African Youth and the Economy Colloquium

2nd MAIL & GUARDIAN AFRICAN YOUTH AND THE ECONOMY COLLOQUIUM

  Addressing youth participation and the economy nexus in the new global economy

  8 October 2013, Walter Sisulu Square, Kliptown, Soweto, Johannesburg - South Africa

 

Overview

Following the success of the 1st African Youth and the Economy Colloquium I facilitated in July where I hosted a dynamic mixture of young people including Mr. Yershen Pillay, the chairperson of the NYDA who spoke at length about “dealing with Youth unemployment”. During these high level engagements, young people in attendance resolved that I host the event again within a space of Three months as it creates a platform for them to engage each other, governments, business and civil society on issues that affects and prevent them from real economic participation in the African continent, with the support once again of the Mail & Guardian newspaper I have headed the call and will be hosting the Second Colloquium on the 8th of October in Soweto.

Africa is the world’s youngest continent; its population is largely made up of young people, the total population of these young people being higher than that of any other continent in the world, and yet young Africans continue to face major difficulties in the realms of the economy, including higher education, unemployment and lack of Entrepreneurial skills, health, and participation in decision-making processes.  

African youth have the potential to be a great impetus for Africa’s development, provided that appropriate investments in the development of young people are made, the right support is given and most importantly the correct mindset and culture are embedded in the mind of the African child. If youth issues are not addressed, and if high rates of youth unemployment and under-employment persist, Africa’s development could be negatively affected.

Join me and fellow African youths at the Walter Sisulu Square in Soweto on October the 8th, as we unpack all these issues, as we come up with long term solutions, strategies and new ways of addressing the economic difficulties that affects Africa’s young. The Youth of Africa, Governments, Business, Civil Society and development partners are all invited to come and participate in the discussions. Presentations will include a key note address by the chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency Mr. Yershen Pillay, case-studies and motivational speeches from young people that are making a difference in the African continent. The aim remains “To learn, Discuss and Share notes on these issues, in order to find solutions to the challenges we are faced with as young people of Africa”.

Young people are the future of this continent and these discussions are a must if we are to succeed as a continent.

World Class Presentations and Case-Studies by the following Young Lions:

-          Yershen Pillay – Chairperson, NYDA

-          Bruce Dube – Founder, Youth Village

-          Ntsoaki Phali – Founder, Beyond Ability Talent Solutions

-          Tessa Dooms – Youth Lab

-          Faith Terrerai – Founder, The Beats of Success

-          Donald Phejane – Founder & MD CORPTRAIN 

-          Naledi Moleo – Radio Presenter, SAFM

-          Sharon Kekana – Co-Founder, Southern African Woman in Aviation

-          Henry Cole Davids – Managing Director, Youth Unplugged

-          Mordekai Shumba – Founder, Organisation of African Youth (OAYouth)

Join the Conversation:

Twitter: #MG_TLF

Youtube: http://goo.gl/eoOQBG

Facebook: http://goo.gl/xbRvxe

Radio Interviews: http://goo.gl/V1GU41

Colloquium Objectives:

The colloquium aims to achieve the following objectives which certainly will guarantee positive change for all youth in Africa:

- Exploring opportunities for the advancement of young people in the African Continent

- Aligning the Economy with other broader youth empowerment initiatives

- Offering an opportunity to young people from various walks of life to share experiences and compare notes

- Highlighting the importance of economic inclusion (particularly the youth) as a vital tool to bring young people to the economic mainstream

- Using case-studies to offer practical hands-on experiences

- Creating a forum to highlight the need for an integrated approach to youth empowerment in the African Continent

- Taking young people of Africa to globally competitive levels

- Building a solid foundation for future youth advancement

- Encouraging entrepreneurship and helping existing youth entrepreneurs manage their businesses more productively

- Broadening youth choices in the use of technologies

- Building a competent cadre of African youth leaders

Programme 23 July 2013

07:30 – 07:45 Morning Tea/Coffee and Networking

07:45 Opening Remarks - Donald Phejane, Moderator

08:00 Welcome - Chris Roper – Editor in Chief, Mail & Guardian

08:15 Key-Note Address - Yershen Pillay, National Youth Development Agency

09:00 Presentation - Naledi Moleo, SAFM

09:45 Presentation - Bruce Dube, Youth Village

10:30 Mid-Morning Tea/Coffee Break

10:45 Presentation - Mordekai Shumba, Organisation of African Youth

11:30 Presentation - Ntsoaki Phali, Beyond Ability Talent Solutions

12:15 Presentation - Faith Tererai, The Beats of Success Consulting Agency

13:00 LUNCHEON

14:00 Presentation - Henry Cole Davids, Youth Unplugged

14:45 Presentation - Sharon Kekana, Southern African Woman in Aviation  

15:30 Afternoon Tea Break

15:45 Panel Discussions

16:30 Closing Remarks and Vote of Thanks

To register online visit: events.mg.co.za 

 

Relevant Contacts:

Online Registration: events.mg.co.za

Sponsorship and Advertising: 078 740 0391



Encourage yourself

Its easy to be discouraged and loose our zeal for life because we go through a lot of adversities in life, our dreams don’t always happen on time, we lose our Jobs, relationships fail, loved once either desert us or leave this earth through death, all of that contributes in us loosing hope and feeling discouraged.

There are people around us trying to encourage us, friends, colleagues, motivational speaker, religious leaders etc, but the truth is, it is all in vain if we don’t encourage ourselves. If you want freedom you really have to learn to draw courage and strength from deep down inside of you, if you don’t do it, nobody is going to do it for you.

In the world we live in today (especially in South Africa), young people (especially the Black African Child) are discouraged because of the state of the economy. We are discouraged because we are unemployed, we experiencing difficulties in accessing Education, our lives are turned upside down by diseases such as HIV and AIDS, Drug and Alcohol abuse and many other social ills that has besieged our lives, everybody is looking for some kind of hope and seems like we don’t know where to find it. My view is that we are looking for hope and encouragement in the wrong places, we don’t realise that they are in fact “within ourselves” sitting deep down inside of us, waiting to rescue us. 

We need to learn to motivate ourselves to push more, get up and go try again. We need to learn to wake up every morning and remind ourselves of the good God has done for us, he has given us the basic tools to try and better our lives, eyes to see, legs to stand and walk, hands to touch and do, and most importantly “brains to think, encourage ourselves, think positive about our own future and give ourselves hope”. 

Our hope lies within ourselves and not with the next person, remind yourself of all the good things that has happened in your life and draw strength from there, tell yourself that if God could do all those things for you, he is not about to stop, believe that bigger things are yet to come. Even during trying times, believe that he is walking the journey with you and he will make sure you are delivered to the Promised Land. Let us acknowledge and be thankful of the good things that have happened to us first, and then draw strength and encouragement from there, that way we can begin to work harder towards even bigger things, build and create our own desired future full of successes.

Do away with the spirit of discouragement in your life, those negative thoughts like “I’m never going to make it, I’m not worthy of the good things, this is way too hard for me etc.”, refrain from those thoughts because they are turning you into a victim, a victim of your own negative thinking, if you don’t change your attitude and encourage yourself you will be a victim of your own discouragement. Think positive based on what you have achieved already, switch to a new thinking every day, relive the memories of some of the good things you have done or that has happened to you, list all your accomplishments and celebrate yourself, it is not up to other people to keep you encouraged, it is up to you.

Every time you do something good, step back and say to yourself “I DID GOOD”, encourage yourself Black Child, you are your only HOPE.

 #MeditationsOfTheHeart

The today Young Woman of South Africa: The Reality

Today we celebrate and commemorate the courage and bravery of the more than 50 000 women who staged a March and stood firmly on the lawns of the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956 to protest against the pass laws. It is my view that those women should be viewed as equally if not exceedingly brave as their male counterparts who fought for the Freedom and liberation of the Black people of South Africa.

As we celebrate this day, I think the young women of today should not do so blindly but celebrate it with the intention to draw some serious lessons of wisdom from this history because the reality is that the majority of our young women will be celebrating this day swimming in alcohol, neglecting their duties as daughters, sister, aunts, mothers or even wife’s. It is a known fact that the majority of young women of today have not only lost the moral but also the traditional values of the African Nation. Make no mistake, I am not attacking women but merely trying to bring to the attention of the Nation the reality about how the Black child has lost it.

We acknowledge the fact that the world has changed, the country has attained freedom and it is developing at a rapid rate, therefore things cannot remain the same as they were in 1956. However we also cannot ignore the need to maintain our native values and traditions and if we draw comparisons between the young women of today and the then generation, we see a clear indication of how appalling the situation is. It is a known fact that we have more “morally naked and irresponsible” young women than we can imagine in our society today, and that can be clearly seen if you were to walk the streets of our townships today, Chesa-Nyamas and shebeens will be packed to capacity, we are seeing increased levels of abortions and dumping of children all over the place because the young woman of today cannot keep her legs closed, we see deliberate wrongful accusations of rape against men for extortion purposes (obsession with money), home-made sex videos are mushrooming all over the place because the young African child sees sex as nothing but just an extra-mural activity, we are seeing increased levels of divorces because the young women of today neglect their duties as backbones of their homes and families, we see them increased cases of women murdering their husbands solely to make insurance claims that would see them being elevated to riches overnight (again obsession with money) and many other increased social ills that the women of the then generation easily avoided. 

One may argue that the men of today are also party to this loss of values, however the then generation never used this as an excuse, we are told that many of those who marched in 1956 had their children on their backs as they endured that daunting walk, taking full responsibility of not only their children but that of the nation as well, fighting for what was to be a lost-generation that we see today. If we fast forward that Act of bravery and apply it in today’s situation, you would have a young woman leaving her children with either strangers, grand-parents or in the care of other children just to go to a shebeen to celebrate what is today known as “Women’s Day”. 

Once again, don’t be mistaken, I am not judging nor am I attacking the black child but merely bringing to the attention of the Nation the appalling situation a young black child is faced with.

We can ask ourselves as to “WHO IS TO BLAME”, Is it the mothers who were born off the 1956 women, is it the 1956 woman herself who did not take responsibility to teach her child or do we solely just blame it all on FREEDOM?. 

I think it is irrelevant as to who is to blame but what is rather relevant and important is “HOW DO WE REMEDY THE SITUATION”, how do we ensure that the young African child takes cognisance of the fact that this day is not just about alcohol, drugs and sex, how do we make the young African woman understand the importance of this day, the bravery of the woman that risked her life and marched for Freedom and Equality?

Those with the financial muscle to encourage and give hope to the young woman of South Africa today are neglecting their duty to lend a helping hand to save the now generation, Government, Business, Religious leaders and Civil Society leaders. August is celebrated as a month of the women of South Africa from the 1st to the 31st and in reality what that means is that throughout this month we see Businesses making millions of Rands through hosting meaningless events such as “High-Teas” with expensive music performances in High-places, discussing and whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears, not even once have we seen any organisation on this day or during this month going down to the Young African child on the ground to try and shift her focus, encourage and give her hope, now this is who I am saying is to “BLAME”. Our Government has budgets set aside to celebrate women’s month but not even a cent of that money goes to encouraging, motivating or landing a helping hand to the Young African Woman on the Ground.

I challenge any business, government agency or civil society organisation to show the Nation what they have done or planning to do for the young African child this month………….

Celebrate this day responsibly African Woman, Happy Women’s Day

 #MeditationsOfTheHeart

The Over-priced Clothing Store in Hyde Park

A friend of mine asked for my opinion on the Khanyi Dlomo and the NEF saga. For a moment there I thought it was a bit too late to put forward an opinion, but then again it is never too late to share an opinion right? 

The reality is that this untoward behaviour of the elite is a living cancer that keeps on growing by day and this saga is a perfect example of that, I mean if a woman of Khanyi’s stature in society cannot see anything wrong in receiving this 34.1 million loan, then the Corruption cancer can only spiral upwards from here on.

The approval of this loan was a clear case of nothing but corruption and greed. By just looking at the profiles of those who are shareholders in the business, one can clearly see a “web of political influence” that lead to NEF approving the loan. If honesty was the last thing the NEF CEO was to exercise on earth, I’m certain that she would agree that if that application came from any other ordinary person and not Dlomo, the application wouldn’t have seen the light of day.

Given that Khanyi is a successful business woman who has proven herself beyond doubt and has accumulated great wealth in her journey of life, and the partners involved are equally wealthy individuals, my simple question is “Why did they not take a full self-funding approach and put their own money in the business”?, surely they are all rich enough or connected to rich enough people to put together 30 million to open a Clothing Store, Unless of cause they themselves and their rich connections did not believe in the viability of that business. This then clearly shows us how the elite use Government funds as their own “little kitty” whenever they feel the need to fulfil their own little childhood fantasies, (This reminds me of Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula when he flew in some American Models and Actors to the 2012 Sports awards, that to me was a clear exercise of fulfilling a childhood fantasy of hugging Vivica A Fox), the same can also be said about Khanyi Dlomo, this is a clear indication of a childhood fantasy that she had to one day own an expensive clothing store like the ones she saw while living in Paris.

One thing for sure, every "corruption cancer infected elite" is guaranteed to get away with the crime because the same Politician that influenced the decision during the looting, has the same power to influence the decisions during any investigation eventuality (that is if it ever gets to that point). I’m somehow tempted to say “I do not blame these people” because South Africans are naturally gullible people that will make noise for a day or two and then forget about the story a day later and I believe that is because we do not have any sense of responsibility as citizens of this country (Like the Egyptians for example) to follow up a matter to the bitter end, nor do we have any trustworthy body (The NPA or The office of the PP are clearly not cracking it) to honestly, without any fear or favor, free of Political Influence investigate and follow through on cases.

The reality is that corruption has become acceptable in South Africa, an example of this can be drawn from what seemed to be a "State of the Nation Address" last Wednesday night when the President of the country bluntly told the nation that South Africa is ranked 28th out of 167 countries therefore our corruption is not as bad as in other countries (Sad indeed). Clearly the President did not consider the fact that South Africa is today the most “Unequal Country on Earth” and it is because of this 28th position that the President is so pleased about, South Africa is the most unequal income distribution country in the world simply because of the greedy elite that loots government coffers, pay themselves ridiculous salaries and dividends and share wealth among themselves, friends and their families. 

In my view, the President’s statement simply declared “corruption” acceptable, and then we wonder why such high “esteemed” business people like Khanyi Dlomo exercise greed and corruption without any form of “Fear” whatsoever.

My opinion in a nutshell “It is nothing new, we are yet to see bigger, ridiculous looting of Government funds for as long as corruption remains as acceptable as it is today"

And That’s just my personal Opinion…………….   

 #MeditationsOfTheHeart