AFRICA’S CHILDREN MUST BE HEARD IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER, SAYS DEPUTY MINISTER HENDRICKS

By Precious Mupenzi

• Referencing the 1976 Soweto Uprising, Deputy Minister of Social Development Ganief Hendricks reminded the delegates at the 2025 Africa Children’s Summit of the power of the voices of the youth.
• The deputy minister set the tone for the summit, with a call to action and the urgent need for young voices to be heard.
• However, he also painted a sobering picture of ongoing conflicts and the impact they continue to have on Africa’s children today.

Deputy Minister of Social Development, Ganief Hendricks, set the tone for the 2025 Africa Children’s Summit with a powerful message rooted in freedom, activism, and the urgent need for young voices to rise.

Drawing from his days as a teacher, Hendricks began by recalling a lesson from his classroom that still guides his work today: asking a child to spell the word “freedom.” It was more than just an exercise in literacy – it was a symbolic call to action.

Referencing the 1976 Soweto Uprising and the youth resistance movements in Cape Town, Hendricks reminded child delegates that it was young people who helped bring South Africa to its democracy.

“Soweto’s children shouted so loudly that all of South Africa echoed the word,” he said. “And not long thereafter, we attained our desired freedom.”

However, Hendricks cautioned that the struggle for freedom across Africa is far from over.

Addressing the young delegates, he painted a sobering picture of ongoing conflicts and the impact they continue to have on children.

“Its guns have not been silenced … We still witness these guns maiming and killing our fellow Africans,” he said, highlighting how violence and instability continue to rob young people of their safety, education, and future.

His remarks underscored the importance of empowering children to speak out against injustice and play an active role in shaping a peaceful, united continent.

The Africa Children’s Summit 2025, co-hosted by the Department of Social Development and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund on behalf of the South African government, aims to place children at the centre of continental policy dialogues.