Cape Town - Youth Day is about celebrating the young people of South Africa and this year the V&A Waterfront, in collaboration with UCT’s Online High School and Grade Africa, hosted a fun-filled day of activities at Battery Park.
The theme of the event was celebrating the youth and the opportunities they face through education.
Yazeed Osman, chief marketing officer at Valenture Institute, spoke about the event and the significance of celebrating Youth Day.
“We are here to celebrate the youth. “We’ve invited our students and it is an event for learners to socialise with each other.
“It is also open to the public and we’ve encouraged them to come and celebrate the youth with us.
“A lot of our concern with online schooling is having the social aspect and today’s event is really about that,” he said.
The event also featured a range of music, sporting and interactive events, including a 3x3 wheelchair basketball competition, and musical performances from YoungstaCPT and Uncle Vinny.
Youngsta and radio host Carl Wastie were part of the panel discussion as they unpacked the importance of education and how they inspired and encouraged the youth with their insightful talks.
Sipho Mpisane, deputy principal at UCT Online High School, was also part of the discussion and said the youth held the power to overcome all the challenges faced in South Africa, especially through education.
“As a country, we are in a hot place but there’s so much potential that our youth has and I think most of the answers we are looking for are within the youth.
“Quality education is where most of the answers lie and because of a lack of access to quality education, that’s what we are trying to activate at UCT Online High School, to give an opportunity where there hasn’t been before,” he said.
Donald Kau, head of public relations at the V&A Waterfront, said: “The event is for youth activities and young people deserve to express themselves, be creative, learn and enjoy themselves in any space.
“That’s the freedom they enjoy today because of what has come from the past.”
The Youth Day event ran all day as numbers turned out to celebrate one of the most important and landmark events in the country’s history.