Youth Month 2020

This year marks 44 years since the Soweto Uprising on 16 June 1976 when school kids lost their lives fighting against the system of the apartheid government/regime. 

This year, youth month was officially launched by the Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane together with the Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa on Monday, 1 June 2020.

Young people have power beyond measure to fight for free education, lead campaigns that address social issues and aim to remove prejudice and make societies fairer and safer as well. 

The 2020 Youth Month will be commemorated under the theme: “Youth Power: Growing South Africa together in the period of Covid-19”. The theme is a rallying call for youth to play their part in curbing the spread of Coronavirus.

For the first time in 26 years of democracy, South Africa will commemorate the 2020 Youth Month with restrictions, as the country and the world battle the global outbreak of Covid-19. All activities taking place during this month will take place virtually via various platforms such as social media, web-based seminars (webinars), online, TV and radio.

Over the month of June, the following activities will take place:

• The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) is currently running a Youth Month competition from 25 May to 30 June. The weekly prizes to be won include among others: data, routers, tablets, etc.

• The NYDA leads the Biz Alive Campaign which calls for young entrepreneurs to submit information about their businesses to be marketed on the platforms of the Agency. The campaign kicked-off Tuesday, 02 June.

• On 14 June, the NYDA will also host the National Youth Service Day to showcase programmes and works that has been undertaken by 13 National Youth Service Programmes of several departments.

• The NYDA will on Monday, 15 June host a nationwide webinar on the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund to outline the progress and to showcase the beneficiaries of the fund.

• The South African State Theatre will stage a drama called, “The Fall” from 15 June – 05 July 2020. This frank collaborative work is based on #RhodesMustFall, #FeesMustFall and subsequent student movements’ demonstrations in 2015 and 2016. The Fall will add its voice to the national and worldwide debate and youth-led revolutions against injustices, inequality in education, cultural representation and many other contemporary conflicts.
  Please click on the following link to subscribe to The South African State Theatre YouTube channel. This will assist you to get alerts when they load the performances on the channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSouthAfricanStateTheatre
  #SASTOnlineTheatre

• Mpumalanga Provincial Department of Government will host the provincial youth day on 15 June 2020 as a buildup event to the National Youth Day. This will be a virtual commemoration followed by the cultural programme.

• The virtual Commemoration for the National Youth Day on 16 June 2020 @10h00 will take the form of a dialogue with young people, led by the President of the Republic of South Africa, HE Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa.

• The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture will host an online art exhibition showcasing the suffering and traumatic experiences of the youth during the South African War. The exhibition takes place from 17 June – 30 June 2020.

• The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities will host a webinar on menstrual health management to look at how young women are affected by the pandemic. Supply lines for sanitary products distributed via schools was disrupted as a result of the lockdown. This webinar will look into how government is responding to this, as well as other challenges facing young women when it comes to managing their menstrual cycle with dignity. (Date: TBC)