In defence of the youth fest

By Janet Jobson

It’s a bugbear of mine that South Africans seem to have a very low opinion of our youth. We’re not alone in this. Young people worldwide, and especially in the developing world, seem to loom in the popular imagination as unruly forces that must be tamed: they are uneducated, violent, apathetic, materialistic, diseased, unemployed and a “ticking time-bomb”. In South Africa, perhaps, our image of young people has even further deteriorated because of our obsession with a particular youth leader, who has somehow come to taint the perception of an entire generation. One clear example of our inability to engage with the positive side of young people was the furore over the World Festival of Youth and Students held in Pretoria at the end of last year.

Before the comment-ready masses react with shock to this article’s title, let me be clear on where I stand: is R100 million too big a price tag for a two-week event? Absolutely. Is it possible that a lot of the money was misspent and that the event was poorly organised? Definitely. Was it framed in a particular ideological way? Yes.

But having answered those questions, ask yourself what else you know about this event? We were told that there were participants who played “kissing games” while waiting for the sessions to get under way; that the Moroccan and Western Sahara delegations came into conflict and that representatives from North Korea were in attendance. But that’s about it. Not a single media report gave us a breakdown of the conference programme, the scope of issues and themes that were being tackled. No reporters gave us insight on lessons that were being shared from Latin America, India or Europe on issues such as climate change, democracy movements, human rights and economic development. Where was the reporting, for example, of the experience of a 15-year-old Zambian boy who was sent as a Unicef representative to present on and discuss the impact of climate change on the economy and lives of his fellow citizens?

Fifteen thousand young activists from 130 countries came together and not a single report was filed on what they’re doing, thinking, or dreaming about to change the world! Seven thousand young South Africans attended the event and had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of engaging and interacting with young people from across the globe. They probably now have maintained connections via Facebook, Twitter and email. They may well suddenly have access to unimagined international opportunities, be sharing knowledge about projects that have worked to improve communities across the globe, they may even be collaborating to revolutionise what we think young people are capable of. And yet none of this seems to warrant any attention from the media or any curiosity from the South African public.

In South Africa, it seems, we have lost the capacity to hold complex opinions, to ask insightful questions, to interrogate both the good and bad of complicated situations. We are so quick to condemn anything associated with the ANC Youth League that we disable our capacity to engage on the content of their initiatives. Reducing our response to poorly reasoned knee-jerk criticism is no better than the nonsensical ramblings of Julius Malema. If we want leaders of a better calibre, then why don’t we stop complaining about young South Africans and start engaging robustly and enthusiastically with them.

There are thousands of passionate, highly-skilled, intelligent young people who are actively working to improve their own and the whole country’s situation. Many of them may well have attended the youth fest. Many of them may have made insightful contributions to critical discussions on how we can find our way through the global crises we face. And all of them were met with derision by the South African public. Let us condemn what needs to be condemned but never let that stop us from engaging with the content of what young South Africans are actively doing to positively define our shared future.

Janet has the rare privilege of spending her time working with the inspiring, wise, passionate young people who every day stand up to shape the future of South Africa and the world.