The latest youth meeting took place on the 30^th of October at our offices.

The meeting was well attended by many youth organizations. There was great excitement about working together as youth and to grow into a stronger Youth Movement.

The agenda for the meeting was to look at the main issues that the youth feel are most important to them as youth and their fellow youth in their communities.

The following issues were identified by the youth organisations:

• Create more workshops for the youth on how to deal with issues they are facing
• Workshop for parents as for them to be better informed about the importance of education
• Trainings on business skills should be more accessible in the township communities
• Awareness on Substance abuse and Health
• Campaigns around crime and other relevant issues
• Bursaries and support for studies

The youth organisations are in the process of organising themselves to take these issues forward.

Furthermore in October  10 youth were able to attend a documentary at the TriContinental Filmfestival, made possible by the generous support of TriContinental. This festival brings thought provoking documentaries from around the world and was a great platform for the youth organisations to broaden their horizon around international issues.

In a world where innovation is increasingly viewed as an unnecessary expenditure, we have dared to blaze a trail rarely stepped on before…

The ICDP is a pilot project which brings together a range of development role-players within ward 35 & 88, Philippi. It comprises a holistic set of interventions, which are integrated and complementary to support development efforts in Philippi. Since its initiation in May 2010, it has made steady strides (however slow they seem) in building a strong foundation from which to base the rest of its implementation.

Up to now, highlights include the following:

• consultative presentations conducted with Sub-council 14 officials, all of which were raving about the ICDP & were more than happy to grant  us their blessing in implementing it,
• 3 consultative meetings with locally based CBOs, which were held monthly between May & July. It was through such meetings that we got to interact & build strong relationships with local CBOs,
• 10 CBOs have since been warmly welcomed into our Organisational Development Support intervention, thus opening up endless possibilities of organisational growth & sustainability,
• The first training course on Community Research was successfully facilitated between August & September, 35 people from 21 CBOs attended the course.
• The training was partly meant to prepare local development workers to conduct a research study within their community, this proved to be a master-stroke as it enabled locals to look at their community anew & to pick up valuable information about the assets possessed in areas which are otherwise seen as ‘poor’.

Next coming events include:

• Peer Learning Event on 30^th November 2010,
• Training course #2; on Strategising for Sustainable Organisations in February 2011,
• The establishment of a networking body to bring together all key development players in the area will be another huge yet inspiring undertaking

As a pilot, it has certainly been exciting to be part of because of the fluid, explorative nature of its implementation and this is has been reminiscent of the pilot stages of CC, talking about ‘going down the nostalgic lane’.