Heartlines discussion tackles youth day struggle in Newtown
NEWTOWN – Forty years since the class of 1976 took their fight against unjust apartheid laws to the streets of South Africa, Heartlines hosted a panel discussion with young people addressing the struggles faced by today's youth post-democracy.
The discussion took place under the theme of Turn up or Own up and questioned young South Africans on the relevance of commemorating Youth Day.
One of the panellists speaking at the event was Fasiha Hassan, Student Representative Council member at the University of the Witwatersrand, who affirmed the relevance of the day and what it stood for. “I think the day remains relevant and you see this through the various movements propagated by students, including the #FeesMustFall movement and other similar movements,” she said.
Despite this, Hassan raised the issue of the evident apathy many young South Africans displayed, adding that this begged the question whether the struggle started in 1976 remained the same. She also touched upon issues of race and the so-called rainbow nation, currently dominating public discourse, highlighting the need among young people to get involved and ask questions on the issues.
Adding to this was Nezo Sobekwa, a master’s student at the University of Johannesburg, who echoed Hassan’s sentiments, but also questioned the approach young people have to commemorate the day. “I feel the day still remains relevant as it addresses the social ills the class of 76 faced but as young people, we need to change our approach to how we celebrate the day and move from just using it as an excuse to have fun,” he stressed.
He also touched upon issues of de-colonisation, stressing the need for young African people to change how they perceive themselves and take pride in being African.
Other issues tackled in the discussion, which also included Quinton Morake and Jonathan Saint Bank, included substance abuse, the importance of education and the need for young people to take a united stand against the struggles being faced today.
“It would a disservice to pretend that what the class of 76 did was for nothing. There must be a change in our apathy as young people,” Hassan said.
Heartlines is a media non-governmental organisation focused on producing community campaigns aimed at promoting positive values. The organisation does this through producing films, articles, campaigns and panel discussions.
