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As South Africa marks the closing of the 2016 Youth Month Programme which has been celebrated under the theme: “Youth Moving South Africa Forward”, government wishes to thank young people for their active involvement in various outreach activities and dialogues hosted during the month.

Acting Director-General of GCIS, Donald Liphoko said: “The role of young people is essential to address the socio-economic and developmental issues that they are faced with. We, therefore, applaud their contribution and participation at the activities of the 2016 Youth Month programme. The commemoration of both Youth Month and Youth Day provided us with an opportunity to take stock of the strides we have made and a reminder of the challenges that still lie ahead”.

This year’s National Youth Day event was observed as the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the June 16, 1976 student uprising. The day saw the youth across the country gathered to celebrate the heroism of students who stood up to the apartheid state and fought for their rights.

“As we conclude Youth month, we acknowledge that the mandate to fulfil youth development is far from over. We, therefore, urge young people to continue to take the lead in dialogues that help to bring about solutions to their challenges” Liphoko said.

Government reiterates the call by President Jacob Zuma for young people to prioritise education and open up their own small businesses to boost the economy and create jobs. “Government is determined to support youth businesses in every possible way. A number of programmes and initiatives have been established to support and empower the youth in this regard”.

“As we approach the local government elections we also encourage youth to come out in numbers to exercise their democratic right to vote in order to have a say in the way they want their local areas to be governed” said Liphoko.

Issued by Government Communications on behalf of the Ministry of Communications