A new online course to strengthen youth resilience – Blog
A new online training curriculum offers the opportunity for young people to strengthen their resilience and psychosocial well-being.
Young people are disproportionately affected by violence and crime in South Africa, both as victims and as perpetrators. The high levels of crime and violence in South Africa are driven by a number of factors such as inequality, economic exclusion, rising unemployment and economic development skewed along racial lines.
The National Youth Resilience Initiative (NYRI) online training course offers young people free access to high quality, self-paced and self-directed learning on resilience and personal skills development.
The course is based on the NYRI intervention which was first implemented in 2020 as a means of support for young people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In its initial phase the initiative sought to build the resilience of young people affected by the pandemic on a national level. The initiative has since shifted its focus to a localized implementation model, targeting young people in three provinces, Gauteng, Limpopo and the Western Cape. These young people undergo intensive capacity development and are meant to act as catalysts for building resilience in their communities.
The NYRI is a multi-stakeholder initiative implemented by Activate! Change Drivers. The initiative is a partnership between the Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), supported by the German Development Cooperation through the GIZ Inclusive Violence and Crime Prevention Programme (VCP), with co-funding from Global Affairs Canada.
The NYRI model offers comprehensive capacity building and training to support young people in developing their social, professional, leadership and critical thinking skills, in line with the National Youth Resilience Framework. Now in its second phase, the NYRI residential training model has been adapted to a digital format to widen its reach and impact.
The online learning course is based on five key themes of the Youth Resilience Framework:
1. Human capital and social support/connectedness;
2. Structures for Youth Employability;
3. Emotional regulation/socioemotional competence;
4. Creating avenues for youth participation; and
5. Rescripting sociocultural identity.
The course is structured in four modules, each contributing to the NYRI’s goal of having South African youth who have the necessary skills and resilience to achieve their full potential and positively contribute to the future of South Africa.