The JA Project

11/09/2026

🌍 Exciting news!

We're proud to announce that The JA! Project has been selected as one of the 53 organisations joining the 2026 Creativity Pioneers Fund Cohort!
This means we'll be joining a global community of creative and cultural organisations from 28 countries using creativity as a force for positive social change.

Every day, we're inspired by the young people we work with. Young people who are passionate about creating healthier communities, standing up for causes they believe in and proving that they have the power to make a difference today.

Being recognised as a Creativity Pioneer is an exciting milestone that strengthens our mission and opens the door to new opportunities for learning, collaboration and impact.

A huge thank you to the Creativity Pioneers Fund and the Moleskine Foundation for believing in our work.

This is only the beginning, and we can't wait to share what comes next.
Find out more:
https://creativitypioneersfund.org

30/08/2026

Our mission is simple, but ambitious:
To create meaningful pathways for young people to understand the issues affecting their lives, find and use their voices, build their capacity to advocate, and lead action that influences their schools, households, communities and the policies that shape their world.

Through relevant, creative and participatory programmes, The JA! Project equips and connects young people to challenge social, health, environmental and developmental injustices, contribute to solutions, and participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect them.

We do not simply advocate for young people. We create the conditions, platforms and opportunities for young people to advocate for themselves and alongside others.

Because young people are not only the future.
They are the present. Young Voices. Real Change.

28/08/2026

The JA! Project — Junior Advocacy Project is a South African non-profit organisation committed to creating meaningful platforms through which young people can understand, engage with and influence the social, health, environmental and developmental issues affecting their lives.

Our central belief is simple: Young people are not only the future. They are the present.

Young people should therefore not merely be recipients of programmes designed by adults. They should have meaningful opportunities to participate in identifying challenges, developing responses, communicating solutions and influencing the systems and decisions that affect them.

Our work is grounded in the principle: Nothing about us, without us.
The JA! Project works through a model that seeks to translate youth participation into progressively wider social impact:

School → Household → Community → Policy

Through school programmes, campaigns, youth platforms, advocacy initiatives, community engagement, mentorship, strategic partnerships and policy dialogue, The JA! Project seeks to equip young people to become informed and active participants in creating healthier, safer and more equitable communities.

19/08/2026

There are communities where the challenges facing young people cannot be separated from what happens outside the school gates.

Over the past few days, Johannesburg has again been confronted by the devastating realities of gangsterism and gun violence in communities such as Westbury and Reiger Park.

And yesterday morning, The JA! Project stepped into one of the communities where young people live with many of these realities every day.

Close to 2,000 learners filled the assembly at Noordgesig Secondary School as we continued building a movement that places young people at the centre of the issues affecting their schools, homes and communities.

Yesterday, we also welcomed Noordgesig Secondary into our Big To***co campaign.

Through dance, creativity, conversation and youth-led advocacy, learners will challenge the to***co and ni****ne industry and develop messages that speak to their own peers, schools and communities.

But our work has never been about one issue alone.

Gangsterism. Violence. GBV. Substance abuse. To***co and va**ng. Environmental injustice. Mental health. Unemployment.

These issues intersect in the lives of young South Africans.

That is why we keep showing up.

School → Household → Community → Policy.

We believe young people must be equipped not simply to survive the environments around them, but to understand them, speak about them and help change them.

The youth are not the future. They are the present.

And The JA! Project will continue to stand alongside them.

Siya phambili.

17/08/2026

FINAL BOSS: INDUSTRY POWER 👾
We’ve unpacked the traps.
The algorithms.
The branding.
The misleading messages.
But behind it all is the real boss: industry power.
Big To***co spends big, targets young people, protects profits and fights to keep the game in its favour. That’s why is about more than awareness — it’s about exposing the system, changing the rules and protecting this generation.
🎮 Know the facts
🗣️ Speak up
🤝 Support each other
✊ Take action
Game Over for Big To***co.
We play for our future.
***coControl

07/08/2026

27/07/2026

Game Over, Big To***co. 🚭

This morning, we were at Nurul Islam Hall with the learners of Trinity Secondary School for anti-va**ng workshop.

Joined by Nishtara Alcohol and Drug Centre, the Gauteng Department of Health, and the Gauteng Department of Education, we created a space for honest conversations, challenged the myths around va**ng, and empowered young people to recognise the tactics behind the industry.

Knowledge is power. And today's learners proved they're ready to speak up for healthier futures. 💙

🔎 Unmask the appeal.
⚠️ Resist the tactics.
🛡️ Protect the future.

🎮 The game is ours.

***co

24/07/2026

JA! Crew team training💪💛

More to come.....

15/07/2026