South Africa must reframe how it sees young people

South Africa must reframe how it sees young people

By Bontle Motatsa (17)

Too often, young people are seen only through the lens of what’s going wrong: rising dropout rates, mental health crises, violence, unemployment. We are seen as problems to be fixed, risks to be managed, or passive recipients of adult plans. But when do we get to be seen for who we are and what we as young people are doing right?

Across South Africa, young people are showing up in ways that deserve to be recognised. We are leading peer dialogues, running youth-led feeding schemes, standing up for our rights, mentoring younger children, creating safe spaces online and offline. We are not just waiting for change. We are trying to be the change this country needs. We are often doing this with little support, limited or no resources, and it’s barely acknowledged by those making decisions.

This is why the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children (NSAAC), soon to be approved by Cabinet, matters so deeply to children. Not only because it’s about us, but also because it’s a chance to reframe how society sees and engages with us. It is not just another document. It tells government departments, the private sector, and civil society that collaboration is not optional, it’s imperative. If we are serious about changing the story for children and teenagers in South Africa, we must start by involving them genuinely and consistently. It is a call to reframe how we see young people, not as recipients, but as partners in building a safer, stronger South Africa.

Yet our involvement isn’t enough if it’s only symbolic. Our participation must be real. It is only genuine if it includes resourcing, capacity-building, protection and a space to lead. Don’t just invite us to consultations; equip us to drive change where we are. Don’t only give us a microphone; give us mentorship, funding, and the tools to scale our impact. Don’t wait until we burn out trying to fix what we didn’t break, hold our hands and amplify the work already being done.

This is the heart of the Hold My Hand campaign that supports the NSAAC, and we hope becomes a national programme of action. It is a message from us as children and teens to the adults in our lives: “Walk with me, hold my hand and I will show you what I need.” It’s a challenge to government and society to stop talking about youth empowerment and start funding it, mentoring it and protecting it.The NSAAC identifies the big shifts needed to move faster and do better. It names important priorities and interventions, such as restoring the Child Support Grant to the food poverty line, ensuring every child has access to quality early learning, protecting children and teens from harm, including harmful substances, and building youth agency and identity. These are not abstract ideas, but urgent, necessary steps. It’s helping close the food gap, ensuring early screening for hearing and vision, and reduce harm caused by heaving drinking . All while amplifying the voices of young people and pushing for smarter collaboration across sectors.

Hold My Hand is already accelerating some of these strategies through collaborations with more than 150 civil society organisations. As children and teens we met last year at gatherings such as the Teen Voices Summit and the National Children’s Dialogue and our deliberations and inputs feed directly into the development of the strategy.

When we speak up, it’s not because we want a spotlight. It’s because we want to protect our future. That future is built faster and more meaningfully when we are not only heard but empowered and build it together.

NSAAC gives us a framework, but it’s the way it will be implemented by the whole of society that will give us a chance to succeed. That means recognising that children, teens and youth are not just beneficiaries of change, we are agents of change. When we are supported, we become strong partners in building a safer, fairer, more loving South Africa.

So, this is what we ask: see us for who we are, and what we’re doing right. Support us. Invest in what we’re doing. Believe in our power to lead. Because when we as young people are ignored, we don’t stop caring, but we might stop trying.

Together, we can change our future.

About the author: Bontle Motatsa (17 year-old) is South Africa’s NSAAC Children and Adolescents Representative and RCL President, North West (2024)

This Op-Ed was originally published in The Mercury, 17 June 2025