The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is proud to announce the appointment of Mr Tsholofelo Koopedi as the Managing Director of the newly established Youth Development Institute of South Africa, a collaborative partnership between the University of Johannesburg and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), aimed to encourage youth to empower themselves with entrepreneurial skills.
“The UJ-NYDA Institute is the provider of cutting edge research and programmes for youth empowerment in South Africa. Our mission is to inform, shape and develop youth empowerment policies and programmes through research, advocacy and collaboration,” says Mr Koopedi.
Prior to his current employment he was tasked with establishing the Citizen Relations Directorate at the City of Ekurhuleni between 2013 and 2015. He previously led the establishment and institutionalization Youth Unit – as the Director – at the City of Ekurhuleni between 2009 and 2013; he remains passionate about mainstreaming youth development in all sectors of society, in particular local government.
Mr Koopedi worked briefly for the Local Government Sector Education Training Authority (LGSETA) as a Learnership Officer, where he was responsible for skills development in the local government sector. He also consulted with Arcus Gibb as an Institutional and Social Development & Training Specialist. Prior to that he was a project administrator & assistant facilitator for the Centre for Municipal Development (CMD) at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT – Pretoria Campus), he was also appointed as a part-time Junior Lecture in the Department of Public Management. He has also a Founding Member of Water Cycle Management Projects which specialized in water demand management and revenue enhancement.
He holds a number of professional certificates from the Wits School of Governance ranging from; Programme and Project Management to Government Communication and Marketing. He also has a Masters in Public and Development Management from Wits University and has recently (2015) completed the Masters in Business Leadership, of which he is awaiting results from UNISA School of Business Leadership.
Mr Koopedi is a firm believer in addressing societal challenges through a people-centered, community-driven and developmental approach. “Our contribution is not only aimed at the public sector, as a result we will also assist Corporate South Africa; through relevant and credible research outcome; to distribute their funds in a more meaningful and impactful way that will advance and mainstream youth development,” concluded Koopedi.
The Institute will officially be launched as the Youth Development Institute of South Africa (YDISA) on Thursday, 10 March 2016 at the University of Johannesburg.
