Youth Month 2026: Honouring the class of 1976 through active citizenship and nation building

Young people gather at Orlando Stadium in 2016 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising.

The apartheid government officially recorded 23 deaths on June 16, 1976, while the Cillié Commission later reported that more than 500 people were killed during the uprising, although many believe the true death toll was significantly higher.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic revolt, with South Africa's youth now facing the highest unemployment rate of any demographic group in the country.