SC President Ismail Joosub’s message to the youth

The African Union Student Commission, a subsidiary of the African Union, is an organisation dedicated to the betterment of the African Continent and the aspirations and ambitions of the peoples of Africa. Guided by the visions and ideals of the African Union, the African Union SC is intent on contributing towards the achievement of a United Africa that is peaceful, progressive and productive. The African Union SC was invited, last week, by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation to attend a conference hosted by the former President on the topic of “The 20th Anniversary of the African Union”. There, much discussion was had as to the future of the Continent, with a particular emphasis on the role that the Youth can play in Africa’s Renaissance. With Youth Day soon approaching, African Union SC President Ismail Joosub had a message for the youth of Africa.

Joosub says “My friends, we live in turbulent and tempestuous times. While modern technology brings men and nations closer together, with the concerns of one inevitably becoming the concerns of all, there still exists the dark and poisoning superstitions embodied by some that the common humanity of man is limited to the tight circle of those who share the same town, the same views, or the same skin colour. It is our job – the task of the youth in this continent – to tear down those last remnants of that ancient belief from the civilization of man. The African Union SC, indeed, understands that each nation has different challenges and different goals, that are all shaped by the vagaries of histories and happenings. But I should say, as I talk to the young people in Africa, that I am impressed not by the diversity, but by the closeness of their goals, their desires, their concerns and their hopes for the future. While the difficulties of the day reflect the imperfections of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, or the defectiveness and inefficiency of productivity, these challenges call upon our common qualities of conscience – and upon our shared determination – to work together towards a future of which we can all be proud. It is these qualities which make of the youth today the only true international community, which give the continent hope, which declare that the youth shall not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It is these qualities which qualifies ‘youth’ not as a time of life, but as a state of mind, a temper of the will, an appetite for imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, that enable the youth to tear down even the mightiest walls that might stand in our way.

Soon, on National Youth Day, we celebrate the potential and power of young people to shape the future of our increasingly interconnected world, cognizant of the fact that a more peaceful and prosperous Africa can only be achieved through UNITY. Only by working together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, as one people can we extinguish the errors of bygone eras and move forward towards a brighter future. It begins with us, the YOUTH, to build on the legacies of our forefathers and usher in a new era of endless possibilities.” - Ismail Joosub, President - African Union Student Commission