SABC, stakeholders commemorate Youth Month

The SABC has partnered with the National Youth Commission and the University of Johannesburg in commemorating National Youth Day on Monday, 16 June 2008, which this year marks the 32nd anniversary of the Soweto Uprising of 1976 and 14 years of democracy.

“As the public service broadcaster we stand by one of our values, that of restoring human dignity, and improving the lives of our citizens, especially our youth, as we join the country in celebrating Youth Month. This is indicative in a number of projects and educational programmes on our platforms such as SABC1 Rize Mzansi an entrepreneurial reality programme and Take 5 to name a few,” said SABC GCEO Dali Mpofu.

“Under the banner of our Green Revolution Campaign, we further offer education and employment opportunities within the public service broadcaster and assist to drive initiatives of national importance such as the ID Yourself Campaign with the Department of Home Affairs. It is important never to forget as institutions and as individuals the power youth have to change and revolutionise a country and even the world,” he added.

The national theme this year for youth month is ‘Entrenching our Democracy: All Youths to the Polls', and the main commemoration will be held at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town. This is the theme that will be carried out by all government departments, and in all provinces. The theme for the event with the University of Johannesburg's Soweto Campus is ‘Soweto Rising'.

Special call

“This year, a special call is being made to all the youth of our country to actively participate in further entrenching democracy, social cohesion and the values enshrined in our Constitution, as well as to push the boundaries of the progress achieved in the 14 years of democracy. Let us use the democratic platforms to raise our concerns; let us reduce the level of crime and stop acts that undermine the rule of law by displaying respect for these institutions. South Africa truly belongs to all who live in it,” said National Youth Commission chairperson Nomi Nkondlo.

Professor Ihron Rensburg, VC of the University of Johannesburg, concluded, “The University of Johannesburg's vision is to become an embracing African city university that responds to the development challenges of our country and the continent. To this end, we regard the education and development of our youth as a key step to realising the goal of transforming Africa into a vibrant social and economic community. This vision has inspired our current project to develop the Soweto campus into a world class facility, as a tribute to the heroic struggles for a humanising education that was ignited by the youth of Soweto.”