Yanelisa Bokveld
Nominee's Province:
Eastern Cape
Project Name/Description:
Education Advocate and Social Changemaker
Growing up, Bokveld got to see the transformative power of quality education as it broke cycles of poverty and inequality. This was an inspiration for her – she sought to continue and light the torch left behind by those who came before her.
In 2021, she founded YB Foundation, a non-profit organisation that’s focused on empowering and uplifting children, young people and under-resourced communities. Her tool – beauty of education. Bokveld is largely driven by the unwavering belief that education is the key to unlocking the full potential of every individual. Her organisation’s mission is to use education as a transformative tool to drive social change and promote social justice. To achieve this, the organisation implements various initiatives like Education Unlocked, Project Ubuntu, EmpowHer and Bright Young Minds, among others.
Bokveld says there is nothing that beats collaboration, hence her continued emphasis on working closely with communities, partners and stakeholders. Based on this, she spent a year in Japan, serving as a South African Cultural Ambassador through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. During this time, she gained invaluable insights into global education systems,
particularly from a first-world perspective. These insights have been instrumental in informing her approach to education in Africa, inspiring her to pursue advanced studies in this field.
Currently, Bokveld is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Education, specialising in Curriculum Design and Instruction. Her goal is to leverage her academic expertise, along with her extensive experience in civic leadership, to help shape education at the grassroots level.
Some of her guiding quotes are by the late Cheslie Kryst: “The possibilities of our future are limited only by the depth of our own imagination.” And the legendary Tata Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
