Every year, South Africa commemorates Youth Day in memory of the brave young people who led the 1976 Soweto Uprising. But beyond the commemorations lies an urgent question: what does it mean to be a young person in today’s South Africa, and how do we capitalise on the radical, political power of today’s youth, which resembles that of the youth of 1976, from the #RhodesMustFall Movement to the #FeesMustFall Movement and the everyday struggles for access to tertiary education and meaningful economic participation?

Despite making up the majority of the population, young people remain largely excluded from meaningful participation in policy and decision-making processes. In South Africa, youth are defined as individuals between the ages of 14–35 years. However, in the South African National Assembly, the number of young parliamentarians under the age of 34 is only 33, representing just 8.5%[i]. There is also little representation of youth in the National Council of Provinces, with only Miss Naledi Nokukhanya Chirwa-Mpungose being under the age of 34 years[ii]. While those young parliamentarians who are present are said to be “vibrant and well-prepared,” as noted in an interview with Cedric Frolick just before Youth Day[iii], their presence has yet to shift the deeper dynamics of exclusion and transform institutional cultures resistant to youthful energy and ideasi.

This exclusion has real consequences. It contributes to the growing disillusionment with democratic processes, as evidenced by low youth voter turnout[iv]. Many young people do not see themselves or their concerns reflected in politics due to the minimal representation. Young people are not disinterested, they are alienated. Political institutions often fail to speak the language of young people, both literally and culturally. Yet, young people are not waiting for permission to engage. They are creating their own tables, crafting new modes of political expression, and mobilising in ways that reflect their realities. On platforms like TikTok, content creators like Amahle Jaxx are breaking down complex policies into accessible content, translating politics into social media language that resonates with Gen Z. These are not just digital trends, they are political acts, rooted in a desire to be heard, understood, and taken seriously.

Youth-led initiatives like the P20 Youth Parliament sitting and the Watch Party held in Parliament during the Youth Day Debate are also reshaping civic engagement. A webinar hosted by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation on the Day of the African Child: Being Young in Africa Today and Co-Creating Solutions also demonstrated that African youth face more or less the same issues. This webinar echoed the need for improved access for the African youth and the importance of utilising youth activism that stems from history. These spaces allow young people to echo their frustrations, propose alternatives, and co-create solutions. They are evidence of a generation that is not disengaged, but rather ready and deserving to be at the centre of transformation.

But meaningful inclusion is not just about having a seat at the table, it’s about power. A question was raised at the P20 Youth Parliament sitting, asking are young people truly involved in meaningful ways, or are they simply a chorus of voices without influence?[v] Youth Day must go beyond the commemoration and be reclaimed as a day of political action that transcends Youth Month. Like the youth of 1976, today’s young people are confronting a system that continues to marginalise them especially in education and economic participation. Promises of free education, employment, and democratic participation have often been dangled as privileges rather than honoured as rights.

To be young in South Africa today is to constantly navigate contradiction. To celebrate rare opportunities, while mourning how many of your peers are left behind. To be told the future is yours, while being shut out of the decisions shaping that future. To be conditioned on being appreciative of the bare minimum because your peers do not have the same opportunities. To be told to catch up with the global tech-driven world, while still grappling with unresolved systemic issues and the disparities in access to resources between rural and urban youth needed to thrive in the tech space. As we commemorate the struggles of the youth of 1976 while engaging with the challenges faced by the youth of 2025, it is essential that young people are given the space to make meaningful and sustainable contributions to our future. If memory has taught us anything, it is that continued injustice against today’s youth is a disservice to the legacy of the youth of 1976.

As we look to the upcoming National Dialogue, and the G20, we must ask are young South Africans prepared to not only compete globally, but to shape the country we live in? It is time for youth policies that are not just symbolic, but implemented with urgency, intention, and accountability. And most importantly, it is time to move beyond tokenism to invest in young people not only as future leaders, but as present agents of change.

This Youth Month, let us honour the past by fighting for a future where we as young people do not have to beg for the dignity that history promised us.

By Asemahle Tshoni

References

[i] PMG. 2025. Youth In Parliament 2025. Available: https://pmg.org.za/blog/Youth%20In%20Parliament%202025

[ii] Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Members of Parliament. Available: https://www.parliament.gov.za/group-details?chamber=3

[iii] Newsroom. 2025. P20 Youth Parliament sitting ahead of Youth Day. [Video file]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5_86dZcnuk.

[iv] Hoffmeester, D. 2025. Youth and Democracy in South Africa: Disillusioned

but Engaged. Institute for Justice and Reconciliation.

[v] Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. 2025. P20 Youth Parliament. [Video file]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/live/9sEGnYEgM_Q?si=7eOUBLJzPhNTJ0up