Yolanda Sankobe

Yolanda Sankobe was born in the arts capital of South Africa, Grahamstown but grew up in multiple cities. She graduated from the Tshwane University of Technology in 2017 with a BTech degree in Drama, majoring in Scriptwriting and Directing. She is passionate about purposeful art, particularly ‘protest’/political art that exposes and eradicates socio-economic inequities. She hopes to pursue further studies in the social sciences to help her audio-visual (theatre and film) work reach a wider audience.

Partner: Synergos Institute South Africa

Policy Brief: Creating Life Chances

Final Report: Fostering Psychosocial Well-Being in Socioeconomically Disenfranchised Young People

South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries globally with more than half of its population living below the poverty line. This has resulted in negative and long-lasting effects on the psyche and well-being of its people, especially youth. This study aims to 1) establish how socioeconomic disenfranchisement affects the psyche of young people, 2) investigate if and how traits such as resilience and psychosocial well-being may counter/diminish the negative impacts of socioeconomic disenfranchisement on the psyche of young people and 3) explore how art may be used to foster these traits that may potentially lead to young people closing the inequality gap. The primary recommendation is that the National Youth Development Agency should fund more art therapy programmes and partner with NGOs to train community leaders to deliver them.

Key terms: youth, employment, poverty, socioeconomic disenfranchisement, resilience, psychosocial well-being, trauma, South Africa, drama, art therapy

Community Engagement Initiative: Pankop Mathanjana Art Day 
Yolanda hosted a full-day arts festival for youth in partnership with SOS Children’s Village Mathajana. Watch the video below which documents the day, along with testimonials from drama therapists and social workers.