{"id":2410,"date":"2020-11-18T08:09:43","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T08:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/?p=2410"},"modified":"2021-01-28T18:47:43","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T18:47:43","slug":"sas-youth-voice-accounting-for-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/sas-youth-voice-accounting-for-accountability\/","title":{"rendered":"SA\u2019s youth voice: Accounting for accountability"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tsholanang Rapoo<\/span><\/p>\n

On Friday, 13 November Accountability Lab hosted their second Conversation Lab, on youth activism featuring panellists Shaeera Kalla, Kokoetso Moeti, and Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng. The panel was moderated by Dr Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh.<\/span><\/p>\n

The discussion tackled topics such as inequality, youth unemployment and university activism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Koketso Moeti, Executive Director of amandla.mobi, warned against \u201crockstar activism\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is tempting when one is organising\u2026 to think that one\u2019s self, and one\u2019s movement, and one\u2019s organisation is at the centre of the world,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRockstar activism\u201d, caused by competition for visibility, weakens the effectiveness and staying power of the youth voice, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes us move forward and what pushes us to the centre is our ability to work collectively,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moeti proposed that South Africa needs a social change ecosystem, with multiple vantage points, to inspire greater governmental accountability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng\u2019s, University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor, said that youth voices are amplified when students come together around one issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI find that, in 2015, students were united around one issue. So, the activism was issue-based, it didn\u2019t matter what political movement you belong to,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Phakeng pointed out that political parties often dilute the youth voice because of political competitiveness for visibility, space and recognition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, if you think about the situation with Uyinene last year, I mean, again that\u2019s where I saw students come together. [It was about] Gender Based Violence; they didn\u2019t disintegrate into parties,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moderator and author of Democracy and Delusion: 10 Myths in South African Politics, Dr Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh asked about government participation in validating youth movements.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne would imagine that there would be political mobilisation explicitly to deal with the disproportionate effects of this crisis of governance and our economic malaise\u2026 Have we dropped the ball in failing to coordinate across class, gender, race around these mutually shared crises, [\u2026] beyond protest?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Responding to this, former Wits SRC President, Shaeera Kalla\u2014who was at the forefront of #FeesMustFall\u2014said \u201cit\u2019s not about dropping the ball. It\u2019s about understanding how difficult it is to do that”.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kalla analysed the threats to youth activism in South Africa, on and offline, saying; \u201c\u2026 when the youth expresses their voice, it\u2019s swiftly dealt with. And it\u2019s often seen as a threat to the status quo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Moeti suggested that global examples of youth activism could inspire young South Africans: \u201cOver the last couple of years, we have seen the power of the ideological numerical push of young people, masses of young people across the continent, across the world. And this has been able to affect significant changes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust because we do not see it, doesn\u2019t mean it is not there,\u201d she added, nothing that we are seeing young people push back “<\/span>over and over, consistently, particularly in the last couple of years, not uniquely to South Africa, not uniquely to this continent.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These young people are pushing \u201cback on decisions that are being made by people who will not live with consequences there off,\u201d said Moeti.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Moeti suggested that \u201cyouth\u201d are not a \u201chomogenous mass\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In conclusion, Professor Phakeng said: \u201cThere is a time for rhetoric. And then there is a time to do something else. And I, I think when we say we are not seeing youth activism sometimes, people mean that they are not seeing protests.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch the discussion here:<\/em><\/p>\n