Annual Consutative Summits
Since 1937 SAAYC has been working with young people in youth clubs providing support and leadership development programmes. As an association of youth clubs, SAAYC is an umbrella body for the affiliate clubs and assists them with coordination of activities and runs programmes for affiliate members as beneficiaries of development programmes. SAAYC centers have served as a vehicle to reach a number of young people that benefit from the programmes run by the staff and volunteers.
In 1989 SAAYC expanded its reach by working directly with young people through the implementation of youth services programmes; this lead to the establishment of a national network of six youth development organizations known as the Youth Development Network (YDN). The core aim of YDN was to assist member organizations to mobilize resources for their programmes and influence policy of youth development in South Africa.
It is in the spirit of total and positive development of young people as suggested by the Youth Policy (NYP 2009 – 2014) that SAAYC thrives to ensure the inclusion of young people / clubs in decision making.
For the purpose of the SAAYC Consultative Summit, the young people or clubs refers to:
- Members / Youth Clubs who pay a membership fee towards affiliation with SAAYC
- Young people in communities who access SAAYC services directly through the centers i.e. club house
It is therefore imperative to note that SAAYC is about youth clubs and the future of the organization should talk to how the organization engages with them. SAAYC is also about addressing the needs of young people in communities in which it operates and as such its offerings will continue to benefit individual young people (non-members) although the ultimate goal is to assist those individuals to participate as part of a youth club that is affiliated to SAAYC (rather than as individuals from the community).
SAAYC convenes the consultative summit annually, where member clubs and other stakeholders can be afforded a space to dialogue. The Summit is also used as a platform to inform SAAYC on how it can assist in supporting members as they implement programmes / projects in their various communities.
The summit will further seek to solicit inputs from members and key stakeholders in devising sustainable strategies, engaging youth leaders on how to realize our vision and Mission.
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