Youth Day – It’s more than just another public holiday

It’s Youth Month and with Youth Day around the corner, People’s Assembly has decided to give you a breakdown on why this day, 16 June, is so important. We will be providing you with little snippets of information about “Youth” as the weeks go by. So, keep looking out for that!

Youth day is celebrated to commemorate the youth whose lives were taken in the Soweto uprising, which took place on 16 June 1976. The uprising was led by students who took it upon themselves to stand against the apartheid government who had passed a law that made teaching certain subjects in Afrikaans compulsory at schools. On this fateful day, thousands of black students held what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. Sadly, many of them (23 people according to the official government record and between 200 and 600 according to other sources) lost their lives that day, including 13-year-old Hector Pieterson. June 16th is now a public holiday held in remembrance of that event.

This uprising is not only an important point in South African history, but it is also a reminder that the youth have the means and the power to make a change. Young citizens are the future of a nation, and as such their involvement is key in the development of a successful and functional society.

The youth are so vital to the nation that the government has not only declared youth day a national holiday, but has declared June, Youth Month. Furthermore, this is a month when the government will be emphasizing its programmes for the youth, so young people should be on the lookout for jobs and opportunities.

The government’s willingness to involve young people in its activities was emphasised at the launch of this year’s Youth Month. At the launch, the Arts and Culture Minister, Mr Nathi Mthethwa, said that Youth Month was meant to educate the young about their history and to get them involved in government. Mr Mthethwa also said that young people should look at their history and “take up the fight” against today’s issues such as “apathy, unemployment and HIV/Aids”.

These statements are the beginning of the government’s programmes and incentives to get young people involved. Opportunities provided by the government can be found at South Africa Government Online.

By Camila Rodriguez, J.D. Candidate 2016