Pretoria - Thousands of South Africans will on Tuesday commemorate Youth Day in recognition of the brave youths who on 16 June 1976 stood up against the apartheid government's Bantu Education laws.
The sacrifices made by the class of 1976 were a turning point in the history of the country and set South Africa firmly on the road to democracy.
Today the Soweto Uprisings are used to educate the youth about the importance of human rights and dignity.
As a result of clashes with the police, and the violence that ensued at the time, approximately 700 hundred people, many of them youths, were killed and property destroyed.
The issue however, was not only, but the whole system of Bantu Education, which was characterised by separate schools and universities, poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers.
This year's national commemorations to be held in Gauteng will consist of three events, with the first one kicking-off with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Hector Petersen Memorial site in Soweto.
The second event will be the official opening of the Koma Road within the area of jurisdiction of the City of Joburg.
At the main event, to be held at a Youth Day rally in Ekurhuleni, President Jacob Zuma is expected to deliver the keynote address.
The highlight of this year's Youth Month will be the launch of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) - formed out of the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund - as primary custodians of youth development in the country.
The NYDA is primarily a developmental institution focused on advancing youth development through guidance and support to initiatives across sectors of society and spheres of government.
It is also mandated to embark on initiatives that seek to advance the economic development of young people.
Earlier this month, government said it will use Youth Month to revive programmes designed to respond to challenges that are facing young people in South Africa.
"The Presidency will explore mechanisms to revive, with immediate effect, the Youth Development Forum (YDF), a public-private sector initiative that seeks to support youth development," said the Minister in the Presidency responsible for performance monitoring, evaluation and administration, Collins Chabane said at the time.
These include access to quality education by young people, their health and well-being, economic participation and social inclusion.
In dealing with these challenges, Mr Chabane said it needed "a strengthened partnership between the public sector, the private sector, and civil society so as to give more impetus to youth development."
Other activities include the Department of Trade and Industry's International Cooperatives Conference which will include cooperatives enterprise exhibition owned by young people in KwaZulu-Natal.
There are also career exhibitions to provide career guidance, including an ICT Career Summit, hosted by the Department of Communications to encourage young people to take up careers in the sector.
The South African Police Service will also be running programmes to mobilise young people to act against the scourge of crime through participation in sports and cultural activities.
In an effort to take advantage of the opportunities during the FIFA Confederations Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Mpumalanga Youth Commission will be hosting a 2010 Seminar for unemployed graduates, in the field of marketing and tourism, to empower them to market 2010 within communities.
