Future unknown post Covid
BECOME MORE: YOUTH MUST REINVENT THEMSELVES TO FACE CHALLENGE – MOTLANTHE
Grown-ups are as much in the dark as youngsters, says former first lady.
Remaining positive and adopting a positive outlook amid the globally ravaging Covid-19 pandemic needed a heavy dose of emotional intelligence, South Africa’s former first lady Gugu Motlanthe yesterday told the country’s youth.
Addressing students at Johannesburg’s St Augustine College of South Africa – part of a drive by the institution and the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation to inspire and motivate young people to achieve success during challenging times – Motlanthe urged them to “stay motivated during Covid-19”.
She said: “Nobody really knows what the world and the labour market will look like after Covid-19.
“Hence, nobody really knows what to expect, teach and tell young people today.
“Consequently, what was considered the norm, no longer exists and we have no clue when it will return – if it will.
“There are three aspects of learning: attending lectures, studying on your own and a critical engagement with others in an informal setting.
“With the coronavirus having taken away two of them, we are now left to study on our own or engage through Zoom, which can be very impersonal and distant.”
Despite the challenges brought by the coronavirus, Motlanthe maintained that it was not all doom and gloom.
“Although Covid-19 has forced social isolation upon us, it has also offered us the perfect opportunity to reflect and reevaluate our priorities, wants, needs and aspirations. We now know who and what matters most in our lives.
“The social isolation has ... compelled us to become more aware and tune in to our surroundings and each other. It has honed our instincts about each other, making us not afraid to ask for help and forgiveness.
“This is the time to keep busy by being a volunteer because we are blessed with many gifts, which we must share.”
She said the pace of change was likely to accelerate post Covid-19.
“Some experts are saying that the impact of Covid-19 on technological evolution in our day-to-day lives has been phenomenal.
“They argue that in the last nine months, we have advanced an equivalent of 10 years.
“So, we need to learn all the time and to reinvent ourselves repeatedly to face the challenge.
“Learning crystallises our thoughts, even at the age of 60 and beyond.”
Emotional intelligence and resilience were difficult to teach.
“The current education model, devised during the 19th century industrial revolution is currently impoverishing to our minds.
“But we are yet to come up with a viable and constructive alternative.
“In the past – before the technological revolution – it was a safe bet to trust adults, because they knew, or we believed and thought they did know the world better.
“The world has now changed and evolved.”
Encouraging the youth to make “huge and ambitious plans”, Motlanthe said: “Just remember that the big-beyond-belief things are accomplished when you deconstruct them into smaller pieces and focus on each ‘moment of impact’, one step at a time.”