New Youth Movement Launched at UKZN

BY: .

The Progressive African Liberation Movement (PALMO) was launched on UKZN’s Pietermaritzburg campus under the theme The Role of the Youth in Civil Society.

Mr Fezile Hlope, founder and interim Deputy-President of the movement, opened proceedings by giving some of the background and history behind the establishment of PALMO.

Hlope said while other solidarity or advocacy groups focused on one pillar of civil society or were orientated on particular individuals such as professionals, there was no other organisation that involved itself in academic excellence, sports and recreation, leadership development, community development and radical political development.

Guest speaker, Dr Omolulu Fagbadebo who is a post-doctoral alumni asked ‘Are enough resources being invested in empowering the youth?’ This led to the concept of “youth” being explored as a way of determining exactly who fell in the youth category with the conclusion being that an individual is categorised as youth if they have a particular perception of the present and project it for the future where they become agents of change in their respective communities. As a result, civil society must create a space for the youth that will be active in governance and hold every political decision to account.

Words: Zama Wanda