8th October 2002

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The University of Ulster is helping South Africa build up its fledgling youth and community network. Lecturers from the University hosted a study visit by three South African youth workers during which they saw youth projects in action in Northern Ireland.

Among the projects visited was one in west Belfast which is tackling the problem of joyriders, and another which helps to get 14-18 year-olds who have dropped out of school back into education.

Tony Morgan, a lecturer in adult and continuing education at the UU’s School of Sociology and Applied Social Studies, said: “We established links with South Africa around five years ago but it has taken until now for a formal programme, sponsored by the British Council, to be established.”

“We hope to set up a system in South Africa drawing on our experiences in Northern Ireland. In the longer term we will be encouraging some exchange of staff and perhaps students with universities in South Africa.”

One of the visiting team, Vasintha Veeran of the University of Natal, said she was impressed by the human and financial resources available to youth work in Northern Ireland. “Youth work is a well established profession in Northern Ireland but it is very much in its infancy in South Africa. We need similar resources and political backing to make it successful in South Africa.”

“We hope to draw up a report based on our experiences in Northern Ireland and use it as an example of the processes required to put together a community network project in South Africa”, she added.

Mr Morgan, who hopes to visit South Africa in January, said: “It is only when we see the situation in South Africa that we realise just how fortunate we are here. There people have to be much more resourceful because they do not have the same facilities or financial backing as we do in Northern Ireland. Youth work in South Africa may only be at the initial stages of development, but there is still much that we can learn from there in terms of actually getting things done.”

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk