The Programme Director
The CEO of Brand South Africa Mr Miller Matola
Africa Director of One Young World Ms Catherine Peter
National President of Junior Chamber International Ms Lucia Motloung
Representatives of Life College, UNDP, BUSA, ASHOKA and Enablis
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is indeed an honour and a privilege for me to address you at this important gathering, aiming to further your theme – ‘Active Citizenship Through Social Cohesion’.
It is almost a century ago when Henry Giessenbier, Jr. decided to take responsibility for the progress and welfare of his community by helping tackle difficult problems around him. Together with 32 other young men, Giessenbier established the Young Men's Progressive Civic Association (YMPCA), Junior Chamber International (JCI)’s first Local Organisation, in St. Louis, USA in 1915.
Members of the first Local Organisation dedicated themselves to bringing about community improvements and giving young people a constructive approach to civic problems. By 1944, the movement had spread through people aged between 18-40 years of age who share the belief in community development to create a better future for all.
JCI becomes a partner of the South African society for having established its structure in the country in order to live Hernry’s dream. He was a true visionary who has made us to believe in ourselves.
South Africa (SA) is celebrating the annual youth month with full recognition that the youth are at the forefront of calls for economic freedom, in their life-time. The yell comes on the backdrop of triple challenges of high unemployment, inequality and hunger that also affect the youth. The Statistic South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the third Q of 2010 states that about 42% of young people under the age of 30 in SA are unemployed compared with less than 17% of adults. Youth are continuously faced with diverse, historical and multi-faced challenges.
We are also deeply concerned about the rise in unemployment and underemployment in Africa, particularly among the youth and the serious threat they pose to social cohesion, political stability and the future socio economic development prospects in our various countries.
According to African Youth Report of 2012, trends in the African youth population will generally remain higher than in other world regions by 2025, and this youth bulge needs new strategies, new investments on youth, new ways of looking at the matter and finally it needs innovative response by the African Leadership.
The large youth population in Africa should be seen as an asset and not a liability for the continent’s development if appropriate human capital investment measures are taken.
While levels of education and the rate of economic growth and development are important variables in determining the levels of employment, it is more important for the government to create and promote an environment for rapid skills development and enhance youth participation in matters that affect the young people of our country.
All of these make an important statement to all role-player, including government and the private sector to heed the call for ‘a better life for all’, if we have to reverse effects of inter-generational poverty and deprivation of some sectors of our society.
When JCI delegates from various countries met in Mexico City at the Inter Conference, they agreed it was time to officially form deep-rooted tradition of bringing together active citizens from diverse backgrounds. On this note I wish that JCI should continue to strive to bring the dream to past.
In four days, on Saturday June 16, the anniversary of the Soweto uprisings will be celebrated as Youth Day. Thirty-six years ago, students in Soweto rioted in protest against the introduction of Afrikaans as the language of instruction. The iconic picture of Hector Peterson, a black schoolchild shot by police during a peaceful process march, brought home the brutalities of the Apartheid regime to many people in South Africa and the rest of the world. In the weeks that followed over 700 people - mostly youth - were killed. The Soweto Uprising by youth galvanised the liberation movements and set in motion a series of transformations that ultimately led to the demise of apartheid.
Today Youth Day serves to remind South Africa of the importance of its youth and brings across the message that something like the Soweto Riots should never happen again.
June 16 reaffirms the role of youth for progressive change in society.
However, just as the youth in 1976 faced the demon called apartheid, the youth of 2012 are bedevilled with various social ills, with unemployment being the chief problem.
More than 50% of youth in South Africa – millions upon millions of them - are unemployed. In addition to being insecure, these youth are less likely than the older generation to find employment. This negatively affects their socio-economic status, which often remains unchanged.
The challenges of youth economic participation are centred on finding and keeping quality employment that will help to improve the individual’s socio-economic circumstances. There have been several government and private sector initiatives such as learnerships to ensure participation of young people in the mainstream economy. However, given the state of the global economy, these have not met with any great measure of success.
Eighteen years since the attainment of democracy, the need to significantly alter economic relations is looming larger as the course of transformation enters a new trajectory. This means, amongst others, we must do more and better in creating jobs, eliminating poverty and inequalities, developing skills and redistributing national income and wealth for all. Struggles on the economic terrain are going to dominate the consolidation of our democracy going forward.
Our youth must continue to play the role of a motor-force for progressive change consistently with the spirit of June 16. Whereas in the past the protest was against the unjust, oppressive and racist system, today the protest must be peaceful and aimed at building a cohesive nation through active citizenship.
The term “nation building” is usually used to refer to a constructive process of engaging all citizens in building social cohesion, economic prosperity and political stability in an inclusive and democratic way.
It is important to note that the priceless resource of any country is its human resource. There is no other resource that matches the human being, because mankind is the foundation or the corner stone of any development and civilisation.
Young people are social actors of change and as the saying goes "youth are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but also the partners of today”.
Economic participation is an essential national process, which engages citizens to contribute productively in an effort to eradicate poverty. This process is therefore equally important in the holistic development of the youth. The challenge is to enable the youth to contribute as productive citizens by shaping their talents and creative energies, equipping them with appropriate skills, and removing the barriers that may constrain their participation in the labour market.
Social cohesion, whereby individuals or groups are included to participate fully in the society in which they live, allows young people to participate and engage in activities that build their social capital and networks and strengthen the relations that bind people together.
These interactions with others strengthen young people’s identity, build their self-esteem, develop a sense of belonging, close intergenerational gaps and contribute to building a better life for all. This connectedness fosters a sense of belonging that will propel young people to reach their personal goals and develop their full capacity.
In essence, social cohesion helps young people to become aware of themselves, their rights and responsibilities. Secondly, social cohesion has to do with nurturing a shared value system based on the tenets of our Constitution that speaks to respect and dignity for self and others.
Young people who become actively engaged in social cohesion activities such as community service, civic participation and volunteering, are less likely to engage in risky or self-destructive behaviour, because these activities inculcate a clear sense of purpose and a desire for them to reach their set goals.
Another critical challenge facing the youth is the declining level of their participation in civil-society processes, which affects their lives and development. While youth organisations had been the most vocal component of society on oppressive government policies in the past, there has been a marked decline in the participation of youth in civil-society activities.
Social cohesion efforts must not only target the poor and the unemployed. All South African youth – black and white, rural and urban, educated and uneducated – should participate in activities that keep society together and advance the well-being of fellow citizens.
Youth month is a significant time for reflection on youth development, including progress made in the development of young people. The youth of today have their own challenges to face, and many achievements to celebrate. Our youth are and will remain a powerful force in shaping the future and the progress of South Africa.
As we continue to celebrate the youth of 1976, and celebrate all of those who continue to Play Their Part today, we ask our youth of today to find inspiring ways to meet the challenges they face head-on. We encourage them to Play Their Part in shaping our future towards vision 2030.
The youth of South Africa have recognised that they also have to provide leadership in dealing with their own challenges, but that they have to do this with a reasonable level of discipline and respect for their assets and heritage.
At the centre of youth development lies the future of the world. The world belongs to today’s young people and must invest in their education & economic participation through innovative skills development programmes, increase of local capacity through enterprise development and support in order to generate employment, and harness participation in policy making to develop a requisite genre of leaders.
The world must continue to build and efficiently utilise capacity to respond to the Millennium Development Goals. The SA government has a responsibility to deliver on twelve outcomes and five priorities, also aimed at a better life for all.
I thank you.
