Hands-on Learning Issue 32
Through the Hands-on Learning publication, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learnt so that others can draw from and build on their experiences. Litigate, Advocate, Educate: Why going to court can help to fight alcohol harms South […]
Learning Brief – What lies beneath: understanding how poverty affects young people — and how they can find new hope
In South Africa in 2025, more than a third (35%) of young people aged 15 to 24 are not in employment, education, or any form of skills training. Among those aged 25 to 34, the figure rises to 44%, highlighting a deepening crisis in youth readiness for work and economic participation. Growing up — and […]
The hidden dimensions of poverty
The Learning Lunch podcast explores ideas, approaches and social innovations – creating opportunity for non-profit organisations’ teams to discover what others are learning and space to reflect on what these insights might mean for their own strategy and programme implementation. Download takeaway instructions Youth development practitioners often focus on the supply and demand side of […]
Op-ed: The stepping stones that young people need to find work
If you’ve graduated with a degree that can land a job in finance, you are likely on a path to a stable and well-paying career. But if you are one of the nearly 4 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in South Africa who are unemployed, out of school or not […]
The Perspectives Series: Turning development on its head
Many of South Africa’s most pressing challenges are structural — but their impact is felt most deeply in people’s everyday lives. While reforms are often pursued at a national or provincial level, they don’t always translate into meaningful change for communities. What if transformation could also start from the ground up? “Place-based approaches” offer bottom-up, […]
Op-ed: You can’t plant hope without nurturing its roots
In rural South Africa, youth unemployment is a crisis. Thousands of young people are locked out of opportunities across provinces such as the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo, with limited income and pathways to social mobility. In response, agriculture is often promoted as a solution — a means to generate livelihoods, address household food insecurity […]
ENCA Interview: Young people are ready to do work for the common good on Mandela Day, and every other day
On Mandela Day, DGMT called for more than symbolic gestures. With youth unemployment soaring and millions not in education or training, South Africa faces a deepening social crisis. Bridget Hannah, Innovation Director at DGMT, spoke to ENCA about why creating meaningful work, especially work for the common good, is essential to rebuilding social cohesion and […]
The Perspectives Series: Youth unemployment is an ‘us’ problem, not a ‘you’ problem
Youth unemployment is one of South Africa’s most urgent challenges — yet many people feel disconnected from the solutions. In a context of slow economic growth, increasing youth economic and social inclusion requires a whole-of-society effort and imagination. How can we move from intention to action, and what will it take to build an inclusive, […]
MEDIA STATEMENT: Youth employment interventions in economic deserts require a demand-led skills approach that focuses on generating livelihoods
More than 3 million young people aged 15-24 in South Africa are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). They have fallen through the cracks, shut out of learning and earning prospects because they haven’t completed matric, or don’t have post-school qualifications or general work experience. This lack of opportunity has a devastating effect: continued […]
Article: Community trusts are greening the future
Community trusts linked to renewable energy projects are designed to ensure a portion of profits benefits the locals. Otsile Bokamoso is an after-school educational organisation whose name means “The future is bright”. Based in Dealesville, a small mixed-farming town in Free State province, it provides academic support to learners in the foundation phase (grades one […]