ACTIVATE! has launched a groundbreaking campaign titled Future Now SA as a platform for young people to add their voice to the future of South Africa and create their future now.

Over the past 10 years, the youth space in South Africa has predominantly been claimed by political interests. Following the 2014 elections, there is a unique opportunity for young people in civil society to reclaim this space from the political realm and highlight and address the issues that directly affect youth.

The #FUTURENOWSA campaign aims to develop a roadmap of actionable, game-changing mechanisms to aid the National Development Plan in supporting the youth of South Africa.

“The National Development Plan has very few ideas that directly address some of the pressing issues young South Africans are facing now. For the most part, it conceptualises young people as a potential destabilising force – a “ticking time bomb” – and specifies ways to protect against this potential threat rather than to proactively harness it as a positive stabilising force,” says Nelisa Ngqulana, Communications Officer at ACTIVATE!.

“It is imperative that young South Africans – the majority of the country’s population – recognise the extent to which their interests are not being addressed adequately, particularly in the absence of a strong non-partisan youth voice.”

The campaign – which invites all youth to submit their game-changing ideas for a better future – will culminate in the delivery of a 10-point action plan for youth that will be submitted to the National Planning Commission in October. 

The ten point action plan will focus on:

• Game-changing, implementable, ideas that can dramatically shift the landscape for young people;
• Specific actions that young people, government and civil society can take in the short-term;
• New insight into the role young South Africans are playing.

“This is an exciting time for the youth. As we saw in the 2014 elections, their role in politics is being realised. Unfortunately, there has not been a strong enough youth movement to set the agenda. ACTIVATE! Change Drivers are aiming to change that. #FUTURENOWSA is only one of our initiatives, but it brings the youth one step closer to being a force to be reckoned with.”

The campaign is being driven online via its website www.futurenowsa.co.za, Facebook Page ‘Future Now SA’, on Twitter via the hashtag #FutureNowSA. Youth are invited to contribute to the campaign and can submit their ideas on the website or via USSD by dialling *120*4215#.

For more information, visit the Future Now SA website www.futurenowsa.co.za.