Lesedi Solar Park Trust spent Youth Week engaging with young people across the Tsantsabane and Kgatelopele Local Municipalities, creating space to hear directly from them at a time when South Africa marked 50 years since the 1976 Youth Uprising. While that moment remains significant, the week also raised a local question: what are our young people telling us today?
Across Youth Day events, community conversations, Facebook discussions, and video interviews, young people and community members shared what life is really like for youth in our communities. Their stories showed that while the challenges have changed over the years, young people still want the same thing: opportunities, support, and a chance to be heard.
Listening to Our Communities
A Facebook poll opened the conversation, asking whether today’s youth still carry the same fighting spirit as the generation of 1976 and what they need most to succeed. Responses were mixed but connected by a shared concern for young people’s future.
Some felt the spirit is still present but needs stronger support, unity, and opportunity to fully emerge, while others pointed to unemployment and everyday challenges limiting progress. Despite this, there was agreement on one point: young people can succeed, but communities must play their part in creating the right conditions.
The conversation continued beyond the poll as Lesedi Solar Park Trust engaged with young people already contributing to their communities in different ways, including Refilwe Rooiland from the Kgatelopele Youth Info Centre, Elvis Boom of Fortkopi Print, and Ruth Skaap, an ACTIVATE! Change Driver. While their work differs, their message aligns: young people need opportunity, guidance, and belief from those around them.
Being Seen Starts with Stepping Forward
For Refilwe Rooiland, the challenge is not talent but visibility. After attending a youth boot camp, she heard young people from the Northern Cape described as “the quiet kids of South Africa” because they are “never part of the conversation,” a view that shaped her understanding of youth participation.
Rather than accepting this, she encourages young people to step forward and make themselves visible, reminding them to “go out there.” She believes today’s generation cannot afford to wait for opportunities. While the youth of 1976 fought for access to education, young people today face unemployment and must become “resilient and self-sustainable” by building skills and creating opportunities where possible.
Communities Help Young People Believe in Themselves
For Elvis Boom, youth development begins with a belief, shaped by his experience of growing up without seeing many relatable examples of success. This influenced how he now uses business and creativity to show young people that success is possible and visible.
He believes young people need role models “who look like them, who come from where they come from,” because this makes success feel real. But he also stresses that families, organisations, and communities must “come together” to give young people “that push and that guide,” while encouraging continuous learning from books, experience, and technology. For him, confidence grows when support and learning comes together.
The Spirit Is Still There
We also asked whether young people today still carry the same spirit as those of 1976. For Ruth Skaap, the answer is yes, but it needs to be awakened.
“The spirit is still there, it just needs to be awakened,” she says, adding that young people already have the ability to create change but often wait for ideal conditions or for others to lead. Her message is simple and direct: “The time is now. Don’t wait.”
What We Heard From Our Young People
Across all conversations, one message stood out: young people are not asking for everything to be done for them, but for opportunity, guidance, and space to grow. They want to be heard, supported, and taken seriously as they shape their futures.
Fifty years after the youth of 1976 demanded change, today’s generation continues to do the same in its own way, responding to different challenges, but driven by the same desire for a better future.
This Youth Week reminded us that when young people are given space to speak, they share not only challenges but also ideas, ambition, and hope. Listening, therefore, is not just reflection, it is the beginning of action.
At Lesedi Solar Park Trust, we remain committed to creating spaces where young voices are heard and supported, so that young people across Tsantsabane and Kgatelopele are not only included in conversations about their future, but actively shaping it.