Youth Month poster, with the iconic photograph of Hector Pieterson being carried Mbuyisa Makhubo, with Antoinette Sithole running alongside

RELATED LINKS: Soweto's red brick route to 16 June 1976 A section of the route the Soweto learners followed on 16 June 1976 before their confrontation with police in Orlando West, which sparked the 1976 riots, is being laid with red bricks in preparation for the 30th anniversary of the day. Read more Hector Pieterson gets his memorial "I SAW a child fall down. Under a shower of bullets I rushed forward and went for the picture. It had been a peaceful march, the children were told to disperse, they started singing Nkosi Sikelele. The police were ordered to shoot." Read more Hector: the famous child whose face is unknown THE Hector Pieterson Museum opens on Youth Day, 16 June, but don't expect to come away with an image of what Hector looked like - the family does not have a single snapshot of its famous son. Read more June 16, 1976 - Hastings Ndlovu's day too JUNE 16, 1976 is a day deeply etched in the memories of all South Africans, symbolised in the form of 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was shot and killed by police. But another boy, Hastings Ndlovu, was probably shot before Pieterson, but no photographer was on hand to record the moment. Read more Young people to have their say A YOUTH Strategy will place an emphasis on the needs and interests of the city's young residents. Read more City prioritises youth concerns YOUNG people are concerned with unemployment and poverty, among other issues. These will be given priority in Joburg's Youth Development Strategy. Read more

Learners from Morris Isaacson High School in Soweto at the launch of Youth Month (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg) Johannesburg's executive mayor Amos Masondo urges the youth to attend the launch of the City’s Youth and Development Strategy in June (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

Launch of youth month in Soweto Preparations are under way to return to the sites that 16 June 1976 etched into the psyche of all South Africans, marking the 30th anniversary of the student uprisings. May 30, 2006 By Lucille Davie THIS year marks the 30th anniversary of the June 16 student uprising in Soweto - and Monday, 29 May, saw the launch at Morris Isaacson High School of a commemoration programme. June has been declared Youth Month, with the theme "Age of hope: deepening youth participation in development"; and various events have been planned. Youth Month will be celebrated around the country with debates, memorial lectures, youth awards, sports tournaments, a gala dinner and a health conference, to be co-ordinated by the National Youth Commission. Remembering the past, learners from Morris Isaacson High School prepare for Youth Month (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg) However, on 16 June the focus will once again turn to Soweto, with Morris Isaacson High School in Jabavu being the starting point of the day's commemoration. The Youth Month programme was announced in the high school's courtyard on Monday to several hundred learners. Present for the event were Johannesburg's executive mayor Amos Masondo, together with the minister in the presidency, Essop Pahad, the Gauteng MEC for sport, arts, culture and recreation, Barbara Creecy, and the chairperson of the National Youth Commission, Jabu Mbalula. Speakers stressed the significance of 16 June 1976, and the role played by the youth on that day, in changing the history of South Africa. Johannesburg's executive mayor Amos Masondo, the minister in the presidency, Essop Pahad, and Gauteng's MEC for sport, arts, culture and recreation, Barbara Creecy, launch Youth Month (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg) "They made a decision to fight for liberation and freedom that was more important than their lives," said Pahad. "Today is better than yesterday. Tomorrow will be better than today. The future has never looked brighter for our youth." Masondo, who urged the youth to attend the launch of the City's Youth and Development Strategy in June, said, "Growth will not be possible unless young people and skills development are involved. It will enable government to address the complex issues the youth are dealing with today, which is different from 30 years ago." Commemoration plans for 16 June are almost complete, with a programme kicking off with Masondo and Creecy officially naming a piece of veld opposite Morris Isaacson High School. The park is being laid with paving stones in the colours of the South African flag. This will be followed by a symbolic walk, which starts at the school and ends at the Hector Pieterson Memorial in Orlando West. Walkers will pause halfway through the five-kilometre walk to observe a moment of silence. President Thabo Mbeki and other officials will lay wreaths at the base of the Hector Pieterson Memorial before the entourage moves to the FNB Stadium, where Mbeki will give the keynote address. The route from Morris Isaacson High School to the memorial is in the final stages of being paved in red brick, the first stage of a broader project to pave all the routes learners took on 16 June on their way to Orlando West, where the violent confrontation with the police took place. In 1976 the schoolchildren started their march at Naledi High School, picking up others along the way. They planned to gather for a meeting at the Orlando Stadium, but were intercepted by the police in Vilakazi Street, Orlando West. It was here that the first shots in what was to become a countrywide uprising were fired. Red bricks have been chosen, to symbolise the bloody sacrifice made by the students on 16 June and in the days immediately after. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za