Youth In South Africa

South Africa is
characterised by a youthful population, and the challenges and
possibilities that characterise the young generation are both warning
signs and beacons of hope for a nation founded on social justice. Youth in South Africa: Agency, (in)visibility and national development takes stock of the nation’s development as it affects young people.

Authors
offer both personal and professional insights into the ways in which
the youth navigate their own pathways to adulthood. These include formal
and informal engagements with politics, as well as protest,
(un)employment, entrepreneurship, education, religion, experiences with
sexuality and violence and a multitude of other life experiences.

Contributors
paint a picture of the initiative, agency and resilience of the youth,
as well as the challenges before them. Authors also identify the state
of “waithood” faced by those unable to make the transition out of youth
into full adulthood as a result of their socio-economic circumstances
and political context.

By engaging these experiences and insights,
and primarily informed by the inputs of young people, the authors
highlight the limitations of existing youth policies and frameworks. The
case is made for policy instruments to be informed by the lived
experiences of the youth as they navigate a complex macrosocial
environment, and by the messages the youth communicate about the
limitations of current approaches.