On Friday, 9 November 2018, 105 young people pitched their solutions to one of our wicked problems, the inability of more than three-quarters of our youth to read with comprehension.  They presented ideas of how we as a nation can build a culture of reading. Minister Anroux Marais who was one of the judges hailed the event as “inspiring and rewarding.”

On 17th October 2017, the National School of Government awarded the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport and the Department of the Premier for Excellence in Youth Development Training. The award was in recognition of the MOD YearBeyond (YeBo) programme and was conferred at the Public Sector Trainers Forum (PSTF) Awards during the 19th PTSF conference.

Ten YearBeyond programme volunteers were awarded an all-expenses paid trip to Johannesburg after claiming the top spot at the programme’s Social Innovation Challenge on 28 October 2016.