The Chrysalis Academy was started in June 2000, as an initiative of the Western Cape Provincial Government.  The academy offers a social crime prevention and upliftment programme targeting "youth at risk" between the ages of 17 and 25 years old who have attained a minimum education level of Grade 9 (Standard 7), are presently unemployed and have no criminal record.

The result is a holistic and sustainable 5-year youth development program based on a 3-months empowerment training that focuses on the individual’s physical, psychological and spiritual development, which is still unique to our knowledge.  It is a preventative initiative, as opposed to a rehabilitation program.

The Academy is mainly funded as a non-profit organization by the Department of Community Safety and is governed by a Trust, which includes the following government portfolios: MEC for Community Safety(Chairperson), MEC Education, MEC Social Development, MEC Cultural Affairs & Sport, Provincial Commissioner South African Police Services (SAPS) and ArtsCape Director: Audience Development and Education.

First, the project only focused on young males aged 16 to 22 years, who were most at risk to get absorbed by gangs, but since 2002 also young females were admitted, and today, the age group is expanded to 25 years considering the deteriorating conditions of unemployed youth.

Since the project started, more than 5000 young people from the different communities, reflecting the demographics of the Western Cape Province, were trained to be empowered for the challenges of life.  As a result, the Academy has become one of the most successful youth development organisations in South Africa (see under Awards).