Youth of Kagiso encouraged to vote in upcoming elections
Election year is upon South Africa and The Activate Movement, a youth empowerment organisation based in Kagiso, hopes to encourage youngsters to see the bigger picture.
During the 2019 national elections, many South Africans took to the voting station and exercised their constitutional right to vote for the leadership of their choice.
While many did make their mark, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) revealed that from that election cycle only 56% of eligible voters aged between 18 and 29 registered to vote. The voter turnout in this age group was just 46% which is also lower than the national average of 66%.
For this reason, Activate Movement took it upon themselves to encourage the youth to vote.
Tebogo Suping who is the executive director for Activate Movement spoke to over 50 young people who attended an event at Kagiso Community Hall on October 21 addressing several issues the youth face daily.
“Young people today face many challenges. It is therefore important for us to ensure that they have an understanding of their rights and that they have a responsibility to make their voices heard. Voting is one such way because in 1976 we saw a generation lose their lives fighting for their rights, it’s important that it carries on,” Suping said.
The programme was more than just educating the local youth about voting as other topics including unemployment and skills development were also discussed.
The Activate Movement also engages with the community through various outreach programmes from feeding schemes, food donations and skills development programmes.
