JUNE is celebrated as Youth Month in South Africa, with a specific focus on 16 June, which is also known as Youth Day.
Youth Month pays tribute to the school pupils who lost their lives during the 16 June, 1976 uprising in Soweto.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Soweto uprising. The South African government has declared that the theme for Youth Month is ‘Youth Moving South Africa Forward’.
On 16 June, 1976, more than 15 000 students gathered at Orlando West Secondary School with the intention of participating in a peaceful march to the nearby Orlando Stadium.
The demonstration had been planned in protest against the use of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in schools.
However, the police and armed forces responded to the protest violently and the first fatality of the day was Hector Pieterson, a 12-year-old pupil who was shot by the police. It is believed that 175 others were also killed that day.
This violent backlash to what was meant to be a peaceful march caught the attention of the international community.
After this event, many countries imposed sanctions on South Africa in an attempt to force the apartheid government to ease its repressive rule.
Tell us what you have planned this Youth Day, and if you know of any amazing young people doing great things, let us know on our Facebook page – Highway Mail, or Twitter – @HighwayMail.
