towards
supporting young people to access economic opportunities. The question then becomes, “Which
programme design features are most effective (or most promising) for fostering youth employability
and why?”
Given the virtual lack of data on the impact of programme design on youth employability among all
the programmes surveyed, it is impossible to state definitively which approaches promote youth
employability. However, drawing on the literature and research data, twelve promising practices were
identified. These are meant to provide some direction to practitioners, policy makers and other
Page | 9
stakeholders committed to strengthening NYS as a strategy for youth employability on the African
continent. However, further research is required to determine precisely the relationship between
various programme inputs and youth employment and self‐employment outcomes.
The twelve promising practices identified are summarised below:
1. Focus explicitly on developing youth as citizens with productive capability: NYS programmes
should direct resources towards grooming young people as productive citizens able to connect
with economic opportunities emerging within national development priorities.
2. Contribute to human resource development and economic growth priorities through service:
NYS should be positioned as a player in the post‐school education and training landscape that
can respond to labour market needs and support the development of the human resources
required to meet the country’s need for certain skills and capacity.
3. Target different groups of youth for transition support, including vulnerable youth: NYS
programmes should leverage its unique flexibility to target specific types of youth, thereby
providing education and training pathways for those who would otherwise not have a chance
to transition to further education, employment or self‐employment.
4. Structure high‐level multi‐stakeholder partnerships: Multi‐stakeholder structures create
opportunities for the NYS to (re)design its programme in response to the needs of employers
(public and private), other players active in the economy, and further education and training
institutions.
5. Build young people’s personal assets, including character, connectedness, confidence and
competence: Employability starts by building the personal attributes of young people for work
and adulthood. NYS programmes should carefully consider how to develop character,
connectedness, confidence and competence among its servers.
6. Introduce asset accumulation through stipends and savings: Research suggests that the
accumulation of financial assets amongst the poor can influence outcomes such as increased
savings behaviour, more positive sexual and reproductive health outcomes, a strong sense of
future, and greater likelihood of accessing and completing post‐secondary education. Given
that most NYS programmes pay stipends and incorporate savings education in their curriculum,
NYS programmes are well‐positioned to develop financial capability among servers.
7. Produce well‐rounded work seekers: By developing a sense of citizenship as well as life skills,
NYS programmes can give young people a chance to discover what they can do to help solve
development challenges and can build a sense of responsibility among young servers. These
attributes are attractive to prospective employers and are essential in enabling young people
to transition to productive adulthood.
8. NYS can enhance youth employability by addressing the skills mismatch that employers
complain about: Addressing the skills mismatch requires that employers are involved in training
Page | 10
servers, the training should ideally be certificated, the training must be relevant and of high
quality, and the training should respond to the interests and aptitude of the young participants.
9. Help vulnerable youth access pathways to livelihoods: NYS programmes can provide an
opportunity for vulnerable youth to access formal qualifications and the opportunity to prepare
for the world of work (whether employment or self‐employment) through a combination of
technical skills training, experiential learning, and a focus on citizenship.
10. Introduce practical training for self‐employment into the NYS curriculum: NYS programmes
should combine practical activities with basic training for self‐employment to give servers a
strong foundation for pursuing self‐employment opportunities post‐service. This may entail
formulating a business idea, applying for loans, looking for small business mentors or partners,
among other things.
11. Prepare and filter candidates for access to self‐employment support: NYS programmes should
focus on financial and mentorship support, which are critical in helping young people make
business ideas come to life and building these into sustainable livelihoods.
12. Create transition mechanisms for jobs, self‐employment or further education and training:
NYS programmes should consider any of the following mechanisms to facilitate the transition
of their participants into employment, self‐employment or further education and training:
partnering with local or national placement agencies, employing a job placement officer, and/or
supporting young people to access further education and training.
See the Learning Forum website for additional information on the promising practices
(www.learning‐forum.org/papers.php).
3.3 Key insights from the Learning Forum
Overall the Learning Forum confirmed the relevance of the twelve promising practices identified
through the research. Participants discussed the extent to which these practices feature in their
programmes, gained new insight into promising approaches that can support youth employability, and
explored the challenges and opportunities associated with adopting these promising practices in their
programmes.
3.3.1 Integrating a youth development and leadership approach in NYS programmes
A key message that emerged from the Forum is that youth must
be involved as partners in all aspects of national youth service,
from design to monitoring and
evaluation. As one speaker from the
South African National Youth
Development Agency emphasised,
“Nothing about us without us”. This
perspective was echoed by the youth participants at the event
(approximately 20 per cent of the participants), and enshrined in a
The voice [of young
people] in policy making
has not been catered for
until recently.
‐ Learning Forum
participant
Having young people occupy
positions – very junior positions
in design and development of an
organisation – has proven to be
such a jewel of innovation.
‐ Learning Forum participant
Page | 11
resolution presented by youth delegates to Forum participants and described below (see
www.learning‐forum.org for the resolution). Youth delegates noted that the current form of NYS in
the region does not address the needs of youth or benefit them, largely because of the lack of youth
involvement in programmes.
The resolution outlines five strategies which NYS programme leaders, youth ministers and other NYS
stakeholders should consider so that more young people on the continent will benefit from NYS:
Firstly, a diverse cross‐section of young people should be recognised as agents of change, and
involved in all platforms related to NYS. For example, young people should be informing policy
on youth issues and participate in research aimed at assessing NYS.
Secondly, efforts should be made to place young people into leadership positions, including in
the sphere of NYS.
Thirdly, there is an urgent need to support entrepreneurship and innovation among young
people, building on their particular assets and interests – “NYS should be used as a platform
where sustainable entrepreneurial practices and innovative solutions to contemporary
challenges are developed and tested”.
Fourthly, youth delegates called for the sharing and effective leveraging of resources in relation
to NYS, whether human, social, cultural or financial.
Finally, it was recommended that a pan‐African youth service platform be established, which
could initially be developed using social media.
A few speakers as well as a number of participants also highlighted the
need to transform the mind‐sets of young people from that of
beneficiary to becoming a productive and valued member of society
who can contribute meaningfully to its development. Service has a
particular role to play in this transformation and in the cultivation of
citizenship. Programmes like loveLife’s groundBREAKERS have had
immense success in engendering a sense of active citizenship among
young people, while others noted challenges in this space, especially
given the expectation around stipends.
3.3.2 Recognising self‐employment as an important livelihood strategy
The idea that young people need to be supported through service to pursue
self‐employment opportunities was widely accepted by participants. The
formal economy cannot accommodate all the unemployed youth in Sub‐
Saharan Africa and self‐employment, whether in the formal or informal
economy, thus becomes an important livelihood strategy which should be prioritised within service
programmes.
In promoting self‐employment, programmes should understand the assets, opportunities, as well as
vulnerabilities of young people, recognising that youth are not a homogenous group. The
entrepreneurship resource person at the Learning Forum defined three categories for self‐employed
people:
Entrepreneurs are
made not born.
‐ Learning Forum
participant
I believe young people are
limited only by the size of
their vision ... If we can get
young people to believe in
themselves then [our] job is
done.
‐ Learning Forum participant
Page | 12
1. High capital entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs with high levels of human, social, intellectual and
financial capital. These companies are likely to create many jobs and grow into large
organisations such as bio‐tech startups, venture capital‐funded startups, etc.
2. Medium capital entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs with medium levels of human, social,
intellectual and financial capital. These people usually have a tertiary education and some work
experience, and are most likely to start some form of small business that will employ less that
20 people within 5 years.
3. Low capital entrepreneurs: These entrepreneurs have low levels of human, social, intellectual
and financial capital. For example, survivalist entrepreneurs with limited work experience.
Participants made a number of recommendations for supporting entrepreneurship and self‐
employment through service:
promote the idea that self‐employment is a valuable and viable endeavor
encourage self‐assessment among young people and for young people to have a strong sense
of self
promote financial and digital literacy
encourage people to collaborate
create opportunities for experiential learning
advocate for incubation funds to be developed for youth at the country/regional levels
ensure that young people have access to appropriate mentors who can provide advice as well
as critique to aspiring entrepreneurs
leverage mobile technology to reach people who previously have not had access to information
encourage young people to pursue non‐traditional pathways (e.g. expose them to agribusiness)
convince private sector players that they should invest in youth entrepreneurship.
Research that is currently underway on entrepreneurship suggests that programmes should not focus
exclusively on training. Instead, the better programmes focus on a combination of practical training,
working in teams, building social capital, and identifying and engaging appropriate mentors. As Fred
Swaniker, the founder of the African Leadership Academy and a Learning Forum participant put it,
“The best way to become an entrepreneur is to be an entrepreneur”. Furthermore, research shows
that while financial capital is typically viewed as the most important facility for successful
entrepreneurship, it is actually more important to invest in human capital development in order to
prepare aspirant entrepreneurs for success.
3.3.3 Understanding and assessing the impact of National Youth Service
Participants were in agreement that monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment is a major gap in
the field of National Youth Service. As a result of the lack of data, it is not possible to say definitively
whether and to what extent NYS programmes are supporting youth employability outcomes. This
undermines the credibility of NYS as a strategy for youth employability in the eyes of current and
potential funders and points to the urgent need to rectify this knowledge gap.
Both Alemayehu Konde Koira from The MasterCard Foundation and Najwah Allie‐Edries from The Jobs
Fund (South Africa) shared how their organisations have prioritised research in projects that they fund
from the start of the projects. The MasterCard Foundation is investing heavily in youth financial
Page | 13
inclusion, youth learning and more recently economic opportunities for youth. The Foundation has
clearly defined the outputs and outcomes expected from its support for economic opportunities for
youth so that it can track its progress as well as assess it impact in specific areas, such as job retention,
business sustainability, wealth acquisition and social values development. The Foundation has entered
into a number of partnerships with academic institutions and consultancy agencies to support its
monitoring and evaluation processes.
The Jobs Fund has developed a monitoring and evaluation framework with common and specific
indicators for all its projects, which are aimed at either increasing the demand for labour, as well as
the supply of jobs in South Africa. From the beginning projects have also had clear implementation
plans. These frameworks have been developed to ensure that the Jobs Fund gets “value for its
money”. In reflecting on progress made thus far, rigorous assessment and tight monitoring have
emerged as critical success factors for The Jobs Fund programme.
Building monitoring and evaluation into NYS programmes from the outset is not the norm and many
are currently struggling with how to undertake monitoring and evaluation given their human and
financial resource constraints. Prof. Leila Patel from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa
enumerated the many challenges inherent in impact assessment and provided some insight into how
programmes can assess their impact going forward.
For example, many programmes have defined their desired outputs, but not the outcomes. And
sometimes the indicators that have been defined are vague and not sufficiently specific. Most
programme plans are based on inputs, activities and outputs, and have not thought about the
relationship between outcomes and the desired impacts from the start. One helpful impact
assessment framework is the following:
Diagram 1: Impact assessment framework
Source: Presentation by Prof. Leila Patel at the Learning Forum.
Page | 14
Another challenge associated with measuring impact is that most NYS programmes have not
conducted the research needed to establish a baseline; this makes it difficult to measure the nature
and extent of change produced by the programme. Furthermore, some NYS programmes are not
undertaken at scale, which means the impact cannot be measured using large datasets. There is also
the difficulty of relating one’s programme to the many different development outcomes set at
national and regional levels.
Conducting a study using an experimental design with an
experimental group and a control group is the most rigorous
way of assessing impact, but it is also the most expensive
method to use. Other options available to NYS programmes
that lack the funds and expertise to undertake such a costly
study include partnering with mining companies who are
required (in South Africa) to undertake community mapping for
their social and labour plans. Census information can also be
helpful. However, more informal methods such as focus groups, key informant interviews and
participant observation can be used as well (see Diagram 2 below).
Diagram 2: Data collection methods
Source: Presentation by Prof. Leila Patel at the Learning Forum.
A number of participants recommended that research also be conducted on perceptions of NYS
among youth as a mechanism for improving the quality and uptake of NYS programmes in the
region.
The voluntary service programme in
Ghana provides one example of how
monitoring and evaluation can be
embedded in NYS programmes from
the outset through a partnership
with civil society (in this case VSO
Ghana). See the Ghana case profile
at www.learningforum.org.
Page | 15
3.3.4 Enhancing youth employability through service: Addressing the demand side and engaging
with the private sector
A major takeaway from the Learning Forum is the need for NYS programmes to focus more acutely on
preparing young people for work in sectors with the highest demand for labour. This requires
understanding the market opportunities in a particular country as well as at regional and local levels,
and in rural as well as urban centres. Aligning NYS programming with the labour opportunities can
contribute to achieving national development goals as well as peace‐building and reconstruction in
post‐conflict countries.
A few NYS programmes shared their experience with undertaking
economic mapping exercises to determine opportunities for young servers
in various sectors. Participants overwhelmingly felt there was a need to
engage more closely with the private sector so as to better align NYS
programming with market opportunities. In this way, NYS programmes can
be more responsive to labour market needs, and can change and adapt
their offering according to the job opportunities for young people in the location where the
programme is being implemented. NYS should thus not simply be looking to private sector actors as
potential funders, but also as partners who can provide insight into how to prepare young people for
the work opportunities that exist. This has been a lesson learned in City Year South Africa’s
engagement with various private sector actors in the country, such as the Smollan Group.
In Nigeria, Intel approached the National Youth Service
Programme because alumni were not graduating with sufficient
skills, especially IT skills, to work in the private sector. This
problem was attributed to a lack of engagement between the
NYS and the private sector. Intel has worked with the national
programme to address these skill gaps. In South Africa, Intel has
created a high performance centre for computing to assist young people to acquire skills that are
relevant in today’s market. Other companies that have taken steps to prepare young South Africans
for the workplace include Microsoft and Mr Price, although these initiatives are not necessarily
associated with the NYS.
National policy on youth service and volunteering can also assist in enhancing young people’s
employability. For example, it could encourage and in some cases even require that companies,
government and civil society organisations absorb young people into their organisations, thereby
giving young people an opportunity to gain work experience as well as skills.
3.3.5 Building a learning network among National Youth Service practitioners
Throughout the Forum participants stressed the importance of learning from the experience of other
NYS practitioners in Africa and beyond. Many participants were thus interested to learn about the
International Association of National Youth Service (IANYS). In operation since 1996, IANYS has grown
into a unique global network of practitioners, policy makers, researchers, and other professionals
actively working to encourage countries worldwide to implement policies and programmes that
support youth civic engagement. With representatives from 50 countries, IANYS is the only network
We as a company take
youth seriously.
‐ Private sector
speaker, Learning
Forum
The private sector knows what they
need, they know the skills and so it
is very important for them to have
a say in the [NYS] training.
‐ Learning Forum participant
Page | 16
of its kind actively working to encourage the global implementation of policies and programmes that
directly support youth civic engagement.
At the 9th Global IANYS Conference held in Alexandria, Egypt, in 2010 representatives from Cote
d’Ivoire, Ghana, Egypt, Mali, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa discussed the potential for
strengthening IANYS in the Africa region. This conversation was continued with stakeholders from
Southern Africa at the first ever Southern Africa Conference on Volunteer Action for Development,
held in Johannesburg in October 2011.
Since 2010 there has also been growing interest and activity in the field of voluntary service in Africa
and specifically in youth voluntary service. The African Union Youth Volunteer Corps was launched in
January 2010, and later that year the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS)
launched its Youth Volunteers Programme. In 2013 a high profile conference was held in Kenya, which
looked largely at strengthening youth voluntary service in East Africa and explored the possibility of
establishing an East African Peace Corps. Apart from these regional programmes, eleven new NYS
programmes have been launched in Sub‐Saharan Africa since 2005 and ten countries are currently in
the process of developing programmes.
Noting the momentum for youth voluntary service in Africa, a Global Council of IANYS noted that
IANYS could provide a useful platform for sharing best practices and building the field in Africa:
How do we draw upon the networking already in existence so that we apply our resources in a
more effective way? … IANYS is a platform that we can use collectively, which can [help] us save
our resources and help us to grow existing [and emerging] programmes.
Innovations in Civic Participation, a co‐host of the Learning Forum, serves as the IANYS Secretariat and
can be contacted for more information at www.icicp.org.
4. Recommendations for strengthening NYS programmes
During the closing session of the Learning Forum participants shared strategies for strengthening NYS
programmes as a support for youth employment and self‐employment. Further suggestions were
made on the evaluation forms at the end of the event. The recommendations made by participants
can be consolidated into six broad categories:
1. enhanced youth involvement in the design, implementation and evaluation of NYS programmes
2. support to NYS programmes with respect to designing elements related to youth employment
and self‐employment
3. the need to develop monitoring and evaluation systems, and conduct research on a variety of
topics relevant to improving the effectiveness of NYS programmes
4. opportunities for continued networking, engagement and learning among NYS stakeholders in
the public and private spheres
5. leadership development and funding support
6. advocating for an enabling environment for NYS programmes.
Page | 17
4.1 Youth involvement in NYS programmes
Forum participants, and in particular young participants, called for the involvement of young people
in the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of NYS programmes in the region. In other
words, young people need to be decision‐makers within the NYS space and not simply ‘beneficiaries’.
This can be actioned within country programmes, but also in relation to the emerging network of NYS
stakeholders coming out of the Forum. As one participant explained,
We see, experience and dream about our world differently. We have different ideas, plans and
energy. Create a platform for us where we can build our future using what we already have
and take ownership of our own future. Don’t create a programme that we should embrace if
we can’t see [its] value and don’t feel the passion [for it].
More work is required to identify promising practices for mainstreaming youth into the life‐cycle and
leadership of NYS programmes in the region. Possible strategies for cultivating a network of youth
servers and youth service leaders in the region are explored in Section 4.4.
4.2 Programme design support: Employment, self‐employment and livelihoods
Given that the majority of Forum participants were NYS practitioners, it is not surprising that they
expressed strong interest in learning more about how to improve the design of their programmes in
order to achieve the desired outcomes of employability and self‐employability.
4.2.1 Employment and exit opportunities
Participants overwhelmingly indicated a need to align programmes more strategically with economic
opportunities at the national and local levels. This might involve modifying technical training so that
it is more relevant to the current labour market needs or re‐evaluating a programme’s entire training
curriculum. Understanding the market opportunities and needs of both public and private sector
employers is critical for ensuring such alignment. Some participants also cited the need for greater
integration of experiential learning to prepare young people for the workplace.
At the same time participants noted the importance of striking the right balance between the
economic aims of NYS programmes and the citizenship goals of the NYS. Service was recognised as
one way to develop youth as responsible, well rounded and productive citizens, work seekers and
entrepreneurs.
Linking young people with employment opportunities was also highlighted as an area requiring further
development. There was interest in learning more about good practice in this domain from other NYS
programmes in Africa and beyond, and exploring opportunities to enhance access to finance for
servers post‐service.
4.2.2 Self‐employment, entrepreneurship and livelihoods
Given the lack of employment opportunities in the formal sector many participants recognised the
need to prioritise preparing young people to pursue self‐employment opportunities and build
Page | 18
livelihoods. Participants requested further information and assistance with how to effectively embed
a focus on entrepreneurship in their programmes. A key challenge in promoting entrepreneurship is
changing mindsets among young people so that they see the opportunities and value of working for
themselves. Also, the integration of practical and experiential learning into the NYS entrepreneurship
curriculum is critical. Access to finance, encouraging savings, improving mentorship opportunities and
ensuring that programmes can build on youth attributes were also mentioned by participants as areas
of interest.
4.2.3 Private sector engagement
Greater engagement with the private sector was seen as essential for improving the role of NYS in
preparing young people for formal employment as well as for self‐employment. To achieve this,
programmes need to articulate how the private sector can benefit from supporting youth service so
that mutually beneficial partnerships can be forged. Participants mentioned their interest in
strengthening the involvement of companies in the development of work‐readiness content and skills
development strategies, as well as in the funding of NYS programmes.
4.2.4 Regional exchange
Some participants would like to see the development of affordable opportunities for young servers to
travel to other African countries as part of the service experience. By pursuing this approach in the
region, programmes could focus on undertaking regional initiatives in addition to focusing on their
own countries. It also could provide young people with an opportunity to cultivate a regional identity
by addressing regional development challenges in cooperation with youth from other countries.
4.3 Prioritising research in NYS programmes in the region as it relates to youth
employment and self‐employment
Participants recommended four research areas that require greater attention among NYS
programmes in the region: (1) impact assessment of NYS on youth employability and self‐
employability, (2) integration of monitoring and evaluation in programmes, (3) research into market
opportunities, and (4) research into youth perceptions of service and NYS in particular.
As previously mentioned in Section 3, there is a lack of research on the role of NYS programmes in
enhancing youth employability and self‐employability. As a result, it is impossible to determine
precisely which design elements are most effective for achieving positive employment outcomes
among youth servers. Additionally, the lack of impact assessment as well as monitoring and evaluation
undermines the ability of programmes to build on their successes and learn from their failures. There
is an opportunity to work together with NYS programmes to conduct comparative research into the
impact of NYS programmes, and also to support programmes to develop and integrate cost‐effective
and appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems, depending on the particular capacity of country
programmes.
Additionally, participants indicated an interest in being supported to conduct research on the market
opportunities available for young people so that NYS programmes can become more responsive to
labour market needs. Lastly, a few participants noted that conducting research into youth needs and
Page | 19
youth perceptions of service could be leveraged to make NYS programmes in the region more
appealing to the young people of today.
4.4 Creating platforms for networking, learning and engagement
The need for ongoing engagement and networking among NYS stakeholders in the region was clearly
expressed by Forum participants. Creating online as well as face‐to‐face platforms for engagement
will help NYS stakeholders to share their growing experience, learn more about best practices in the
field of NYS, encourage and inform the creation of new programmes in the region, provide
opportunities for multi‐stakeholder engagement particularly between government and the private
sector, and facilitate networking as well as involvement of youth leaders in NYS. Participants suggested
that more learning forums be convened to address topical issues of interest to NYS stakeholders and
proposed that the following means be used to develop the field within the African context: an e‐
learning hub, email exchanges, a pan‐African research institution and website dedicated to NYS and
volunteering, and the creation of a mobile platform that supports engagement around NYS issues.
The existing International Association of National Youth Service (IANYS) could be leveraged to facilitate
the building of an African network of practitioners and policy makers working on NYS, as well as to
encourage the exchange of experience and expertise between African countries and countries outside
of Africa. The opportunity for networking and learning among NYS programmes and youth
development initiatives funded by The MasterCard Foundation was also identified.
4.5 Leadership development and funding
A few participants emphasised the need to develop leadership and management skills among NYS
practitioners so that implementers have the capacity and appropriate mind‐set to implement
programmes effectively. A few other participants requested funding support for their programmes,
given their sustainability challenges.
4.6 Enabling environment
Lastly, some participants emphasised that an enabling environment is a key success factor for NYS and
that this requires more attention. This could include advocating for greater autonomy among NYS
programmes from government, elevating the importance of NYS in relation to national development
planning, encouraging a greater focus on youth development in NYS programmes, promoting greater
accountability among youth service stakeholders, and reviewing and improving the legislative
framework for NYS and volunteering more broadly.
5. Conclusion
Through research and the convening of the Learning Forum, the project funded by The MasterCard
Foundation, and supported by the National Treasury and The Jobs Fund of South Africa, as well as the
National Youth Development Agency in South Africa, has positioned National Youth Service in Africa
as an institutional force that can help young people transition into economic opportunities of various
Page | 20
kinds. Three key outcomes resulted from this work: Firstly, the landscape research paper created a
baseline off which further developments in the field can be assessed. Secondly, the project helped to
build the knowledge base in the field of youth, civic service and employability. And thirdly, it created
new networks across Sub‐Saharan Africa and internationally through which the relationship between
youth active citizenship, youth leadership and sustainable income generation can be promoted at
scale.
The research findings and the Learning Forum discussions support the contention that NYS can help
young people to make the transition to work, whether formal employment or self‐employment.
However, there is a recognition among NYS practitioners in the region that for NYS to make a
significant contribution to youth employability, NYS programmes need to be more intentionally
designed to achieve this goal.
On the basis of the study findings and the contributions from Learning Forum participants, ICP and
VOSESA recommend the following activities.
Programme design support: A follow‐up meeting should be organised focused on best practice in
entrepreneurship programming. Experts in this area from The MasterCard Foundation’s grantees and
others could train a select number of NYS practitioners from programmes in the region. A mentoring
relationship could then be established for a specified period of time, to allow for skills transfer. A
similar model could be used to build the skills of NYS practitioners in the region on youth leadership
programming.
Monitoring and evaluation support: Partnerships should be struck with universities, companies and
development organisations to support NYS programmes to develop their monitoring and evaluation
capacity. There is a need for partners who can help programmes to assess programme impact, as well
as assist programmes to conduct economic mapping studies that can inform their programme design.
A few countries could be engaged initially, with the idea of growing the support network in the region
and creating opportunities for practitioners to collectively develop practical yet rigorous research
tools.
Networking: Forum participants should be approached about the possibility of identifying local
funding for hosting an IANYS conference in Sub‐Saharan Africa. This would enable African programmes
to provide leadership in the international NYS field whilst also pursuing various advocacy and
programming issues that are germane to the African context.
Knowledge dissemination: The five papers produced for the project should be published as a book on
NYS in the Africa region and disseminated to relevant development, government and academic
institutions. Additionally, articles drawing on the study findings should be published in a variety of
publications and media. There is already interest from one forthcoming book on the voluntary sector
to include a chapter on this research and there may be other opportunities. Lastly, the study findings
should be disseminated through The MasterCard Foundation’s network.
Youth involvement in NYS: An initiative should be undertaken to identify youth leaders in the region
with NYS experience, document their stories, and create an online community for engagement. This
Page | 21
would need to be complemented with opportunities for face‐to‐face engagement at other NYS events
related to general networking, programme development, and monitoring and evaluation. It might also
be worthwhile to pursue the development of a funding scheme, which can be made available to NYS
graduates and which support leadership development.
Grant programme to support innovation: Innovation in the NYS field should be stimulated through
seed funding, matching grants, or technical assistance that would enable programmes to respond
more directly to young people’s need to generate a sustainable income whilst fulfilling their citizenship
obligations. A development fund that links innovation in the field of service with employment and self‐
employment was also suggested.
o o o 0 o o o
Page | 22
References
Eberly D and Sherraden M (Eds) (1990) The Moral Equivalent of War: A study of non‐military service in
nine nations. New York: Greenwood Press.
Flanagan CA, Bowes JM, Jonsson B, Csapo B and Sheblanova E (1998) Ties that Bind: Correlates of
adolescents’ civic commitments in seven countries. In: Journal of Social Issues, 54(3), pp. 457‐475.
Funk CL (1998) Practicing what we preach? The influence of a societal interest value on civic
engagement. In: Political Psychology, 19(3), pp. 601‐614.
loveLife (2008) loveLife groundBREAKERS: A summary of the programme assessment 2001‐2005.
Johannesburg: lofeLife. Available online at www.lovelife.org.za/corporate/files/8513/3848/3454/
lL_gB _Survey.pdf (accessed 5 November 2013).
Mohan J (1994) What can you do for your country? Arguments for and against Clinton’s national
service legislation. In: Policy and Politics, 22(4), pp. 257‐266.
Patel L (2009) Youth Development, Service, and Volunteering in Five Southern African Countries. In:
McBride AM (Ed.) Youth Service in Comparative Perspective. CSD Monograph 09‐04. Washington, DC:
Center for Social Development.
Perry J and Katula M (2001) Does service affect citizenship? In: Administration & Society, 33(3), pp.
330‐365.
Sherraden M and Eberly D (1982) The Impact of National Service on Participants. In: Sherraden M and
Eberly D (Eds) National Service: Social, economic, and military impacts. New York: Pergamon Press.
Sherraden M (2001) Youth Service as Strong Policy (CSD Working Paper). St. Louis, MO: Washington
University, Center for Social Development.
Simonet M (2009) In Between Volunteer Work and Employment: Youth civic service in France and in
the United States. In: McBride AM (Ed.) Youth Service in Comparative Perspective. CSD Monograph 09‐
04. Washington, DC: Center for Social Development.
Spera C, Ghertner R, Nerino A and DiTommaso A (2013) Volunteering as a Pathway to Employment:
Does volunteering increase odds of finding a job for the out of work? Washington, DC: Corporation for
National and Community Service, Office of Research and Evaluation.
Wilson J and Musick M (1999) The Effects of Volunteering on the Volunteer. In: Law and Contemporary
Problems, 62(4), pp. 141‐168.
Page | 23
Appendix 1: Learning Forum Programme
Page | 24
Page | 25
Appendix 2: Learning Forum delegate list
Title First name Last (family) name
Organisation Country Position Email
Ibrahim Ag Nock CNPV Mali Ministere De La Jeunesse Et Des Sports
Mali General Director [email protected]
Dr. Raymonde Agossou African Union Commission Ethiopia Head of Division [email protected]
Imoro Alhassan National Service Scheme Ghana Ag Executive Director [email protected]
John Allen Heifer International South Africa
South Africa External Relations Specialist [email protected]
Najwah Allie‐Edries Jobs Fund South Africa Head: Employment & Social Security PMU
Mark Apollis Department of Economic Development and Tourism
South Africa Deputy Director [email protected]
Sarah Bawaya National Itorero Commission
Rwanda [email protected]
Tania Beard Dalberg Research Senegal Research Coordinator [email protected]
Frederick Beukman National Youth Development Agency / loveLife
South Africa [email protected]
Isaac Bropleh NYSP, Liberia Liberia National Coordinator [email protected]
Nonala Buthelezi Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
South Africa National Coordinator: National Rural Youth Service Corps
Manoj Chiba City Year South Africa Principal Consultant [email protected]
Karena Cronin VOSESA South Africa Deputy Director [email protected]
Adriana de Beer Sasol South Africa Business Analyst [email protected]
Aislinn Delany VOSESA South Africa Researcher [email protected]
Veerle Dieltiens Centre for Education Policy Development
South Africa Researcher [email protected]
Serigne Fallou DIENG Service Civique National Sénégal 26/28 Félix Faure [email protected]
Shiba Diketane DHET South Africa Assistant Director [email protected]
December Ditlhake Hand in Hand Southern Africa
South Africa Provincial Manager [email protected]
Page | 26
Title First name Last (family) name
Organisation Country Position Email
Nqobile Dlamini Microsoft South Africa Citizenship lead [email protected]
Henri‐Gauthier Fene‐Fene UNDP/UNV DRC National Coordinator Post 2015 Consultations
henri‐[email protected]
Mariatu Fonnah VOSESA South Africa [email protected]
Prof. Elisante Ole Gabriel Laizer
Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports
Tanzania Deputy Permanent Secretary [email protected]
Reverend
George Awala Gado Ghana National Service Scheme
Ghana Director of Projects [email protected]
Colin Hagans International Youth Foundation
US Program Manager ‐ Southern Africa [email protected]
Timothy Hobden National Treasury: Jobs Fund
South Africa Technical Advisor: Governance and Oversight
timothyh@genesis‐analytics.com
Havard Hovdhaugen FK Norway Norway Teamleader [email protected]
Philip Hudson International Citizen Service
UK Head of Programme Quality: International Citizen Service (ICS)
Mirjam Ebenezer Nelago
Iyambo National Youth Service Namibia Manager: Employment Promotion [email protected]
Mahao Johane Min. of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation
Lesotho Project Coordinator ‐ National Volunteer Corps
Anne Kahuria VSO Jitolee Kenya Programme Officer‐National Volunteering, Youth and Social Entreprise Dev
Musheke Kakuwa Ministry of Youth and Sport
Zambia Programme Manager [email protected]
Dr. Tapiwa Kamuruko UNV Germany Snr Portfolio Manager, Africa Region [email protected]
Phoebe Kaniki Centre for Education Policy Development
South Africa Researcher [email protected]
George Khoza Hand in Hand Southern Africa
South Africa Programmes Officer [email protected]
Ferehmusu Konteh Ministry of Youth Affairs Sierra Leone Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs [email protected]
Alemayehu Konde
Koria The MasterCard Foundation
Canada The MasterCard Foundation [email protected]
Page | 27
Title First name Last (family) name
Organisation Country Position Email
Rahima Loghdey Department of Economic Development and Tourism
South Africa Director [email protected]
Jacob M'tuaruchiu National Youth Service Kenya Lecturer/Trainer [email protected]
Thamsanqa Mabandla SARS South Africa Manager [email protected]
Lerato Mahoyi loveLife South Africa Alumni groundBREAKER [email protected]
Thabo Makama Accenture South Africa South Africa CSI Lead South Africa/Botswana
Anthony Makwiramithi
Jobs Fund South Africa [email protected]
John Mang'ana VOSESA South Africa Independent consultant [email protected]
Bheki Masondo Sasol South Africa Socio ‐ Economic & BEE Analyst [email protected]
Mthobeli Mdoda Project Participant NYDA South Africa
Paul Mercier NSA Unit/UNDP Mauritius [email protected]
Kafui Adzo Mills‐Odoi VSO, Ghana Ghana KafuiAdzo.Mills‐[email protected]
Thokoza Mjo Beyond The Lemonade Stand
South Africa [email protected]
Sabelo Mnukwa Serve Is South Africa Project Manager [email protected]
Solomon Molefe Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
South Africa Project Administrator [email protected]
Sylla Moumouni Ministry of Youth Development, Sport and Recreation
Côté d'ivoire Chief of Staff [email protected]
Patrick Mphale National Youth Development Agency
South Africa General Manager: National Youth Service
Kudzai Mtero Khanya‐aicdd South Africa Programme Officer [email protected]
Learnmore Muchemwa VOSESA South Africa [email protected]
Flavien Munzuluba Kinier
Secretariat National Du Volontariat
DRC National Volunteer Secretary [email protected]
Stephen Mwangi Kenya National Youth Service
Kenya Volunteer [email protected]
Ndey Marie Njie Ministry of youth and sports
Gambia Deputy Permanent Secretary [email protected]
Page | 28
Title First name Last (family) name
Organisation Country Position Email
Mduduzi Nkambule Akwandze Agricultural Finance
South Africa Loans Manager and Projects [email protected]
Godfrey Nkosi Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
South Africa Director [email protected]
Benter Okello VOSESA South Africa Operations and Projects Manager [email protected]
John Pampellis DHET South Africa SA Minister's Advisor
Prof. Leila Patel Centre for Social Development in Africa
South Africa Director
Helene Perold VOSESA South Africa Director [email protected]
Clayton Peters National Youth Development Agency
South Africa General Manager: Strategic Programmes
Sinawe Pezi DWDE South Africa M & E Administrator [email protected]
Dr. Tinashe Pfigu VOSESA South Africa [email protected]
Yershen Pillay South African National Youth Development Agency
South Africa
Alvin Pillay Smollan South Africa STS Manager [email protected]
Marishka Pillay Discovery South Africa CSI Specialist [email protected]
Emerson Pimentel National Volunteer Corps Cape Verde Coordinator [email protected]
Francis Potai Zimbabwe National Youth Service
Zimbabwe [email protected]
Clive Poultney Southern African Wildlife College
South Africa Head Business Development [email protected]
Joseph Quainoo National Service Scheme, Ghana
Ghana Regional Director [email protected]
Mbuso Radebe TechnoServe South Africa Business Advisor [email protected]
Kgomotso Ramushu Centre for Education Policy Development
South Africa Researcher Intern [email protected]
Mama Shebe U.S. Peace Corps South Africa Small Grants & Partership Coordinator
Page | 29
Title First name Last (family) name
Organisation Country Position Email
Ntokozo Sibeko Department of Environmental Affairs
South Africa Deputy Director [email protected]
Lydia Strehlau National Treasury South Africa [email protected]
Susan Stroud ICP US Executive Director [email protected]
Chege Thenya Muchiri
NYS of Kenya Kenya Deputy Director‐General [email protected]
Danny Tong City Year South Africa Director [email protected]
Marie Trellu‐Kane Cikanam Conseil; Unis Cite co‐founder
France Cikanam Conseil; Unis Cite Co‐founder
Onesmus Upindi National Youth Service Namibia Commissioner [email protected]
Daylene van Buuren City Year South Africa South Africa Executive Director [email protected]
Renay Van Wyk loveLife South Africa Alumni Programme Manager [email protected]
Malusi Vatsha Delta Environmental Centre
South Africa Project Manager [email protected]
Charlene Verzmoter Microsoft South Africa Human Capital Development Manager
Télesphore Evariste Patinde
VOKOUMA GIP‐PNVB Burkina Faso [email protected]
Joe White Catalyx Consulting South Africa Partner [email protected]
Catherine Wijnberg Fetola South Africa Director [email protected]
Alyna Wyatt Jobs Fund South Africa Technical Advisor: Monitoring and Evaluation
alynaw@genesis‐analytics.com
Pippa Yeats Praekelt Foundation South Africa [email protected]
Nombuso Zuma Sasol South Africa Business Analyst [email protected]
