“Things change. They always do, it’s one of the things of nature. Most people are afraid of change, but if you look at it as something that you can always count on, it can become a comfort.”
Youth Day occurred because vital change was needed in South Africa. It was the day when the youth spoke up for what they wanted. They were confident in what they were entitled to and so the Soweto uprising took place. It was a day of unity among the disadvantaged community in South Africa, because they knew that the Bantu-education system had to change. The result was not only the death of many people, but also the beginning of an era where South Africa knew that the youth had a voice that they were not afraid to use.
Today, in our schools, we teach Youth Day in our textbooks, but we don’t celebrate it. Some children will talk about it, but there is no actual involvement when it comes to celebrating this momentous day. We can’t acknowledge the youth for a day, we should do it every day so that it becomes a lifestyle, a lifestyle of knowing that you are empowered by your peers and that you can address issues that you don’t agree with.
Then we asked ourselves: What prevents us from speaking up and challenging the status quo? One of the reasons is the following: The world had progressed to become a very liberal society, where unpopular opinions are mistaken for discrimination and everyone has to “agree” on everything. However, the society that we make ourselves a victim of, prevents us from speaking up and changing things. Everyone is so scared of a “revolution”, but a well-planned and -executed revolution holds a promising outcome: change.
Youth Day did not write itself on the calendar. If it was not for Youth Day, many South Africans would not have been where they are today. They did not agree with what was going on and had the courage to seize the opportunity of making their voice heard. On radio – and news platform – we would love to hear the experience of someone who witnessed / participated in the Soweto uprising and survived it. We want to see the truth, the clear “sad”, “mad” and “glad” results that this day had. We can celebrate Youth Day by experiencing what our fellow South Africans had experienced: On 15 June (the day before the public holiday) schools can exchange their students to teach each other languages that they might not be well-versed in. We do not only maintain eye contact and tap into emotion, but we experience diversity and the significance of our history.
The basic need that we want to address is freedom. Instead of focusing on how we are restricted, we must focus on what we can extend as the youth. We want to provide a form of encouragement and hope, because the world is still progressing and we can either watch how the wheel turns, or we can jump in and make it go faster.
* These members of Paarl Junior Town Council were part of a Youth Day group discussion recently facilitated by Dr Johan Beukes from In Harmonie, on Youth Day and issues relating to today’s youth.
