June 16 expo a window of opportunities for Jozi youth

06 June 2016

 

As part of the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the June 16 1976 Soweto uprising, several City of Johannesburg entities and departments will from Friday June 10 participate in the June 16 Youth Expo to showcase programmes aimed at accelerating efforts to transform young people’s lives.

 

The exhibition, to be staged at the Nasrec Expo Centre on the outskirts of Soweto over 10 days, forms part of province-wide events aimed at marking Youth Month.

Exactly 40 years ago this month, a peaceful protest by thousands of Soweto students against Afrikaans as a medium of instruction ended in bloodshed when apartheid police opened fire on them. Hundreds of youths were killed and several hundreds others maimed.

City spokesman Nthatisi Modingoane said it was crucial for the current generation of young people to know where the country came from and how much progress had been made to advance youth development.

“The City will be showcasing a number of youth development projects such as internships, bursaries and learnerships,” said Modingoane.

He said by participating in the June 16 Youth Expo, the City wanted to engage with the youth and open up a variety of opportunities for them.

“The City will set up stands in the exhibition to expose the youth to programmes such as Jozi@Work, Jozi My Beginning Community Innovation Fund, Vulindlel’ eJozi empowerment and employment initiative, #Hack.Jozi Challenge and many more,” said Modingoane.

He said during the exhibition, to run until Monday June 20, the City would also host a number of youth dialogues.

“The City hopes to contribute to the eradication of youth unemployment and encourage young people to start businesses and chart their own future,” said Modingoane.

He said the City was passionate about empowering and creating an enabling environment for the youth.

“We want to bring information to the people so they can take full advantage of the opportunities the City has to offer.”

Some of the City’s entities that will take part in the exhibition include the Department of Community Development, City Parks & Zoo, Emergency Management Services, Johannesburg Metro Police Department and City Power.

“We are confident the turnout will be good because young people are hungry for opportunities and information. This is also a platform for the various entities and departments to show and educate young people how they work,” said Modingoane.