Half young citizens care about public issues in SA

ONLY 55 percent of South African youths have an interest in public affairs, while 61 percent of young African women discuss political matters at least occasionally compared to 74 percent of their male counterparts.

This is according to African research network Afrobarometer in a report titled “Political and Civic Engagement of African Youth” released for International Youth Day yesterday.

The network conducted the research in 36 countries across Africa based on 54 000 interviews with young people between the ages of 18 and 35.

The report, which details findings made in 2014/15, states that African youth are less likely than their elders to participate in civic activities.

Forty-seven percent of 18 to 35-year-olds said they attended community meetings at least once the previous year, while 40 percent went to these meetings to raise an issue compared to the 57 and 47 percent of older citizens respectively.

However, young people are leading demonstrations. “Youth participation in demonstrations and protest marches is lower than in more conventional forms of civic and political engagement, but higher than among their elders,” the report read.

Eleven percent of the young people surveyed attended one protest the previous year while only 8 percent of older citizens did. A comparison of 16 countries also revealed youth engagement has declined since 2005/2006.