WSU Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Rushiella Songca, alongside South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, advocated for the educational development of young leaders from South Africa and 20 other African countries who gathered at WSU’s Zamukulungisa Campus during the inaugural Nelson Mandela Youth Dialogue (NMYD from 10 to 13 March 2023.
The dialogue, hosted by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and the South African Presidency is an initiative aimed at affording the youth of the African continent a platform to engage in constructive dialogues on matters that affect them.
Discussions ranging from Youth Participation in Free Trade, Labour Migration, and Just Energy Transition for the Continent, as well as skills for the future laid the ground for rigorous engagement between panelists and delegates.
Addressing the gathering on the Role of academia in strengthening the continent, WSU Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Rushiella Nolundi Songca said a focus on impactful research would be the key to building the African economy.
"Our responsibility is to use the available funds and infrastructure to generate relevant and impactful research. Whilst collaborating with stakeholders, including communities in building our economy. There has been an unprecedented growth of African economies, while other regions have experienced sluggish expansion. Africa has abundant resources, the world’s youngest continent, and can realise its potential through better education and training for its youth,” said Songca.
Songca also added that SA institutions of higher learning, including WSU, had heeded the call for an adept cohort of graduates through embracing both national and international imperatives.
The dialogue was anchored on former South African president, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who is a catalyst for the inculcation of ethical leadership in the African continent.
“This dialogue should be about affirming our individual and collective self-worth as a people and our determination to develop our continent through innovative entrepreneurship. It should also be about giving space and opportunity to the entrepreneurial spirit, talents, and energy of Africa's youth to take their rightful place in the regeneration of the economic fortunes of the continent,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his keynote address.
The inaugural Nelson Mandela Youth Dialogue also had an intention to announce the establishment of a PAN-AFRICAN fellowship programme, the Mandela fellowship for young African leaders, which will welcome its first group of youth in 2023.
Minister of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, as well as Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams were amongst the endless list of dignitaries to grace the event.
- Yanga Ziwele