The Role of the Youth in a Participatory Democracy: A Summary of Seminar Proceedings
By Tracey-Lee du Plessis
Over the past few years, violent clashes have occurred during elections coupled with other incidents of intimidation that undermine the electoral process and our democracy in general. Although these are highlighted more when we have elections on a national scale, it’s also true that we have had such unfortunate incidents at more localised political contests, be they intra- or inter-party.
There have been serious cases of violent confrontations even in the institutions of higher learning as students from different political formations square it out in SRC elections. These incidents add no value to our democracy. In fact, they tend to discourage free and fair participation in political processes and lead citizens to entertain the possibility that those who end up being ‘elected’ under such circumstances have doubtful legitimacy.
Afesis-corplan hosted a seminar on Friday, 16 July 2010, to address the role of the youth in participatory democracy.
Professor Kwandiwe Kondlo, of the Centre for African Studies (UFS), presented a paper titled, Youth, Leadership and Ethics. He provided a critical assessment of the evolution of youth leadership and participation in South Africa, the expectations of a post-1994 youth leader, the current leadership challenges faced by the youth, leadership and ethics, and the role the youth should play in politics and development.
“The role of the youth in participatory democracy, if not carefully unpacked, can easily be more of an analytical attribution rather than a useful tool in the construction of substantive meanings,” said Prof. Kondlo. “Youth matters in South Africa are historical matters; they are economic, social, political and cultural matters that have long been with us such that we can attest to some of the problems and solutions with a fair degree of certitude. If the youth in South Africa are a problem, it is because we are a problem and society as a whole is also a problem.”
Prof. Kondlo argues that “the key and major challenge in South Africa is how to grow a new kind of ‘youth.’” He refers to them as the ‘deserving youth,’ which is the “youth that is conscious of its dignity and destiny; it is a youth that has gotten right the essentials of life’s philosophical strategy and is therefore able to both discover and fulfil its mission; it is a youth that has gotten to know the spiritual value embedded in emancipator praxis and that freedom consists of discipline and selfless service to others; it is the kind of youth that embraces ... the ethic of compassion and the ethic of respect.”
Mr Ebrahim Fakir, of the Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa, gave a presentation titled, Political Tolerance and Participatory Democracy. He stated that he is “of the view that it is not possible for people to participate in a society and its affairs in the absence of a degree of tolerance. In other words, toleration is a precondition, a necessity, in order to make participation possible. Without a degree of tolerance, participation is not possible.”
Mr Fakir further said that “participation cannot happen if those who have power, influence and are dominant, and who have access to the means to perpetrate violence, cannot accept, contend with or argue against views different to those of their own.” He explained that “a culture of tolerance involves debate and dynamic exchanges of opinions and arguments, whereby people can learn from others, get closer to the truth, and benefit from a vital public life. Developing a culture of tolerance is a long term undertaking that removes the roots of intolerance and is necessary for the democratic process.”
Mr Fakir described political tolerance as a “core value that not only keeps the social structure together but also enables it to function smoothly. ... It is the catalyst that makes it possible for enlightened self-interest to subsume harmoniously within the larger collective interest of which it is as much a cause as a consequence.” He said that “every political contestation or even conflict over political ideas, political values, policy trajectories or ideology which we expect, but rather by incivility and violence. Let’s fact it,” he says, “Some political intolerance in South Africa has been driven not by the principled opposition to ideas and views, and intolerance of some political ‘views,’ but rather by an ‘intolerance’ of and to people, rules, laws, institutions and organisations who get in the way of simply doing ‘what I want to do and whatever I feel like doing, how I want to do it, and where and when I want to do it.’” Mr Fakir says that “for the most part, it is political thuggery.”
Mr Fakir concluded by indicating that it has been suggested that participatory democracy “is a form of democracy in which citizens are actively involved in the decision-making processes of government at different levels on issues that interest or affect them, and o n the basis that mechanisms and platforms will be in place to facilitate this.” A detailed address by Mr Fakir is provided elsewhere in this Issue of the Transformer.
Dr Gavin Bradshaw, of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, did a presentation on conflict management. He indicated that despite the negative connotations, conflict management should be viewed as a constructive process, and that development cannot take place until conflicts have been aired. Dr Bradshaw highlighted that South Africa has a famous legacy of conflict management, which has resulted in the rainbow nation we have today. South Africa is a proven example of effective conflict management for the rest of the world.
Dr Bradshaw explained the ABC Conflict Triangle, which is made up of Attitude, Behaviour and Circumstance. In many conflict situations, experts are called in to address the behaviour aspect in a given situation. However, the behaviour is a result of attitudes and circumstances. In order to deal with the conflict, the attitudes and circumstances have to be addressed as well. All aspects are equally important. He further explained that most conflict is about relationships and/or structures, and that the nature of the conflict can revolve around interests, data, values or needs, or a combination of these.
Dr Bradshaw stressed that the perception of conflict should change, that people need to focus on the opportunities it provides, that win/win options are available, that it is imperative to address the underlying needs, that individual differences need to be recognised, and that people should be open to adapting their position in light of shared information and attitudes.
A representative from the Youth Directorate, Eastern Cape Office of the Premier, presented a paper titled, Youth Involvement in Development. The paper indicated that young people are the largest group in South Africa, ranging in age from 14 to 35 years old. These youth “are expected to contribute to the country’s reconstruction and development efforts through active involvement in moral regeneration efforts and supporting government programmes geared to fighting poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and crime.
Challenges facing the youth that were highlighted include “high levels of poverty and unemployment, low levels of literacy, skills and education attainment, mostly youth infected and affected by HIV/Aids, vulnerability to committing crime due to high levels of poverty, societal alienation and substance abuse, high rate of teenage pregnancy, and lack of information.”
As a result, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) was launched mid-2009 “after the merging of Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission. The purpose of the NYDA is ‘to mainstream and integrate youth development for sustainable livelihoods,’ and its nature of business is to ‘initiate, facilitate, implement, co-ordinate and monitor youth development interventions aimed at reducing youth unemployment and promoting social cohesion.’”
Over the past few years, violent clashes have occurred during elections coupled with other incidents of intimidation that undermine the electoral process and our democracy in general. Although these are highlighted more when we have elections on a national scale, it’s also true that we have had such unfortunate incidents at more localised political contests, be they intra- or inter-party.
There have been serious cases of violent confrontations even in the institutions of higher learning as students from different political formations square it out in SRC elections. These incidents add no value to our democracy. In fact, they tend to discourage free and fair participation in political processes and lead citizens to entertain the possibility that those who end up being ‘elected’ under such circumstances have doubtful legitimacy.
Afesis-corplan hosted a seminar on Friday, 16 July 2010, to address the role of the youth in participatory democracy.
Professor Kwandiwe Kondlo, of the Centre for African Studies (UFS), presented a paper titled, Youth, Leadership and Ethics. He provided a critical assessment of the evolution of youth leadership and participation in South Africa, the expectations of a post-1994 youth leader, the current leadership challenges faced by the youth, leadership and ethics, and the role the youth should play in politics and development.
“The role of the youth in participatory democracy, if not carefully unpacked, can easily be more of an analytical attribution rather than a useful tool in the construction of substantive meanings,” said Prof. Kondlo. “Youth matters in South Africa are historical matters; they are economic, social, political and cultural matters that have long been with us such that we can attest to some of the problems and solutions with a fair degree of certitude. If the youth in South Africa are a problem, it is because we are a problem and society as a whole is also a problem.”
Prof. Kondlo argues that “the key and major challenge in South Africa is how to grow a new kind of ‘youth.’” He refers to them as the ‘deserving youth,’ which is the “youth that is conscious of its dignity and destiny; it is a youth that has gotten right the essentials of life’s philosophical strategy and is therefore able to both discover and fulfil its mission; it is a youth that has gotten to know the spiritual value embedded in emancipator praxis and that freedom consists of discipline and selfless service to others; it is the kind of youth that embraces ... the ethic of compassion and the ethic of respect.”
Mr Ebrahim Fakir, of the Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa, gave a presentation titled, Political Tolerance and Participatory Democracy. He stated that he is “of the view that it is not possible for people to participate in a society and its affairs in the absence of a degree of tolerance. In other words, toleration is a precondition, a necessity, in order to make participation possible. Without a degree of tolerance, participation is not possible.”
Mr Fakir further said that “participation cannot happen if those who have power, influence and are dominant, and who have access to the means to perpetrate violence, cannot accept, contend with or argue against views different to those of their own.” He explained that “a culture of tolerance involves debate and dynamic exchanges of opinions and arguments, whereby people can learn from others, get closer to the truth, and benefit from a vital public life. Developing a culture of tolerance is a long term undertaking that removes the roots of intolerance and is necessary for the democratic process.”
Mr Fakir described political tolerance as a “core value that not only keeps the social structure together but also enables it to function smoothly. ... It is the catalyst that makes it possible for enlightened self-interest to subsume harmoniously within the larger collective interest of which it is as much a cause as a consequence.” He said that “every political contestation or even conflict over political ideas, political values, policy trajectories or ideology which we expect, but rather by incivility and violence. Let’s fact it,” he says, “Some political intolerance in South Africa has been driven not by the principled opposition to ideas and views, and intolerance of some political ‘views,’ but rather by an ‘intolerance’ of and to people, rules, laws, institutions and organisations who get in the way of simply doing ‘what I want to do and whatever I feel like doing, how I want to do it, and where and when I want to do it.’” Mr Fakir says that “for the most part, it is political thuggery.”
Mr Fakir concluded by indicating that it has been suggested that participatory democracy “is a form of democracy in which citizens are actively involved in the decision-making processes of government at different levels on issues that interest or affect them, and o n the basis that mechanisms and platforms will be in place to facilitate this.” A detailed address by Mr Fakir is provided elsewhere in this Issue of the Transformer.
Dr Gavin Bradshaw, of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, did a presentation on conflict management. He indicated that despite the negative connotations, conflict management should be viewed as a constructive process, and that development cannot take place until conflicts have been aired. Dr Bradshaw highlighted that South Africa has a famous legacy of conflict management, which has resulted in the rainbow nation we have today. South Africa is a proven example of effective conflict management for the rest of the world.
Dr Bradshaw explained the ABC Conflict Triangle, which is made up of Attitude, Behaviour and Circumstance. In many conflict situations, experts are called in to address the behaviour aspect in a given situation. However, the behaviour is a result of attitudes and circumstances. In order to deal with the conflict, the attitudes and circumstances have to be addressed as well. All aspects are equally important. He further explained that most conflict is about relationships and/or structures, and that the nature of the conflict can revolve around interests, data, values or needs, or a combination of these.
Dr Bradshaw stressed that the perception of conflict should change, that people need to focus on the opportunities it provides, that win/win options are available, that it is imperative to address the underlying needs, that individual differences need to be recognised, and that people should be open to adapting their position in light of shared information and attitudes.
A representative from the Youth Directorate, Eastern Cape Office of the Premier, presented a paper titled, Youth Involvement in Development. The paper indicated that young people are the largest group in South Africa, ranging in age from 14 to 35 years old. These youth “are expected to contribute to the country’s reconstruction and development efforts through active involvement in moral regeneration efforts and supporting government programmes geared to fighting poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and crime.
Challenges facing the youth that were highlighted include “high levels of poverty and unemployment, low levels of literacy, skills and education attainment, mostly youth infected and affected by HIV/Aids, vulnerability to committing crime due to high levels of poverty, societal alienation and substance abuse, high rate of teenage pregnancy, and lack of information.”
As a result, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) was launched mid-2009 “after the merging of Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission. The purpose of the NYDA is ‘to mainstream and integrate youth development for sustainable livelihoods,’ and its nature of business is to ‘initiate, facilitate, implement, co-ordinate and monitor youth development interventions aimed at reducing youth unemployment and promoting social cohesion.’”