YES was established in 2001 by participants on the Washington Ireland Program including Chris Johnston, Ryan Moffett, Sarah Quinlan and Andrea Erskine and was based on Teamwork for Tomorrow, a similar scheme run by students at Notre Dame University, United States.
It held that youth mentoring can provide young people with positive role models, support and encouragement, and is thus the most effective way of helping them reach their fullest potential as citizens and productive members of society.
To contribute to the creation of a tolerant, pluralist society in Belfast, free from racism, sectarianism and anti-Semitism, YES ran weekly workshops that explained and celebrated the diversity of cultures in the city.
In 2005 a project entitled 'Gaining Voice' culminated in the release of a short film written and produced by the young participants in the Scheme.
Mirroring the format of the party political broadcasts that were airing on local television that spring, it highlighted issues of concern to young people, such as peer pressure, bullying and racism.