In honour of Youth Month, the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) proudly presents the Beyond 76 Series: Youth Knowledge in Motion. This series celebrates the bold research, critical thought, and visionary work of Master’s and

Doctoral graduates under the age of 35. These dynamic young scholars are reshaping South Africa and the continent through transformative ideas and scholarship. Their work echoes the courage of the youth of 1976 and carries forward a legacy of change, justice, and economic emancipation. Join us as we spotlight the next generation of changemakers in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

1. In 2025, what does Youth Month mean to you — personally, academically, or as a young South African?

In 2025, Youth Month is more of a call to a critical view of whether the reasons for the 1976 uprising are still relevant today than only a commemoration of the protests and the lives lost.

2. What impact do you hope your NIHSS supported research will have on society or your field?

Education is not neutral. Therefore, education has to be protected from forces that are against the liberation and achievement of young people, used to promote the ideals of a society that we should all aspire to be a part of, and equip the minds of the youth to best serve and formulate those ideals and that society.

Youth Month is an opportunity to remember the lives that were lost in the 1976 student uprising where students fought against the oppressive mandate of Bantu education being furthered by suppressing education in languages native to South Africa, and also reflect on the impetus for this protest, and to see how far we have come.

These students' calls have unfortunately not been completely answered. While the reasons for that may be vast and nuanced, what remains for me is the underscoring of the importance of my vocation as a young black academic to be of service to the building of a South Africa, or rather Azania, that we, and the students of 1976, can be proud of.

Therefore, I hope that my NIHSS research will aid in the achievement of the above-mentioned through inspiring other young black students to further their own and our collective knowledge because like education, knowledge is not neutral and thus, it is imperative that we have a hand in building the knowledge base that will be used to shape young minds of tomorrow.