Youth Day in South Africa is a day to honour the courage and sacrifice of the Soweto Uprising youth and celebrate all young people.

On June 16, 1976, a demonstration in Soweto, led largely by high school students was met with a brutal crackdown by police and set off a wave of protests and violent conflicts across South Africa. The day is now commemorated as Youth Day, an annual public holiday in which South Africans remember the significance of the Soweto Uprisings and the bravery of those involved, as well as the importance of supporting the youth across the country.

Fuelled by compulsory introduction of Afrikaans as medium of instruction in high schools in mid 1970s, starting particularly with four subjects namely; Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Geography and Biology; as well as the poor quality and racist nature of black education, students throughout Soweto organised a peaceful protest on June 16, 1976. That morning, between 5,000 and 20,000 students walked out of their schools and assembled for a march toward Orlando Stadium. Along the path, police formed a wall and demanded the crowd disperse.

Without warning, police opened fire on the unarmed marchers. One of the first to be struck was 13-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was picked up and carried toward a nearby clinic by fellow student Mbuyisa Makhubo with Hector’s sister; Antoinette running beside them. The event devolved into a full-scale conflict, as police continued shooting protestors and protestors began to riot, targeting apartheid symbols such as government buildings, vehicles and beer halls. Though official government records listed just 23 students killed, the death toll is generally given as 176 with estimates as high as 700. Hector Pieterson, through the iconic photo taken by a local photographer, Sam Nzima from The World Newspaper became an international symbol of the brutality of apartheid and the oppression experienced by black South Africans.

Win a Laptop and Smartphone for Youth Month

Every year on 16th of June South Africa commemorates the 1976 Soweto uprising to honour the learners who stood up against the apartheid government. The day serves as a reminder that young people in the country were at the forefront of our struggle. It also provides us with the opportunity to take stock of the strides that we have made in addressing issues faced by our youth.

Today the new enemy is Covid -19 which threatens the 2020 academic year as schools are closed because of the pandemic to keep learners safe. To mitigate the situation, e-learning or remote learning is being utilised to keep the learners up to date with their school work. However, this is not accessible to all learners due to many societal inequalities in the country. Most learners cannot take advantage of e-learning because of lack of resources such as internet connection, laptops, smartphones and data which are needed to access this learning platform.

The KwaZulu–Natal Museum is therefore running a competition for the month of June where a high school learner can stand a chance of winning a laptop or a smart phone. This is but a small way that the Museum is contributing to the relief of this situation. We are sure that these prizes will be invaluable resource to the lucky winners.

Click on this link to enter the competition. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCDXNK3

If you would like to know more about Youth Day - click on this link for some information that will help you answer the questions in the competition. https://www.nmsa.org.za/news/10-news/226-origins-of-youth-day-in-south-africa.html

Click on this link for the full terms and conditions: https://www.nmsa.org.za/news/10-news/227-terms-and-conditions-youth-month-competition.html/ 

KWAZULU-NATAL MUSEUM YOUTH MONTH COMPETITION 2020 - T&C's

KwaZulu-Natal Museum is running Youth Month Competition 2020.

Below are the official Terms and Conditions of the competition.

Please take a moment to review them.

1. PARTICIPATION:

1.1. The competition is only open to full-time High School Learners.

1.2. Children of KwaZulu-Natal Museum Staff ARE NOT eligible to participate or enter the competition.

1.3. Competition runs from the 2nd – 30th of June 2020.

1.4. No late entries will be accepted.

1.5. To enter the competition participants need to log onto the KwaZulu-Natal Museum Website i.e. www.nmsa.org.za or the KwaZulu-Natal Museum Facebook Page i.e. https://www.facebook.com/nmsa.org.za; fill-in the online entry form, and submit.

1.6. A Learner may enter the competition just once.

1.7. The winner will be randomly chosen via a certified method of selection.

1.8. No responsibility will be accepted for entries lost, delayed or damaged in transmission.

2. PRIZES:

2.1. The prizes will consist of Laptop and Smartphone.

2.2. Prizes are not transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash.

2.3. Winners will be announced on or before Friday the 10th of July 2020.

2.4. Winners will have to collect their prizes from KwaZulu-Natal Museum.

2.5. In the event of KwaZulu-Natal Museum not being able to contact or reach out the winners; the Museum reserves the right to draw again.

2.6. The prize winners will be notified by telephone and winners’ names will be published on Museum Website and Social Media Pages.

2.7. KwaZulu-Natal Museum will not be responsible for any damaged prize items after the handing over of prizes.

2.8. KwaZulu-Natal Museum reserves the right to alter or cancel the competition at its discretion, without recourse.

3. GENERAL RULES:

3.1. If a participant contravenes these rules, the participant may, in KwaZulu-Natal Museum discretion, be disqualified from the competition.

3.2. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

3.3. KwaZulu-Natal Museum reserves the right to cancel or alter any aspect of the competition at any time at its sole discretion without liability