FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA STATEMENT
UNDP AND NYDA
LAUNCHES A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Johannesburg, 25 February
2021
– The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in South Africa and the National
Youth Development Agency (NYDA) have launched a partnership agreement which
aims to intensify efforts to reduce youth unemployment. The two entities today
signed a project document which is the basis of the partnership agreement and guides
the collaboration to facilitate a youth development programme that will focus
on creating sustainable opportunities for young people in South Africa. The
signing ceremony took place at the NYDA offices in Woodmead.
“Youth unemployment in
South Africa is one of the structural and development challenges that require
approaches that put emphasis on development cooperation, collaborative
networks, innovation, scalability and
sustainability. Investing in practical proposals on how best to recover from
COVID-19 in a way that stimulates the economy, but at the same time, galvanizes
the youth to identify and use the opportunities presented by this epidemic”
said Dr Ayodele Odusola, Resident Representative of the UNDP South Africa
during his address at the signing ceremony.
This youth employment
and enterprise development programme is a long-term youth empowerment
initiative which will contribute towards achieving the objectives of
government’s Youth Enterprise Development Strategy (YEDS). The programme
promotes and encourages innovation, to give greater impetus to youth driven job
creation initiatives, as well as to support entrepreneurs with enterprising
ideas that generate self-employment and/or employment. At the core of this
approach is to give young people the freedom to design and develop solutions to
their problems on a small-scale with an intention of scaling the efforts for a
larger impact.
“Considering the youth
unemployment rate the untapped potential of our youth, there is no doubt that
accelerating entrepreneurship among young people will have a positive impact
not only on the social plane of bringing equity in the economy, but also by
raising the levels of the overall economic indicators of South Africa . The youth
bulge forms a critical mass that can be harnessed to transform the growth and
destiny of the country, while minimizing the potential risks that it offers” said
Mr Waseem Carrim, Chief Executive Officer of NYDA.
With young women
constituting almost half of the youth population, this initiative will be
gender-responsive and consider opportunities, benefits, experiences, needs and
concerns of both young women and girls. In addition to gender considerations, this
work also reinforces working towards the achievement to Sustainable Development
Goal (SDG) 8 on decent work and economic
growth; as well as SDG 17 on partnerships for the goals.
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For more information,
or media interviews please contact:
United Nations
Development Programme, Bobby Shabangu: bobby.shabangu@undp.org
National Youth
Development Agency, Bongekile Skosana: bongekile.skosana@nyda.gov.za
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society
to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind
of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in
nearly 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local
insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.za.undp.org.
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National Youth Development Agency (hereinafter referred to as
“the NYDA”) is an institution established in terms of the National Youth
Development Agency Act 54 of 2008 with the mandate to advance youth development
through guidance and support to initiatives across sectors of society and
spheres of government, embark on initiatives that seek to advance the economic
development of young people and develop and coordinate the implementation of
the Integrated Youth Development Plan and Strategy for the Republic. www.nyda.gov.za
ISSUED
JOINTLY BY THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP) IN SOUTH AFRICA AND
THE NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY