With half of young people in South Africa unemployed, finding ways to engage with the youth is of paramount importance among development practitioners. In two breakaway worksops panellists will discuss what social media platforms young people are engaging on, and will attempt to find appropriate ways to stay abreast with new developments to prepare young people for employment.
The stream on supporting enterprises revisits the concepts of social enterprise and enterprise development, which were popular at the 2012 conference. Panellists will examine what elements need to be in place to effectively support small businesses and assess whether CSI should be supporting small business incubators. In another workshop, speakers and delegates will discuss hybrid models of development delivery, combing non-profit and for-profit models.
According to research conducted in the 15th edition of The CSI Handbook, education is the biggest investment area, with a share of 93% of CSI expenditure.Innovation in education is needed to see learner outcomes improve, hence school-based solutions is one of the topics discussed at this year's conference. ICT in education has moved beyond computer labs, and a range of experts in ICT will discuss how new ICT developments can enhance teaching and what skills educators need to make the most of new tech and software. Delegates will also consider the role of low-cost private schools in the educational mix, and what role CSI can play in supporting them.
In the holistic community development stream the role of community trusts will be explored - why do companies choose to set up community trusts and what factors constrain or enhance the effectiveness of these trusts? In the second workshop, development experts will discuss how to identify and build on community assets in order to ensure sustainable CSI interventions.
In the project metrics sessions we discuss how CSI departments and NGOs monitor and evaluate their projects, both internally and externally, in order to understand and improve their perfomance.
The Making CSI Matter 2013 conference aims to improve development practice through encouraging ongoing learning and collaboration, As Trevor Manuel said when handing over the National Development Plan in Parliament in late 2012: "Development is a complex process. When we unite and work together, we can achieve miracles. Our history is testament to this."
