Overview

The African continent is colloquially referred to as the youngest in the world. Seizing on a topic underexplored in African research, Youth Development in South Africa: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend confronts the issues, challenges, and opportunities facing South Africa's youth, resulting in a rich exploration of the South African corpus on youth development. Bringing together a diverse range of topics and research methodologies, contributors focus on the demographic dividend, South Africa's relatively large population of young people, and the implications of harnessing this for economic growth and development within this country. Analysing model institutional and policy initiatives for youth development, contributors present a unique translation of ideas into practice, as well as attention to solutions. Highlighting challenges such as health pandemics, social media, and climate change, chapters cover questions surrounding youth aspirations, employment, and inclusivity. Showcasing the voices of researchers from across South Africa and the larger African continent, Youth Development in South Africa: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend is a compelling snapshot of thirty years of South Africa's democratic dispensation and what it has meant for the youth of the country, as well as how its demographic dividend can be harnessed for a fairer society in the future.

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9781837534098

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There are numerous studies by scholars and policy-makers about youth, particularly youth in the developing world. Many of these studies fall under two categories: the youth as a market, or the youth as either a demographic dividend or a demographic time-bomb. The youth tend to be studied out of curiosity – an anthropological subject that is observed but not engaged. This book presents a paradigm shift in how youth is studied. It offers insights into the complex contradictions, geo-histories, ideologies and experiences that shape the present realities and futures of South African youth. It presents youth not only as products of history, but as architects of new thinking and imaginations that are futuristic. -- Malaika Mahlatsi, Bestselling Author of Memoirs of a Born Free: Reflections on the Rainbow Nation and Corridors of Death: The Struggle to Exist in Historically White Institutions

Author Information

Botshabelo Maja is a specialist on youth matters, particularly working class youth and the challenges they face in deriving meaning out of their lives. He works as a senior government official in South Africa. Busani Ngcaweni is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg and Visiting Adjunct Professor at Wits School of Governance, South Africa.

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