By Nangamso Mabindla
19 May 2006

THE Buffalo City Special Programmes Unit plans to open youth development centres around the municipal area. This was the upshot of a workshop held in East London on youth development. The centres, based on the Swedish Young Club model, would come out of the City's partnership with European cities like Leiden in the Netherlands and Gavlë in Sweden. The City would incorporate the youth development centres with its community support and one-stop centres.

To pilot the project, the facilitator invited delegates from its twining cities to attend a four-day workshop in East London on youth development centres in a bid to learn how similar clubs operated in first world countries like Sweden.

Speaking about the workshop and the importance of youth development centres, the chairman of the Gavlë Athletic Club, Lars Söderberg, said it was good that the City was focusing on developing its youth.

"What we are doing here is sharing knowledge about how this concept has been done in our countries. But our ultimate goal is to start youth clubs in places like Mdantsane and Gompo," Söderberg said. Explaining the youth club concept, Söderberg said it consisted of different sporting codes, ranging from soccer and athletics to netball and other sports. "These clubs encourage the youth to engage in sport as a way of keeping positive about life and other things," he added.

Turning his attention to the viability of youth centres in Buffalo City, Söderberg said he was impressed with the City's team that had attended the workshop. "The teams that visited our country last year and the team that we met here all show that they are committed to the success of these centres."

Shaun Petzer, from the City's Special Programmes Unit, said that in Buffalo City these centres would be another way of encouraging youngsters to take up sport as a means to escape from crime and other social scourges.

"We think that a youth club situated within the Special Programmes Unit focal areas … within the multi-functional community support centres where people can go for leisure, education and health, will contribute to developmental and sustainable youth initiatives," Petzer said.

The unit was hoping to have the pilot project up and running as soon as possible. Following the workshop the foreign delegates visited the possible site for a youth development centre in Mdatsane in East London.