Youth Voice and Leadership
GOYN takes a partnership approach to youth engagement, which means:
- Youth are engaged through all phases of GOYN work, not just the beginning or the end
- Youth views and opinions are continuously and equally sought and valued
- Youth are given the tools, training and spaces to voice their ideas
- Youth are respected and supported by all stakeholders
As part of this approach GOYN Anchor Partners work alongside and engage local Opportunity Youth to design and launch local Youth Advisory Groups (YAG). YAG members contribute to GOYN’s mission to expand opportunities for young people by:
- Providing advisory support and contributing to the GOYN strategic planning
- Giving feedback to the initiative’s working groups and participating in working groups of interest
- Advising the GOYN on implementation of youth initiatives and how to enable youth participation in the initiative
- Representing youth voice to influence policy and planning discussions
- Supporting youth mobilization activities and participation in the initiative
There are currently 150 YAG members leading across 9 GOYN Communities. Meet a few of the YAG leaders below and comeback for updates and to meet new YAG leaders.
Bheka Mbonambi
A member of the GOYN eThekwini YAG, Bheka founded the Enriching Foundation through Sustainability project directed to learners that are from disadvantaged communities. Enriching Foundation through Sustainability promotes indigenous plant biodiversity, modern implementation of food gardens and plant propagation methods, eg. asexual propagation. Bheka noticed that many young people in… Read More
Aasiya Shaikh
My name is Aasiya and I am from Pune, India. I am employed by the Lighthouse Communities Foundation, supporting youth engagement efforts, and I am one of the founding members of the GOYN Pune Youth Advisory Group. I was born and brought up in a slum in Pune. We,… Read More