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The results of the Zero Project Survey 2016–2017 consisting of 21 questions with a particular focus this year on employment and vocational and educational training are presented. After five years of Social Indicator research, for the first time data trends are published as well as comparisons between world regions. The Social Indicators section also includes analysis of data availability on youth employment with regards to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, and of the “data gap” of persons with disabilities living in institutions. 56 Innovative Practices have been selected, and 13 common solutions and “threads” have been identified.  11 Innovative Policies have been selected, and 13 ways to create a significant impact have been identified.

Winterveldt was one of the 9 sites included in a national study to determine the livelihood strategies of youth with disabilities, undertaken by the Occupational Therapy Departments of 6 Universities in South Africa. Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes were initiated in Winterveldt in the 1990s by non-governmental organisations and the Occupational Therapy Department at the University of Limpopo - Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA).

Purpose: This paper describes the use of a Transect Walk to identify aspects of context that contribute to the vulnerability of youth with disabilities with regard to their livelihood strategies.

Method: Transect Walk was employed as a participatory rapid-appraisal tool to gather data. Convenience sampling was used to identify 11 participants, including three youth with disabilities. Field notes and observations were analysed deductively for themes related to the 5 categories of livelihood assets.

Results: The findings describe the natural and built environment, the access to health, educational and financial services, and the social attitudes of people in this community towards youth with disabilities. The discussion uses the 5 CBR components as a framework to explore strategies for enhancing the assets of youth with disabilities, namely, empowerment, social, health, education, and livelihood.

Conclusions: There is significant development that could be maximised if youth with disabilities were aware of their rights and were able to access services and resources. The implication for local government is to create an inclusive environment in which youth with disabilities are able to participate in mainstream youth development opportunities.

Students with profound intellectual disabilities disorders (IDDs) have the right to participate in educational opportunities that recognize their unique resources and needs, as do all children. Because of their specific communication challenges, positive relationships with attentive communication partners are critical for success. In fact, the power of positive relationships in schools is recognized to be connected to student well-being more broadly. This article examines the case of one young man with profound IDD and his relationship with his music therapist using a duo-ethnographic informed paradigmatic case study. Video analysis based on multi-voice perspectives is used to generate hermeneutic phenome- nological findings to closely examine the relationship between a young man with profound IDD and a music therapist. The voices of four allied health researchers were also gathered to inform the authors’ construction of an informed commentary on the phenomenon. The results suggest that the essence lay in a combination of attentive, responsive and creative being with the other person over time. Four principles of musical engagement were identified in the video footage as critical to the meaningful relationships through music: the music therapist listens; the music therapist takes responsibility for structure; spontaneous initiation is sought from the young person; and the relationship is built over time. These concepts are contextualized within a discussion of student well-being that is underpinned by positive relationships and leads to students achieving their full potential within diverse school contexts.