What is YEP?

The Youth Enrichment Programme has been specifically developed to respond to this need, in a way which complements the schools curriculum. YEP is designed to promote knowledge and understanding relevant to life in a multicultural society, and to empower the youth morally, socially and intellectually. The basic principle behind the programme is an integrated and holistic approach to the development of virtues, and social and intellectual skills. Based on this principle, the programme uses questions, problem scenarios, case studies, and hypothetical situations which place the moral and intellectual problems within their social context. Youth are then encouraged to answer the questions and put themselves in the situations described. Using this method, the youth are given the opportunity to exercise moral, social, and intellectual skills in the safe environment of small groups, and gradually develop the cognitive and affective skills needed for a healthy lifestyle.

The YEP curriculum consists of 39 themes, or modules, that address the core problems of the society in general and the youth in particular. Some of the issues addressed are AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse, peer pressure, democracy, environmental concern, gender issues, multiculturalism, honesty, and self-discipline. The programme comes in a package that includes the facilitator's guide, a textbook (the manual), glossary, and evaluation forms. The programme has been developed in such a way that the role and the workload of the teacher be minimised, as she or he will use the readymade lessons to facilitate the sessions. In fact, the sessions may be run by the youth themselves after a few supervised lessons.