Young people have a role to play in finding solutions to the problems we face as a nation. [Photo: Markus Spiske via Flickr, CC BY 2.0]
Being South African is said to be an extreme sport. For some, it might be a laid back lifestyle, but for far more it is a constant hustle to make ends meet. It is a constant struggle against the results of inept governance, it is a struggle for justice.
Commemorating 47 years since the Soweto uprising, reinvigorated conversations about where the nation stands are abuzz this Youth Month. Youth today speak of a myriad of challenges, ranging from unemployment, crime to a lack of opportunities and the grips of poverty.
But there is something that can be done to turn the tide. That is according to climate activist Otsile Nkadimeng, the leader of Fridays For Future (Gauteng). When he is not poring over his study notes for matric, he is advocating for climate justice and drilling the message that South African youth need to stand up, climate change being one of the foremost imminent dangers.
“Even though we are young people, even though I’m 18 and I’m still in high school, there is a contribution that we can bring to the table,” he said, in an interview on Salaamedia, “There is a dialogue that we can bring, a different perspective we can bring to the bigger solution-making table in our country around climate change.”
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Taking action
Nkadimeng said it all boiled down to the need for someone to take action. That responsibility, he suggested, was upon young people across the length and breadth of South Africa.
“If no one is taking the necessary actions on climate, who then must take the action? For me, because no one was willing to do anything, no one was willing to push the needle as far as it needed to be pushed, we needed to do that.”
A student at Jeppe High School for Boys in Johannesburg, Nkadimeng would often find students scrolling their lunch breaks away, but felt that time could be better spent. He said it was “irresponsible” to be aware of pressing issues and yet do nothing to solve them
“Everyone that’s enjoying life and enjoying their youth, it’s irresponsible for someone who knows about the climate crisis to not do anything. That’s why I was comfortable during break, having conference calls with friends in other parts of the country [and] trying to plan a coordinated climate strike,” he said.
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Interests
Getting involved in activism is a good step towards becoming the change we would like to see, but good intentions can quickly become hijacked by other interests. Nkadimeng cautioned youth to safeguard themselves against such a trap.
“We live in a country where everyone has an interest. Not necessarily everyone is good or evil, but everyone just has an interest and they are pedalling towards it. Young people have to break through all of that poisonous discourse and we have to be in the ‘how’ business.”
Instead of being pulled towards serving a particular interest while fighting for a cause, he said, youth needed to ask critical questions that helped them develop solutions.
“How do we get this done? How do we help the most affected people? How do we do this all, whilst responding to the justice component?” were some of the questions he said were necessary to ask.
