16/06/2026
Today, on Youth Day, we remember the courage of the young people who stood up 50 years ago during the Soweto Uprising. Their bravery ignited a movement that reshaped our nation, sparked mass resistance to apartheid, and galvanised global condemnation of an unjust system.
Yet as we mark this milestone, we are confronted by an uncomfortable reality.
Our youth face a different crisis.
Not pass laws or segregated classrooms, but unemployment, exclusion, and the growing risk of being shut out of meaningful economic participation. Too many young South Africans are filled with potential, yet find doors closed, opportunities scarce, and hope tested daily.
One can only imagine how those who were young in 1976 must feel when they look at this reality. After all they sacrificed, after all they fought for, surely this cannot be the future they envisioned.
This year's Youth Day theme, "RESET@50 – The Future Calls", challenges us to respond differently.
It calls us to shift our gaze from the problems to the possibilities.
To look for every small opportunity, every spark of innovation, every act of mentorship, every new job created, every young entrepreneur supported, every skill developed, every dream encouraged. These may seem like tiny glimmering lights, but together they illuminate a path forward.
The future is not something that happens to us. It is something we build.
We cannot give up. We must stand up.
Now more than ever, each of us has a role to play in creating opportunities, opening doors, sharing knowledge, investing in potential, and believing in the next generation.
For our youth.
For our future.
And in whatever way God has given us the ability to serve, let us answer the call.
