Youth and Nation Building in South Africa: From Youth Struggles to Youth Development

Steve Mokwena

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Youth and Nation Building in South Africa: From Youth Struggles to Youth Development

In: Work with Youth in Divided and Contested Societies

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Steve Mokwena

Steve Mokwena Johannesburg South Africa

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 61–71

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087903695_009

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Youth became a part of the political resistance movement in South Africa in the 1940s, and in the 1960s youth found new outlets for these concerns, including black consciousness. When the government tried to force Afrikaans on black school children, youth marched in the streets, and the government used deadly force to suppress it, killing 500 children. This galvanized increasingly organized political movements about education, freedom, rent, transportation, release of political prisoners, and trade unions, and youth were called “The Young Lions.” After official recognition of the African National Congress and other organizations, youth movements came under the control of adults and were demobilized, with the result that today only a small number of youth participate in politics. Many youth are alienated from the political process and are marginalized in their communities. In response, the National Youth Commission has attempted to build a consensus about young people, although such consensus is often about the lowest common denominator, and centralization leads to problems of gate-keeping, centralization, and becoming distant from the front-lines.

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Work with Youth in Divided and Contested Societies

E-Book ISBN:: 9789087903695

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 01 Jan 2007

Subjects
- Education
  - Culture & Education
  - Youth

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Youth and Nation Building in South Africa: From Youth Struggles to Youth Development

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Work with Youth in Divided and Contested Societies

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