On 6/19/10, Castro Ngobese <[email protected]> wrote: > Youth are leaders of today, not just tomorrow JOEL NETSHITENZHE | > JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA > > *Keynote address by Joel Netshitenzhe executive director of the Mapungubwe > Institute (Mistra), at the 200 Young South Africans You Must Take to Lunch > gathering on June 8 2010* > > I should take this opportunity to congratulate the *Mail & Guardian* for a > welcome initiative, in a systematic and creative manner, to raise the public > prominence of what should, in any country, be the pride of a nation. By > profiling young talent on an annual basis in this manner, [the] *Mail & > Guardian* not only reminds us of the talent that our nation possesses; but > it also affirms the enduring conviction that South Africa is bound to > achieve even greater things. > > Xstrata, similarly, should be commended for partnering [the] *Mail and > Guardian* in investing in the future. > > As to why I deserve this honour to have "brunch" with you -- when others > would break the bank to take you out to lunch -- I leave to [the] *Mail & > Guardian* and Xstrata to explain. > > When the invitation first hit my screen, I naturally had to ask myself, who > are these Young South Africans and -- wet behind the ears as they should be > -- what is it that I can teach them about life! I then took the trouble to > page through previous editions of *Mail & Guardian*. Lo and behold, it > emerged that most of you have, in barely three decades of your lives, > achieved more than what I can hope to attain in a lifetime. > > And so, I have stepped off my pedestal and come rather to seek advice. > > The central question that I will pose in this discussion is: what should be > done to ensure that young South Africans in general break free of the > psychology of marginalisation? > > As you may not expect, I do not have answers to this question; and attached > to it, I will pose a few riddles that you must help unlock for all South > Africans. These issues arose in my mind because I noticed that we tend to > refer to young talent in years gone by simply as "great figures"; and yet > when it comes to such talent in the present, the qualification, "great young > South Africans" comes into play. > > It then struck me, casting one's mind to the past, that: > > - John Langalibalele Dube, who became the first president of the ANC at > the age of 41, had already attained laudable achievements such as setting > up > the legendary Ohlange High School at 30; > - Sol Plaatjie became the first secretary general of the ANC at 35 and > already in his 20s, he was a renowned writer and editor; and > - by the time Charlotte Maxeke led the anti-pass campaign in 1913 at 39 > years of age, she had emerged as South Africa's first woman BSc graduate, > as > an organiser of the Women's Mite Missionary Society and established a > training college in Evaton. > > To these South African geniuses of social organisation, we can add the > feats, for instance, of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who, when he died in 1791 at > 35 had become, arguably, one of the greatest musicians of all time; or > Phillip Tabane of Malombo fame who started making an impression in South > African jazz as barely a teenager ... Or Steve "Kalamazoo" Mokone who, at 17 > made football history as the first black player to play in a professional > European league; or our current captain, Aaron Mokoena who debuted in Bafana > Bafana at 18 and became captain at 23 years of age. We can add Dr Chris > Barnard who at 32 had acquired his doctorate in medicine and set out to > start experiments that led to the first human heart transplant ... or > even Isaac > Newton <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton> and his work on > mathematical calculus at 23, who was described by one senior expert at > Cambridge Trinity College then as "a fellow of our College, and very young > ... but of an extraordinary genius and proficiency in these things". > > And how about Fidel Castro and Che Guevarra, for their exploits in their > twenties in liberating Cuba; Karl Marx who by the age of 30, together with > Friedrich Engels, had written many books on human development and social > organisation, including the *Communist Manifesto*; or Moses Kotane who > became general secretary of the Communist Party of South Africa at 34 years > of age! > > It is not so much the ideology or the detailed pursuits of these luminaries > that matters, but our marvel at the relative youth at which they made an > indelible mark -- at domestic and international levels -- variously on our > history, the history of their countries and on human civilisation. > Critically, most of them persisted in excellence long after their first > achievements > > And so, the condescension that we of greyer hair and emptier scalps tend to > evince towards you is as much artificial as it is pretentious. It is an > ageism that can be a convenient tool of social control -- some rule that > there are the deserving -- to whom it is decreed by sheer dint of age that > they should lead. What we do not realise though is that this has its > corollary: treat mature youth like children and they will behave as such! > They will say anything and do anything, proceeding from the perspective that > someone else will clean up after them. > > In my view, a critical first step in ridding our society of the scourge of > what has been referred to as "youth marginalisation" is that society should > disabuse itself of the psychology of ageism. > > Without this, we deprive the nation of that explosive blend of youth and > ability that makes works of genius possible. Similarly, young people in our > society should liberate themselves from this mindset. Without this, you > deprive yourselves of the opportunity of responsibility, of taking the > cudgels as responsible frontline adventurers in the advancement of the human > condition. > > It is in this context that I take this opportunity to congratulate you, for > your successes and/or prominence in sport, science, business, politics, > information technology, media and other fields. Your exploits should be a > harbinger of greater things to come, the beginning of journeys at the end of > which you will be able to say: I gave the best that my faculties could > muster, and left a trail that will lead to a better South Africa, a better > Africa and a better world! > > There is no doubt in my mind -- and to this I can add empirical evidence -- > that running like golden thread in the making of real and enduring > excellence is education: both academic and the ability to draw critical > lessons from the hard knocks of the university of life. Research on income > dynamics and social mobility points clearly to the truism, for instance, > that levels of household income, creativity and endurance in > entrepreneurship, and the possibility to break the gender glass ceiling, all > depend critically on the level of education that individuals have acquired. > > Annually, the media and society at large become fascinated with matric > results, and quite correctly they also focus on the achievements of schools > such as Mbilwi and Ivory Park Secondary Schools that are able to excel > despite the odds. But we fail to track, for instance, the life trajectories > of the students from such schools who burn the midnight oil to attain good > passes: that is, their progression through university and in the world of > work, and how this changes the social condition of their families. In as > much as we should celebrate extraordinary excellence, we should also pay > attention to achievements which are made the more significant by the > qualitative impact that they make on families and communities. > > In this regard, my message is as simple as it is obvious and quite correctly > overstated: education, this great liberator and great leveller, deserves our > undivided attention as a nation. > > Beyond the formal knowledge and possible social returns that attach to > education, is the observation, perhaps somewhat exaggerated, by Friedrich > Hegel in his *Philosophy of Right*, that "[e]ducation is the art of making > men ethical ... [H]abit is part of ethical life as it is of philosophic > thought also, since such thought demands that mind be trained against > capricious fancies, and that these be destroyed and overcome to leave the > way clear for rational thinking". To the extent that Hegel's notion of > education can be broadened to include the various centres of imparting > knowledge in the broader sense -- including the family, the community and > society at large -- there is something quite instructive in his reasoning. > > Let me preface the other riddles that I wish to cite, for further > reflection, by indicating that we are in the process, with a few colleagues, > of setting up a research institute, the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic > Reflection (Mistra). We do hope that, working with young researchers, we > will start the process of intense reflection on some of these questions. > > The first among the riddles that you should apply your minds to is the fate > of civilisations. Why is it that the Mapungubwe civilisation graced our > shores and yet disappeared into oblivion, only to be "discovered" by > accident? Why is it that the dynasties of the Han rose and fell, and yet > rise again today like a phoenix from the ashes? And are there lessons that > we can derive from this about the reasons behind success and failure, as we > seek to build the civilisation of national democracy? > > The second riddle pertains to the conduct of politics in the current age in > our country, especially at local government level. How do we interpret the > imperatives of intra-party and wider democracy and their relationship to > poverty: the fact that this can present an opportunity for genuine > people-driven development; but also, on the other hand, the reality that > poverty can generate the kind of political conduct that destabilises > communities and even development projects, as streetwise local politicians > seek to displace one another in pursuit of personal advancement! > > The third riddle pertains to finding a growth path that is premised on the > improvement of people's quality of life. Where are the young economists who, > instead of debating their ideological likes and dislikes about > macroeconomics, can unlock the interrelationships among the exchange rate of > the currency, inflation, levels of investment, interest rates and savings; > and the appropriate balances that we should pursue under different > conditions, to move to a higher trajectory of growth? > > Today, youth unemployment stands at about double the rate of unemployment > across society. Many young people have never known the pain, the joy and the > responsibility of earning an income. Close on three-quarters of the > unemployed are between the ages of 15 and 34. This, we all know, is at the > root of many of our social maladies, including crime and the rate of HIV > infection; and it is clearly unsustainable. What are the interventions > required decisively to deal with this social and economic challenge; and how > do we navigate the self-interest of organised labour which opposes proposals > such as an employment subsidy? > > The fourth riddle, related to the third, is about the pursuit of common > purpose among South Africans. We all have a broad common idea about where we > want our country to be, as elaborated in those lofty words in our > Constitution. Leaders in all sectors, I presume, know that the national > democratic society that we seek to create would redound to the benefit of > all. I also presume that they do know that to attain those ideals will > require hard work and sacrifice. > > Yet how do we deal with an approach to social dialogue in our country which > is premised on each sector demanding its pound of flesh, without regard to > the hard choices that have to be made in different phases of our development > trajectory? > > How do we narrow the divide between the gilded mansions and the craggy > shacks -- in terms of income, access to health, education and other > opportunities; and the asset base? > > All of us, including the young South Africans that everyone would like to > take to lunch, are keenly aware that our nation cannot sustain the levels of > inequality obtaining in our society. But in our race to the top, we tend to > avert our eyes when confronted with the reality of abject poverty, > preoccupied as we are with competition among ourselves in the stakes of > conspicuous consumption. > > This brings us to the fifth South African riddle: the issue of race, and how > racism is compounded by corruption both in the public and private sectors. > In this regard, I wish to reiterate an observation made at a seminar on > non-racialism organised by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation a few months ago. > This is that hindering the building of non-racialism is, for instance, the > conduct of BEE frontmen and women. For, in the mind of those dishing out the > largesse is the thought, ‘"f I can buy him or her, s/he should be of a lower > order as a human being". Thus the community and the race to which such front > people belong become the butt of jokes in bars, and at dinner tables and > golf courses. > > Inversely, this also becomes a convenient excuse on the part of some in the > white community from dealing with the obligations of the 1994 settlement. > The warped rationalisation that takes root is: let's critique from the > sidelines; let's exaggerate the weaknesses; we can't make common cause with > "them"; we can't sacrifice for the common good because "they" are corrupt. > > This attitude, and the radical rhetoric used by some black leaders to mask > greed and ostentation, feed into one another: white spiritual emigration and > a pretentious African nationalism of convenient victimhood are two sides of > the same coin. > > The last riddle pertains to the confidence of our nation to do good things > to better our condition and contribute to the endeavours of humanity simply > because we can -- not in order to solicit praise from anyone. This has been > referred to in some discourse as the "catwalk syndrome". And so in our > communication, when we upgrade our infrastructure to meet our economic and > social needs; and when we prepare for what should be one of the most > successful Fifa World Cup tournaments ever; it is not simply because we can > do it in line with our commitments to the football family and to our own > society. Rather it is "to show the world" that South Africa is also capable > of doing good things. What is it in our psyche that feeds this "also-ran" > attitude to life -- and how do we liberate ourselves from it? For, when > other nations sense that we crave their approval for everything we do, they > will naturally exercise their right to extend such approval and to withhold > it when it suits them rather than us. > > I should also make the observation, in relation to football, that enduring > success depends on systematic planning and application. The national team > coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, put it succinctly when he said: "The World > Cup will leave a legacy for this country that is unique ... You're going to > have the best stadiums ... But we are still lacking in grassroots > [organisation] and hopefully all the money from the World Cup can be used to > help develop young players. Without this, we're not going to catch up with > the big powers in Africa". (The *Citizen*, June 6 2010) > > Our team does hold out the promise to do well in the 2010 Fifa World Cup > tournament. But Parreira is warning us now that this should not be a > flash-in-the-pan occurrence. I'm quite certain that similar sentiments were > expressed after the 1996 African Cup of Nations victory. Yet little was done > to build the structures and systems required for ongoing success. Why did > the nation allow this to happen -- and shall we allow the same farce to play > itself out going forward? > > These then are just a few of the issues that I believe should occupy the > minds of young South Africans in the current environment. The answers to > these and other questions should come from you. Otherwise, the successes > that we celebrate today will be nothing more than an act of revelling in the > extraordinariness of an ordinary existence. We will improve our individual > condition of life. We will, in the midst of poverty and inequality, surround > ourselves with walls and barbed wire. But we will forever live exasperated > lives of insecurity. For, the wretched of the earth will breach these > defences as they demand their place under the South African sun. > > This becomes even more critical as the nation knuckles down to develop a > common vision and strategic plan about where we should be in 15 to 20 years. > That future belongs to you, more than anyone else. And we thus hope that the > voice of the youth will be heard more forcefully than ever before, as we > elaborate the trajectory towards a national democratic society in which you > and your children will live. > > And so, my message is a simple one. South Africa stands at the cusp of > decision. Whether we tip in the direction of faster progress depends to a > large measure on whether we unlock the talent of the nation’s youth. To > achieve this, we need to harness that cocktail of youth and ability that > makes works of genius possible. > > It is in this context that I have come to seek your advice. And I do so, > firmly in the conviction that you are South African leaders not just of > tomorrow; but leaders of today in your own right! > > -- > You are subscribed. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . > You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to > put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to > this address (repeat): [email protected] . >
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