There is a clear need for the youth of South Africa to become practically involved in the problem-solving process surrounding issues facing students so as to develop South Africa’s next generation of leaders. Championing this issue, MaAfrika Tikkun, an NGO that strives for the upliftment of under-resourced communities, together with the Deutsche Bank hosted the second annual Big Talk Youth Conference at the Seapoint Civic Centre in the Western Cape on 23 July 2008.

The themes for this year’s conference – the Department of Education’s school pledge, drugs and racism were energetically discussed amongst the students. Key solutions were presented for these problems facing high school learners. The school pledge was heatedly debated amongst the students.

“I am very excited about the participation of all the learners involved,” says the Western Cape MEC of Education, Cameron Dugmore. “I was impressed with the content of the discussions and am pleased the youth of South Africa were enthusiastically involved.”

The conference created a secure and sustainable platform for high school students in the Western Cape to debate significant challenges facing them in a constructive and safe manner. 42 representative schools were dynamically involved in a mutual problem-solving process to bridge the communication gaps between decision-makers and our youth.

A committee, selected from 120 students, will champion the decisions made, finding viable solutions for the challenges. Thando Joka from Alexander Sinton High School in Delft said, “I feel honored to represent my school at such an uplifting event. I learnt today that although we all have diverse backgrounds and cultures, we can still find resolutions.”

“The diverse group of students that attended this year’s Big Talk Youth Conference represent a wider Western Cape youth. It is essential that they are given this unique opportunity to have their say and realize that the answers lie within in each one them”, says Amanda Zar, Manager of development, marketing and events for MaAfrika Tikkun Western Cape.
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