CC BY 4.0Chizwina, SabeloMashiyane, Dina2026-07-202026-07-202026-07-19https://2026.ifla.orghttps://repository.ifla.org/handle/20.500.14598/7176With the developments and introduction of various technological tools, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), the ability and skills to locate, access, and evaluate information for meeting various needs has become increasingly pertinent. However, in South Africa, many young people lack appropriate information literacy skills, which can restrict their capacity to meet daily information needs and make informed decisions. The focus of this study is the North-West University (NWU). This study was part of a Science Shop Project conducted at the NWU under the umbrella study titled “Re-imagining community education post COVID 19: Mobilizing unemployed youth as community assets to reduce the educational divide in a South African township. The NWU Library and Information Service (NWU LIS) participated as a collaborative stakeholder in the project as part of contributing to Goal 3: Integrate and align community engagement with teaching-learning and research to develop a culture of active citizenship of the university strategic plan, and also the aligned NWU LIS strategic priority of Engage and Position, which aims to promote the library as a changemaker in bridging social disparities within communities. It aimed to capacitate NEET youth at two community centres in information and digital literacy and then the youth were expected to be “Information Literacy” Ambassadors in their communities. This study aimed to explore the impact of an information and digital training programme specifically designed for NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) youth in the Khuma (Stilfontein) township of South Africa. Topics taught included fake news, searching for study and employment opportunities, climate change and misinformation. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach was implemented, using a focus group to gather data. The results showed that the information literacy (IL) intervention enhanced participants' awareness and understanding of searching skills and ethical considerations surrounding information, such as fake news, climate change, misinformation, and plagiarism. Academic libraries must collaborate with community organizations and public libraries to develop targeted interventions for this user groups. Keywords: information literacy, NEET, South Africa, fake news, climate changeenghttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Information literacyFake newsClimate changePublicationChizwina, SabeloMashiyane, Dina