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Youth Day in South Africa commemorates the
Soweto Uprising in the country. The day is
celebrated on June 16 every year. The day is
celebrated in order to recognize the role of
youth in the liberation of South Africa from
the Apartheid regime.
The grounds of the movement lay in a 1974
official order which made Afrikaans
compulsory in schools. The order stated that
Afrikaans be used in conjunction with
English for teaching in schools. Certain
subjects like social studies, mathematics
and algebra were required to be taught in
Afrikaans while others like home science and
general science were required to be taught
in English. The use of local languages was
prohibited was these subjects citing a
provision in constitution which laid down
Afrikaans and English as the official
languages of the country.
Afrikaans was largely seen by people as the
“language of the oppressor” and it resulted
in growing resentment in teachers as well as
students. It was on April 30, 1976 when the
resentment crossed all thresholds and the
students of Orlando West Junior High School
refused to go to school. On the morning of
June 16, 1976, thousands of black students
went on a protest rally from their schools
to Orlando Stadium.
Although the rally was intended to be a
peace protest, things soon got out of
control and riots were seen all over the
place. Hundreds of students were killed
during the protest. Although this youth
revolution did not see the taking back of
the language order immediately, it did see a
turning point in South Africa’s liberation
campaign which ultimately saw the downfall
of the apartheid government there.
The Youth Day in South Africa is
celebrated in memory of all the youngsters
who lost their lives during the protest,
especially the death of Hector Pieterson, a
12 year old student who was killed during
the uprising. The day is celebrated with
musical concerts around the country in order
to celebrate the energy of youth. The day
also sees various educational discussions
being organized by school and college
students around the country. Various youth
oriented non- profit organizations also
organize awareness campaigns on this day to
make the youth of the country aware of the
challenges in the current environment of the
country. It was the Soweto Uprising which
laid the grounds for the release of Nelson
Mandela and the end of the Apartheid regime
in the country. |
