It is 43 years since Soweto school children marched for the right to be taught in the language of their choice and were brutally attacked by the apartheid government, spawning protests nationwide that ushered in a new era of resistance.
But young people today want Youth Day to go beyond history, to acknowledge their current reality and the struggles they face.
A group of youth leaders at our nonprofit organisation, Activate Change Drivers, believe that Youth Day on June 16 must not only include conversations that acknowledge that struggle and those who died so they could be “born frees” in a democratic South Africa, but must also confront current problems and needs that translate into meaningful action to empower their futures……more