The answer to the country's future beyond the 30-year celebration of democracy will be complete with the meaningful inclusion of youth voices. The story of South Africa’s democracy has always had a youthful presence, from the early 70s to the 90s. It was the collective efforts of the June 16 movement, a then young Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko, who with ideas in their youth, channelled the country into a new dispensation of leadership and democracy.

According to the National Youth Network ACTIVATE! Change Drivers (ACTIVATE!), this has continued to be the case in democratic South Africa, despite young people, who are a significant demographic in the South African population that is eligible to vote, often facing marginalisation in politics and policymaking. Responding to this, where young people are systematically excluded from leading or championing their needs, a vibrant network was birthed 12 years ago called ACTIVATE! In this network, young people across the country endeavoured to create a platform where they could gather in their diversity and collaborate at a grassroots level, to create a society that made practical attempts to centre youth efforts, in the framing of the country's democracy and success story at grassroots level.

A Decade of Centering the Youth

In the last decade, the 5 000-member national network has created a notable legacy of civic education and civic participation that has seen hundreds of members of the network occupy significant roles in South Africa’s broad civil society space as ward councillors, activists, founders and prominent roles in the various arms of the state. Other members of the youth network continue to make strides as business leaders, media influencers and key policy and research leads across industries.

As South Africa celebrates 30 years of freedom and prepares for the most anticipated election since 1994, young people, who make up nearly 77% of the voters roll for the 2024 General Election, have been called ‘critical role players’, who if they cast their vote, house the potential to decide the future of the country’s democracy and political landscape. 

In the same breath, at every election since democracy, youth voter turnout at elections has been low, despite 18 to 34-year-olds making up about a third of South Africa’s adult population. In many conversations, the poor voter turnout among young people has been fed into the narrative put forward on many national platforms, that young people are ‘apathetic about politics and governance’, conflating voter apathy with youth apathy. However, through the ‘#WeAREvoting’ - campaign ACTIVATE! it has been demonstrated that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

National ‘#WeAREvoting’ - Campaign

ACTIVATE! has embarked on a national campaign termed ‘#Wearevoting’, this campaign was launched in Kagiso, in Gauteng, in 2023, and saw parallel launches in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in South Africa, and the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The network has spent the year in campaigns reaching out to young voters through grassroots initiatives such as door-to-door activations, taxi rank voter registration and hiking trails, as well as through hosting a soccer league to mobilise the youth vote. These activations hosted in communities across the country, have served as a tool to educate young people on their critical role in South Africa’s democracy and draw the arms of the state, otherwise considered out of reach, into the community.

Reflecting on the campaign, coordinator and member of the network, Tebelelo Lentsoane said, “The campaign efforts are designed to meet people where they are, whether in their neighbourhoods, transportation hubs, or outdoor recreational areas”.

“By bringing voter education and political discussions to these accessible locations, ACTIVATE! ensures that young people who may not typically engage with traditional political processes are included in the conversation and encouraged to participate in the electoral process as informed voters,” she adds.

Civic Education Toolkit

Some of the initiatives under the #Wearevoting - campaign began in May 2022 at the launch of the network’s 132 paged multilingual, Civic Education toolkit, a practical kit the network and its civic champions have used in the community to empower young people and communities with tools and knowledge on local government, democracy, and active citizenry, including engagement methodologies to entrench democratic practices in society and foster community-based active citizenry.

Creatively Drawing the Youth Vote through Hiking

Additionally, the ‘#Wearevoting’ – campaign, hosted a Civic and Environmental Awareness Hike, illustrating the inextricable link between climate change and political party’s policies.

5-aside Soccer Match

The network hosted a five-a-side night soccer tournament at Hillfox Futbol Club in Roodeport, Johannesburg, South Africa. The league, titled The Youth of 1994 vs The Youth of 2024, was geared toward galvanising young people to participate in the 2024 election and contribute to the greater national call for unity and participation in democracy.

“The five-a-side activation in Roodepoort taught the network several crucial lessons. First, it showed us that sports can transcend political and ideological differences, catalysing unity and understanding. By participating in a friendly match or cheering for their favourite teams, people can connect on a human level, putting aside their political labels for a common cause, gearing us toward the 2024 General Election,” said network Executive Director Tebogo Suping.

National Voter Education Braai Fridays

Leading up to the 29 of May, the network is hosting weekly Braai Fridays across the country - here the network civic champions host gatherings in their communities. In all the initiatives, robust debates take place where the youth candidly share their position on participating in the electoral process, hundreds of young people updated their registration status, while some as a posture of protest, refused to participate in the democratic system of voting, insisting that their voice and efforts were better placed in the community. Through these innovative approaches, ACTIVATE! is challenging traditional modes of political engagement by bridging the gap between young voters' concerns and the national political discourse.

Robust Dialogue and Debate

Drawing the conversation from the grassroots into a national discourse, ACTIVATE! has coordinated a national town hall debate with political parties represented in the 2024 National Ballot. The public debate took place at 17h00, at the University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park Campus, on Sunday 5 May 2024 through a Live Broadcast on the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) News and Current Affairs programme, Elections 360 with Sakina Kamwendo and Blain Herman. In this national debate, young people and political party representatives engaged in debate on policies, allowing for direct interaction and dialogue on how political manifestos address issues faced by communities.

Reflecting on the 12 years, Executive Director of the network Tebogo Suping said:

“ACTIVATE! is emphasising the importance of genuine engagement and meaningful participation of young people in decision-making processes. For the network, this has involved a decade of creating avenues for youth to contribute their perspectives, ideas, and solutions, rather than being symbolic figures or token representatives and in doing so empowered young people to become responsive and informed citizens in their communities, on local and national government levels and beyond.”

The story of the network has attracted the partnership of the UNDP, some of its key beneficiaries of the network have gone on to coordinate their network's national efforts occupying seats in various political parties as party candidates in the 2024 General Election.

One beneficiary of the network Fumayo Caiphus Mabitsela, a ward counsellor and network member from Limpopo, Tzaneeen, Lenyenye, said:

“Young South Africans have detached themselves from government and polls because they don't want to be part of the process as they do not believe the process has any personal developments that are notable for them. As a network, we need to remind our communities of the gains of the 30 years of democracy, the value of voting and continue with civic education, to make our people understand their role as it benefits them and their communities not just during the elections but during the term of those who are elected. Communities must be empowered with the knowledge of how to get involved.”

“Young people in the network carry varying opinions about the road to realising a society we can all resonate with, we embrace their differences and are encouraged by the consensus that we must do something about the state of the country and not wait for anyone to mandate us,” Suping adds.

Many members of the network have described the 2024 election as an opportune time for the work done in the decade of the network’s existence, to see its fruits. Since the beginning of the ‘#Wearevoting’- campaign, a majority of young people that the network has engaged with have been empowered sufficiently to make an informed voting decision.

It remains their prerogative, who they vote for - the ACTIVATE! Network has made it theirs, to encourage young people to own this democracy.  The efforts of this youth network are not shaped every five years, their commitment to young people and an inclusive democracy is at the core of its existence.

Written by Zamayirha Peter for ACTIVATE! Change Drivers