Soweto Theatre hosts June 16 Dialogues
16 May 2016
Youth leaders of the Soweto 1976 uprising interacted and shared views and ideas with the current generation of the youth at a June 16 Intergenerational Dialogues session at the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani on Sunday May 15.
The session, organised by the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Social Development, was part of the build-up to the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the uprising, a ground-breaking event that helped to change the course of history. Similar interactions will be held in the run-up to and after this year’s Youth Day.
Member of Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development Councillor Nonceba Molwele shared the stage with former leaders of the Soweto Students' Representative Council (SSRC) who led the historic march on that fateful day 40 years ago.
MMC Molwele said the dialogues were a platform for the sharing stories of that day and for the youth of today to rededicate themselves to the ideals of those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom being enjoyed today.
“I’m delighted to be a part of the 40th commemoration of the June 16 1976 uprising. We’re counting on our young leaders to take the baton and move the country forward,” she said.
Participating in the discussions were youth leaders of the time, including former SSRC vice-president Murphy Morobe, Sbongile Mkhabela, Thabo Ndabeni, Barney Mokgatle, Enos Mbotjane and Mokgaka Mokgatle. Former teachers Ribbon Mosholi and Ohara Diseko also addressed the youths.
Director of proceedings Ishmael Mkhabela said the gathering was a “journey of discovery of who we are”.
The former Azapo leader said South Africans had unfortunately become too good at knowing about other people but not themselves. Morobe said June 16 was an event that fuelled the continuation of the struggle for liberation. He said, however, that it would be a fallacy to say June 16 “freed us”.
“We were mere contributors to the struggle,” he said.
His message to the youth was: “Never allow yourselves to be oppressed by anyone in the land of your birth.”
Mosholi concurred with Morobe, saying the struggle started long before June 16 1976. She cautioned against the burning of schools, libraries and clinics. She said though she was a teacher at Thomas Mofolo Secondary School at the time, she got involved in the struggle because of her love for the country.
“We were slaves but today we’re free. In 1976 we burnt government buildings but we were selective,” she said.
The youth asked their 1976 counterparts questions such as how best to commemorate June 16, whether it was correct for the youth to commemorate the day by drinking, how different were today’s students from the crop of 1976 and how they viewed the gender balance in society. Sbongile Mkhabela said there was a need for a strong women’s movement in the country.
She said it was time the African woman took her rightful place in society. The second session of the dialogues will be held at the same venue on Sunday May 22.