In March 2014; having identified that low levels of education and the resulting in unemployment, poverty and crime were (and still are) the biggest problems facing South Africa; the “Pride Factor” life-skills academy was established in order to teach young people “life and world-readiness skills”.
The mission was decided upon; Pride Factor would be dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of teenagers & young adults, from around the globe, regardless of their background, by providing the inspiration, guidance and mentorship required for successful careers and fulfilling lifestyles. It would, “Challenge the youth’s aspirations, broaden their horizons and then offer them inspiration, guidance and mentorship to the opportunities whereby they can live their ultimate lives.”
The Cape Town based father-and-son duo of Dene and Paul Botha immediately set-out their mission of “Inspiring Young Minds” by organising and hosting a weekend-long workshop for 22 young, success-driven students from surrounding high schools and universities. Pride Factor did months of research creating a cool, fun, interactive and exciting programme with modern and relevant content for the kids, sent out the invitations, secured a conference venue at the Protea Hotel in Sea Point, arranged for catering, décor, tables and seating, AV equipment and secured loads of sponsored prizes, gifts and awards from local supporters and sponsors. Adding to that they brought in a photographer, a videographer, invited the media and then requested the generous assistance of some well-recognised aspirational speakers/influencers to share their valuable insights and lessons with the young attendees.
The workshop was an incredible success and the feedback we received from the attendees, their parents, teachers and the speakers that joined us on that weekend would solidify Pride Factor’s positioning within the youth-skills-development realm.
Since that eye-opening weekend seven years ago, “Pride Factor” rebranded to “Empowered Youth” and opened-up offices in London, England. Since its conception, the life-skills academy has positively impacted the lives of nearly 60,000 youth, in 27 cities, seven countries, hosted +-135 live events, university tours, youth expos and leadership summits, and conducted training countless digital workshops and virtual experiences and more. Most importantly, through constant interaction and feedback from students, clients and educational facilities and partners, Empowered Youth maintains its “engagement satisfaction rating” at a whopping 92% indicating the high demand for this modern approach to education and empowerment.
Following the success-stories of the attendees from that humble event seven years ago has been absolutely amazing with most of them going on to do incredible things with their lives including one of them becoming international sports-star, several business owners, an author, two TV presenters, a music producer and graphic designer, a radio show host, a fitness-guru and even a teacher. A huge congratulations to all those who attended and every signal-one of the subsequent +-59,000 who have joined in workshops since.
For more information of how Empowered Youth can assist your kids, school, university, youth group, or skills-development organisation etc. please contact us on the information below.
A big thank you to all the original speakers who joined at the “Inspiring Young Minds” event back in 2014 including:
Dan Mace – World renowned YouTuber
Stu Shapiro – International entrepreneur, inventor and photographer
Tracy McGregor – Entrepreneur and international model
Marc Buhrer – Serial entrepreneur and philanthropist
Calvin Peterson – Serial entrepreneur
Monde Sithole – World adventure and philanthropist
Chanel Hurlin – International TV host and dancer based in Hollywood