Youth Day: Cultural, social and sports activities

GEORGE NEWS - Several events were held in the George municipal area to commemorate National Youth Day on Thursday 16 June.

In George the Youth Office hosted this year's celebrations in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport in the form of a sports day at New Dawn Park Sports field.

Local schools and community-based teams participated in the following sports codes: soccer, netball, indigenous games, rugby clinics, and softball.

Deputy Mayor Raybin Figland delivered the keynote address for the day, which was preceded by messages of support and motivation from local pastor Ruben Kerspuy of the Minister's Fraternal; Portfolio Councillor Brandon Adams of Community Services: Social Development, Libraries and Sport; Ward Councillor Theresa Jeyi; the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport; and a student councillor from Nelson Mandela University.

The Department of Health was on site to deliver family planning, blood pressure and HIV testing. Local entrepreneurs, through the Pacaltsdorp Community Business Association, used the opportunity to market and sell their products.

According to the George Youth Office, the event was well attended, and this created a good impression about the interest of youth in its development since this was the first Youth Day celebrations after the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event was themed around the concept "A youth in sports is a youth out of the courts". The success of the event can be greatly attributed to the buy-in of all the stakeholders that participated in the organising of Youth Day celebrations.

Uniondale, Haarlem and Snyberg

Meanwhile, youth offices in the Uniondale and Haarlem areas partnered with the police and a non-governmental organisation called RYCO Platforms NPC to host the National Youth Day celebrations in Haarlem, Uniondale and Snyberg.

The theme of the celebrations was, "Sober youth are youth out of rehabs". The programmes offered motivational speakers, rap, poetry, spiritual dancing, modelling and indigenous games. The women in Uniondale started the day with a march against drug abuse supported by different stakeholders and community members.

Celebrations in Snyberg.