The NYDA is an agency for youth development. It was established by law with the NYDA Act (54 of 2008). Its primary focus is to tackle challenges that youth face. The agency’s mandate covers youth development issues at national, local and provincial levels.

The Agency derives its mandate from the legislative frameworks, including the National Youth Development Agency Act, 2008 (Act 54 of 2008) (NYDA Act), the National Development Plan 2030, the National Youth Policy 2030 and the draft Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS).

The Agency assumed and improved the operational platform developed by the merger of the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund, which rendered the Agency operational with immediate effect. In addition, the staff component of its predecessors was also incorporated into the NYDA. The strategy of the NYDA can be summarized as follows:

• Economic development through youth entrepreneurship
• Decent employment through jobs program
• Social cohesion and pathway for economic emancipation through National Youth Service
• Monitoring and evaluation of the integrated youth development strategy 

The main aim is to make youth development part and parcel of what other line departments are delivering, to the point where organizational and individual performance agreements include youth development as a clear area of focus. The role is, therefore, to remove barriers to success and to assist with the development and delivery of critical success factors. Our role can broadly be described as to:

• Provide planning and decision-making information for projects.
• Coordinate key engagements.
• Facilitate critical discussions and to ease projects through conceptualization into design and ultimately implementation.
• Establish key partnerships with private sector organizations at national, provincial and local levels.
• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements of the liaison function.

The IYDS should be understood in the context of the policy and legislative frameworks that have been developed in the country and concerning the youth. This has been further informed by the IYDS process of development, one which has been characterized by research, synthesis, engagement, consultation and finally consolidation championed by the Presidency. In moving into implementation, it should be seen as a national strategy that encourages on-going engagement and participation by all partners: Public, Private and Civil Society. The success of the strategy lies in the collective efforts of key role players, working together to ensure an empowered and enabled youth in South Africa.

The NYDA activities could be summarised as follows:

a) Lobby and advocate for integration and mainstreaming of youth development in all spheres of government, private sector and civil society,

b) Initiate, implement, facilitate and coordinate youth development programmes,

c) Monitor and evaluate youth development interventions across-the-board and, mobilise youth for active participation in civil society engagements.