2019 marks the 43rd anniversary of the June 16, 1976 youth uprising, where young people were protesting unjust policies implemented by the apartheid government. At the launch of MRM in 2002, at the Waterkloof air base, delegates from all 9 provinces identified youth as one of the pillars that MRM should focus on. The youth are the ones who bear the brunt of moral decay. They are often perceived as agents of immoral behaviour or helpless victims who need some external intervention. They themselves decry the lack of role models and opportunities for right living.
Development of ethical leadership in students, is a process of transformation that requires able leaders to take it forward. Student leaders are and should be, perceived as role models to their fellow students and should therefore be persons of integrity, and good examples, who themselves continually aspire to set the standard for ethical and value driven leadership.
It is against this background that the Moral Regeneration Movement has embarked on a campaign to have conversation with student leaders in institutions of higher learning throughout the country. The purpose of these conversations which will be in a summit version is to address the following issues amongst others:
- Violent students protest which end up in the destruction of property of the institution
- Abuse of women in institutions of higher learning
- Abuse of alcohol and drugs in campuses
- Development of ethical student leaders
