Youth Lab was created by a group of young people—professionals and students—to be a connector. We aim to be a bridge for South Africa’s youth to be able to mould their futures. In the same way that a bridge, for all its strength, is a passive connector, Youth Lab will be a non-partisan connector between young South Africans and the policies that shape their lives. The focus of Youth Lab’s approach is empowerment. Youth Lab aims to create spaces for young people to significantly increase their understanding and engagement on policy and socio-economic issues that directly affect them, with the objective of increasing the youth’s voice and participation, and the nation’s consideration of youth efforts, in policy definition and implementation. Youth Lab, a registered non-profit company (NPC), aims to achieve the following: - Creating a platform for young people to have open discussions with political parties, policy-makers and other people of influence; - Educating young people on key issues of policy, society and economics in South Africa to empower them to become active citizens; - Providing a platform for other stakeholders to have access to an accurate point of view on the youth perspective, directly from the youth. Through: - Facilitating discussion and lectures through face-to-face and digital events, forums, and discussion papers; - Providing a single access point to youth thought-leadership, ideas, analysis and critiques; - Developing policy and informing policymakers about youth position on key issues. - Youth Lab's long-term vision is to be part of the group of organisations consulted by government, business, civil society and other organisations on the stances of young South Africans on socio-political issues.