MPA Community The Youth Cafe is a partnership between the Department of Social Development and RLabs that was established in Rocklands Mitchells Plain. The initiative is government-funded along with NGO, R-labs which is based on the Cape Flats. “The cafe is completely free. It will have training sessions where the youth can learn about business strategies and social entrepreneurship.” R-labs founder Marlon Parker said the cafe will also welcome experts from the Harvard Business School and UCT to teach some of the sessions. When young people arrive at the cafe, they will be given virtual credit to spend on all the resources in the cafe. They then earn credits by either presenting acts of community service to the cafe staff or by attending a training session. The four zones in the cafe include an “engine room” to enjoy refreshments and do homework, a “Techno Park”, featuring six computers and four laptops, a “playground” indoor room where students can brainstorm on artificial turf and an “innovation factory” for the teaching sessions. Since the café began developing its programme, it has already seen some of its former attendees come back to serve on the new staff. The cafe will also be one of the first cashless cafes where you can only purchase goods and services using your virtual currency, Zlato, that have to be earned by doing good in your community, attending personal development workshops etc. [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 13:19:10 +0000