#40 Youth Voices: The Future Under Pressure
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This episode is for young South Africans, policymakers and activists who want an honest, ground-level conversation about how unemployment, the rising cost of living, climate change, and spatial inequality shape the daily realities of youth in townships, farming communities, and urban areas. Hosted by Snako Msi from Project 90 by 2030, this Youth Voices discussion on Just Us and the Climate brings together two young change-makers to speak candidly about what it means to be young in South Africa today - and what it will take to build a more just future.
Jasnine Anthony, an agroecology and climate advocacy trainer working with the Social Employment Fund, Good Gedacht Trust and Surplus People Project, and Siya Mzansi, a visual storyteller and green economy ambassador from Khayelitsha, share lived experiences that cut to the heart of South Africa's socio-economic crisis. The conversation covers how corruption shapes perceptions of the economy, why spatial inequality means youth in farming areas and townships face fundamentally different barriers to opportunity than those in suburbs, and how the lack of mentorship, accessible information and transportation compounds unemployment.
The episode explores how commercialised systems have replaced traditional sustainable practices, why agroecology offers a practical pathway to food security and community resilience, and how climate change - including chemical spraying by commercial farmers and dam failures causing floods - hits marginalised communities hardest even when residents have never heard the term. Listeners will hear a sharp critique of competitive models in social impact work and a compelling call for collaboration and unity among youth-led organisations.
Practical themes include: using libraries, creative hubs and community resource centres as entry points; advocating for information in accessible mother-tongue language; the importance of public spaces for civic communication; and why youth-to-youth conversation builds the confidence that formal spaces often destroy. Recorded on International Youth Day, this episode closes with a call for young people to unite, collaborate across different skills and lived experiences, and claim their rightful place in decisions that shape South Africa's future.
Jasnine Anthony, an agroecology and climate advocacy trainer working with the Social Employment Fund, Good Gedacht Trust and Surplus People Project, and Siya Mzansi, a visual storyteller and green economy ambassador from Khayelitsha, share lived experiences that cut to the heart of South Africa's socio-economic crisis. The conversation covers how corruption shapes perceptions of the economy, why spatial inequality means youth in farming areas and townships face fundamentally different barriers to opportunity than those in suburbs, and how the lack of mentorship, accessible information and transportation compounds unemployment.
The episode explores how commercialised systems have replaced traditional sustainable practices, why agroecology offers a practical pathway to food security and community resilience, and how climate change - including chemical spraying by commercial farmers and dam failures causing floods - hits marginalised communities hardest even when residents have never heard the term. Listeners will hear a sharp critique of competitive models in social impact work and a compelling call for collaboration and unity among youth-led organisations.
Practical themes include: using libraries, creative hubs and community resource centres as entry points; advocating for information in accessible mother-tongue language; the importance of public spaces for civic communication; and why youth-to-youth conversation builds the confidence that formal spaces often destroy. Recorded on International Youth Day, this episode closes with a call for young people to unite, collaborate across different skills and lived experiences, and claim their rightful place in decisions that shape South Africa's future.
Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction and Welcome
- 01:03 Guest Introductions
- 02:07 First Word: South Africa's Economy
- 03:16 What It Means to Be Young in South Africa Today
- 05:38 The Biggest Economic Challenges Facing Youth
- 09:38 Spatial Inequality: Township vs Suburb vs Farming Area
- 14:29 Tools and Resources Youth Can Use Right Now
- 19:23 Rising Costs: Food, Transport, Electricity and Housing
- 23:19 Profit Over People: Tradition, Sustainability and Agroecology
- 27:50 Does Climate Change Drive the Cost of Living?
- 31:43 Making Climate Language Accessible in Communities
- 34:21 How Youth Can Educate and Advocate in Their Communities
- 38:19 Closing Reflections: Collaboration Over Competition
- 41:49 Closing and International Youth Day Message
