Closing remarks by the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Dr Edna Molewa, at the conclusion of the Second Africa-China Youth Festival

Theme: Unity, Responsibility For Common Prosperity

Vice Premier LIU Yandong;

Honourable Ministers and Vice Ministers;

Members of the Diplomatic Corps;

Senior Government Officials;

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am indeed truly humbled to address you as we conclude the programme of the 2nd Africa-China Youth Festival. I can attest from the onset that we have managed to build on the success of the inaugural Africa-China Youth Festival that was held in Beijing last year. I trust that all of you, particularly our young friends from China and the rest of the African continent, have had a pleasant stay in the past few days.

This initiative has gone a long way in creating an enabling platform for our youth to interact, share innovative ideas, knowledge and skills with a view to improve the living conditions of our collective populace. In 2015 when President Zuma launched the Presidential Youth Working Group and reminded us of the importance of youth empowerment in development when he said: .that young people do not want handouts but want to be enabled. They want to be given ‘a hand up’. The initiatives to be prioritised by the Presidential Working Group should achieve exactly that.

We believe that it is incumbent upon all sectors of society to create an enabling environment at national, regional and global level that will unleash the potential of our youth. In this regard, we are pleased that the delegates from China and the African continent have, over the course of three days, successfully engaged in fruitful discussions on key issues that directly affect young people.

Ladies and gentlemen

Through this initiative our youth from China and the Continent have demonstrated their commitment, enthusiasm and courage to take the future into their own hands. Let us therefore draw inspiration from President Nelson Mandela who, in his own words, called upon future generations to create a better world. He once recounted on this belief during his address for the Make Poverty History campaign in February 2005 in London when he said: Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. Of course the task will not be easy.

This is applicable to you as a young generation in pursuit of peace and prosperity in a turbulent and uncertain world. Admittedly, we look upon you to provide innovative solutions that will enable us to realise our development ambitions, including the realisation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

You have collectively contributed to the shaping of this agenda in the same manner the African Youth have shaped the continent’s vision 2063. In essence agenda 2063 recognises the importance of the creativity and the innovation of our youth in driving the continent’s socio economic transformation. The Chinese people have continued to support this cause through various mechanisms. South Africa and China collaborate at bilateral and multilateral levels for the mutual benefit of our people who are active in these diplomatic efforts.

As you are aware, this 2nd Africa-China Youth Festival coincided with the launch of the South Africa-China High Level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism (PPEM). The objective of this People-to-People Exchange Mechanism is to open avenues for increased interaction and cooperation between and amongst the people of both countries across various sectors, including on youth affairs.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Yesterday we had the South Africa-China High-Level Seminar on Thoughts Exchange and Dialogue held here in this building. The theme was Resonance between the concept of a community of shared future for mankind and the philosophy of Ubuntu in international relations enriched all of us regarding some philosophical underpinnings that inform and shape our interactions in international relations.

The Seminar focused on the convergence of South Africa and Africa’s philosophy of Ubuntu and the Chinese concept of the shared future for mankind. Thus it highlighted our common values, which bind the African people with our Chinese brothers and sisters. These values are central in guiding interactions between African and Chinese young friends.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Permit me to conclude by extending an invitation to all of you to join South Africans from all walks of life in celebration of our Freedom day tomorrow the 27th of April. We will forever be grateful to the people of Africa, the Chinese and the global South as well as democratic forces across the globe for their contributions towards the attainment of our hard fought freedom.

I wish our friends from China and our brothers and sisters from the rest of the continent a safe journey back to your respective destinations.

I thank you.

Source: Government of South Africa