Written by Umamah Bakharia

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation (AKF) and other civil-society organisations hosted a briefing at the Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto ahead of a planned youth day parade to highlight challenges facing the youth.

“The parade serves as a unifying platform that will inspire the youth across the country,” says AKF youth program manager, Irfaan Mangera.

In attendance was a former member of the Soweto Youth Congress and currently Deputy Chairperson at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Mandla Nkomfe and Antoinette Sithole sister of Hector Pieterson.

“The blood that was shed was for you guys [freedom],” says Sithole. She reiterated that the youth continue to stand up and hold the government accountable for their wrongdoing.

In a statement, the foundation says that in commemoration of Youth Day and the courage and sacrifice of the Soweto Uprising, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation will host its inaugural Youth Day Parade which calls for justice and change in the lives of young people.

The parade will take place on June 16 starting at 10:30 am from Loftus Stadium. It will end at the seat of government, the Union Buildings, where a memorandum endorsed by over 60 organisations will be handed over.

Together with organisations such as Corruption Watch, Right 2 Protest, Defend Our Democracy, Equal Education, Voice of the People & Section 27 amongst others, they reiterated that the Youth Day Parade will enable young people to highlight their aspirations for a country that gives its youth a better life.