OPENSPACE YOUTH SUMMIT
22-23 MARCH 2019 | Bredasdorp
An event that brought together the youth of Cape Agulhas and provided them a platform for affecting policy change in their municipality
The Codebridge Youth Programme, implemented by OpenUp, aims to strengthen the capacity of local governments, civic organisations and Youth across the nine provinces, in order to contribute to sustainable and enhanced public participation and engagement, through civic technology, drafting and revision of Youth policies and empowerment guides. The Cape Agulhas Municipality is the first municipality to partner with OpenUp in hosting an OpenSpace Youth Summit.
During the weekend of 22 - 23 March 2019, Cape Agulhas Municipality and OpenUp succeeded in getting 195 attendees on day 1 and 175 attendees on day 2 across the seven towns of Cape Agulhas Municipality (Bredasdorp, Elim, Arniston, Napier, Struisbaai, Protem and Klipdale) together at the Glas Kasteel in Bredasdorp, to solicit input about what really matters to Youth in order to review the existing Youth Policy.
330
TOTAL attendees
7
towns
2
days
Organising team
Luzeth Smith
Human Development and Facilities Manager, CAM
Gurswin Prins
Head of Communications, CAM
Chantal Booyse
Stakeholder Engagement Strategist, OpenUp
Damian Pool
Social Media Manager and Photographer, OpenUp
Valerie Morris
Facilitator, Rennaisance Business Associates
“It is really good to work with a team who is willing to walk the extra mile for the community.”
“It was really awesome and so well organised - a perfect mix of topics, youngsters and social gathering, bravo!”
Event outcomes
We asked the youth to make their voices heard. Here’s what they achieved!
1
the identification of pressing youth issues
Our Openspace approach is designed to help provide an accessible platform for all attendees. The youth were able to highlight and prioritise the most pressing issues in their communities.
Key issues identified by the youth:
Crime
Drug abuse
Child abuse
Poor child care
Youth pregnancy
Youth employment
Insufficient activities for the youth
Suggested community improvements:
Art & drama center
Music school & recording studio
Access to free wifi
2
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 2019 YOUTH COUNCIL
The Youth Council plays a crucial role in ensuring that the lived realities of Cape Agulhas’ young people are heard and represented when new budgets and legislation are being considered.
At the event, attendees came together to nominate and vote on the new Council. We are proud to announce the 2019 CAM Youth Council (pictured alongside).
Youth Council Members
Chairperson: Ludumo Diniso
Vice Chairperson: Shade Williams
Secretary: Amelia Lewis
Treasurer: Whitney Jones
Lurenzo Hendricks
Llovellyn Mathews
Brenden Bentley
Refilwe Ntsapo
Sonto Ngcongo
Shanika Mahala
Tyrese Isaacs
Precious Garai Mushonga
3
youth survey competition
In order to help us better understand and engage with the youth of Cape Agulhas, we conducted a youth survey competition through social media. Young people were encouraged to complete the survey to stand a chance of winning weekly data prizes of up to 5GB. The youth responded amazingly and we were able to gather crucial feedback that will allow us to more effectively understand and engage with the community in future.
Week 1 winners:
1GB - Blessing Hove
250MB - Geraldine Abrahams
250MB - Ivan Davids
Week 2 winners:
1GB - Blessing Hove
250MB - Melani Joumat
250MB - Craig Africa
Week 3 winners:
1GB - Richard Newman
250MB - Diniso Ludumo
250MB - Tsengwa Zimasa
Week 4 winners:
5GB - Cobin-John van Rooyen
5GB - Wendy Kweyama
4
Creative Tech-innovation competition
We wanted to encourage the youth to start thinking creatively about potential solution to the issues they face in the community. We invited the youth, via social media and through community and school outreach, to get together in groups, identify a problem they faced on a daily basis and develop a creative technology solution to help solve that problem.
The entries were judged by a panel consisting of local government officials and members of the OpenUp team. The winning entry received R1000 for their group and R5000 for the school or local community programme.
Winning Group
Brenden Bentley, Dohrian Pick, Meshe Bentley, Lekishe Abrahams, Simone Pick, Kayla Harker, JP van Beulen, Johnelise De wee & Bianca Moses
Issue Identified
Waste removal and illegal dumping is a persistent issue in Cape Agulhas. There are no easy ways to access information about waste removal or to communicate an issue with the municipality.
Creative Tech Solution
An app that would allow community members to report illegal dumping, uncollected bins and other service delivery issues in their area. The app would also allow for easier communication between the municipality and it's citizens.
“Well done on an amazing initiative and thank you for choosing Cape Agulhas.”
“Thank you for the knowledge gained at the OpenSpace Youth Summit, we are determined to succeed and very excited to implement our project since we won the grand prize!”
Gallery
Photos by Damian Pool, OpenUp