Now here’s a publication to warm our mid-winter hearts. Here are 100-and-something young South Africans you have to take to lunch. And if not to lunch, certainly to have in your sights and on your Rolodexes.
This is the second year of our publication and it grows from strength to strength. We easily could have accommodated 300 and more young South Africans like these in a book and we hope to do so next year.
Across the economy, in civil society, the arts and other sectors, these are our choices of tomorrow’s people — young leaders who exemplify the dreams of June 16 1976, when a previous generation took to the streets to demand a better future. These young people are living that dream.
Of course, there are too many more who are not living that dream. But, on every anniversary of June 16, I think we spend too much time defining our youth in terms of their problems. We lament them and don’t celebrate enough. We will never lose sight of unemployment and poverty, but to focus only on the challenges, year in and year out, is to forget that the sacrifices of 1976 have not been in vain.
This is why we choose to do this publication, so that we may celebrate the rich talents and abundant leadership of this next generation. And we hope that their stories will inspire those who have not reaped the fruits of freedom.
As usual, there is no particular science in how we choose our 100-odd. They are people we have written about in the past year and people who have won awards or otherwise made their mark. No doubt, there are areas in which there is talent, but where we couldn’t find young people quickly enough. I am quite sure, for example, that the unions are still doing what they have always done well and that is to grow young leaders themselves.
If you think there are young people who should be in here, drop a line to project manager Stefane Potas on stefanep@mg.co.za.
This book has been written and edited by a Mail & Guardian team featuring:
Ferial’s lunch spot
Shayona, Mayfair