A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao Tzu

On 12th of August, I woke up with a smile on my face, thinking about the week I had ahead of me. It had been over six months since last I was in an innovative space with my fellow Activators, from all over South Africa, to discuss the challenges that we, as the youth of South Africa, have to deal with to secure a better future for us and the following generations. 

As a network of change drivers, sixty-eight of us met again at Alpha Conference Centre. The positive energy that I consumed from everyone was the fuel that I needed to get through a week of many challenges. Activators were warmly greeting each other that would often lead to laughter and overwhelming joy. After a short while we all met for dinner and caught up more with each other and the work we have been involved with. Just listening to some of the conversations, yet again, I realised what a strong force we are, as a network, as each Activator was involved in different sectors of socio-economic and political landscape of this country.

The week was filled with many useful activities and discussions. We were joined by other great young leaders from other African countries such as Kenya and Nigeria, who also spoke about their work and how they succeeded within their own contexts as new forms of civil society. Together we engaged and discussed how we can possibly use their success as case-studies to apply their experience into our context. These discussions were, however, taken out of the discussion rooms and were shared with the world through the use of social media which led to us trending in whole of South Africa using #ActivateChange. 

Bright innovative ideas were flying around every minute, each addressing a crucial challenge in which South Africa is dealing with at this current moment. The beauty of each discussion was how well thought all Activators put their ideas into words and how all Activators commit to make their ideas a reality either individually and as a collective.

Despite all the learning that took place during the week, one single thing stood out for me, and that was realising how bright the future of this country can be through the active participation of youth within the socio-economic and political sectors of this country. I have no doubt that many future leaders of this nation will come out of Activate!

The photos for the event can be found on Facebook.