TO revive the importance of the legacy of June 16th, the Drakenstein Municipality is celebrating Youth Day by hosting a two day workshop at the end of Youth Month where young people will create a roving exhibition that expresses their understanding of June 16 and the challenges they face today.
A total of 33 years ago, high school students in Soweto were protesting for better education on 16 June 1976, when police responded with teargas and live bullets.
Last year the Municipality commemorated June 16 by hosting a successful rally where almost 2000 youth attended. This year, instead of a concert or rally on the day, the municipality will host a workshop on 27 and 28 June.
“This year we wanted to try something more novel and innovative, to empower the youth to tap into their own creativity and produce a piece that symbolises the link between the past struggles and the present challenges,” said Anthea Abrahams.
A group of 100 youths will attend the workshop and create 8 to 12 pieces of artwork with a Youth Month theme.
The process aims to educate, honour and inspire young people who face difficult challenges like unemployment, poverty, substance abuse and HIV and Aids.
The artwork production with roving exhibition aims to take Youth day beyond just a public holiday and turn it into a campaign that inspires and promotes deeper youth participation.
To incorporate new media and a greater participation, the workshop will be shown in real time by the use of YouTube.
A blog has already been set up. The site will be linked to social networks like Facebook and Twitter which will enable people who are not at the workshop to follow the process and give feedback online.
For more information on the workshops, contact Jacqueline Maliti on 082-630-9937 or 021-807-6351.
