Global Peace Dialogue Tackles Bottlenecks Affecting Youth

Young people from across the City gathered at the OR Tambo precinct on Saturday, 17 August, to discuss critical issues hindering their success.

The Inter-Generational Global Peace Dialogue, hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni in partnership with African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (Accord), sought to solicit tangible solutions from the youth for the scourge of social ills, unemployment and lack of development opportunities, which affect them.

Among the participants were Mary Serunye from Wattville, chairperson and founder of Thol’ Imfundo Foundation which aims to champion the needs of disadvantaged youth. The foundation assists matric learners to apply for bursaries and to register at tertiary institutions. Thol’ Imfundo also helps youth that need assistance with drafting a CV, preparing for job interviews and internship opportunities.

“In most cases youth challenges are compounded by the lack of information. We believe that assistance from the government does not only have to be in monetary value, but may also be through logistical support which is important, particularly by organisations like ours. All we need from the City is to provide access to information that is beneficial to the youth. This may also be by creating more information-sharing platforms for young people,” Serunye said.

The City of Ekurhuleni is part of 100 cities that host 100 Inter-Generational Global peace dialogues.

Caption: Panelists engage during the Inter-Generational Global Peace Dialogue – from the left is Advocate Sipho Mantula (researcher at the Institute for Dispute Resolution in Africa (IDRA)), Tamara Naidoo (programme manager for International Relations at Friedrich Ebert Stifing South Africa), Matthew Kimble (manager at ACCORD), Modise Koetle (Ekurhuleni’s head of youth directorate) and Simphiwe Zuma (Vice-President of Global Peace partner, Junior Chamber International (JCI)).