The United Nations’ launch of Generation Unlimited in South Africa provides SA’s private sector with a ripe opportunity to amplify their societal purpose and make a real difference
Twelve years ago, 17 critical goals aimed at radically improving the lives of people and the planet by 2030 were identified and defined at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro. The objective was to produce a set of universal goals—known today as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—that meet the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges facing our world.
With less than five and a half years to 2030, it is critical to assess the progress that has been made, and more importantly, the critical action points that still need to be taken. Achievement of the 17 SDGs largely depends on the participation of all demographic segments of society, with youth playing a critical role. As tomorrow’s leaders, young people are often most affected by the choices and actions of today’s decision and policy makers—therefore, their involvement is a necessity.
“The engagement and contribution of South Africa’s youth is essential to the progress we make in achieving the UN SDGs as youth bring new vitality, inventive ideas and fresh perspectives to the table. Their digital nativity gives them the skills to navigate the complexity of today’s world and devise innovative solutions for the problems of tomorrow.”
The SDGs that matter most to SA’s youth
Of the 17 SDGs, South Africa’s youth are most concerned about clean water and sanitation, quality education, good health and wellbeing, zero hunger, and peace, justice and strong institutions. These are the latest findings from PwC’s 2024 Global Youth Outlook survey that engaged 2,209 children and young adults from diverse global regions on the significance and future of the SDGs.
Locally, 178 people between the ages of 10 and 30 participated in the survey (52% female, 48% male). Of this cohort of respondents, 59% of 18–30 year olds said they are moderately to extremely familiar with the SDGs, compared to a lower 28% of 10–17 year olds. Consistent with the global results, South African youth believe that Government and business can do more to make an impact—60% of respondents answered ‘no’ when asked whether Government was doing enough to help our people and the planet, while 51% identified non-governmental organisations and 44% identified the community sector as doing enough to respond to these needs.
A potential reason for critical views of government in democratic countries appears to be the lack of youth representation in decision-making roles: only 2.6% of parliamentarians worldwide are under the age of 30, despite this demographic comprising half of the global population.
The biggest action gaps
Our data shows that while respondents believe that certain SDGs are very important, there are considerable gaps that exist between their views and taking action to support achieving these goals.
Figure 1: Action gaps that exist among the 17 SDGs
The action gaps, as indicated in Figure 1 above, reveal the difference between people believing in the importance of a goal, versus taking action to support the goal. The largest action gaps are around affordable and clean energy (52%), decent work and economic growth (49%), clean water and sanitation (47%), zero hunger (47%), and sustainable cities and communities (47%).
Playing our role
This week saw the monumental launch of Generation Unlimited South Africa (GenU SA) at PwC’s Waterfall office in Johannesburg. GenU SA is a public-private-youth partnership that is on a mission to skill and connect South Africa’s youth to opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and social impact. PwC South Africa is proud to be collaborating with GenU SA and aims to continue working together on initiatives that will contribute and add value to Government’s Presidential Youth Employment Intervention—a network that connects young people to youth skilling and employment opportunities across the country.
“GenU SA aims to equip more than 1,5 million young people by 2030 with digital, science and tech skills, entrepreneurship development and civic engagement opportunities to support their transition from learning into earning. Additionally, through various strategic public-private partnerships, GenU will also support connecting more than 22,000 public schools in South Africa to the internet.”
Accelerating such efforts will be achieved through GenU SA’s four focus pillars:
- Connecting every school and learner to the internet to ensure every child and young person is digitally connected, able to expand their skills and benefit from 21st century teaching and learning.
- Scaling-up online/remote learning, skilling and livelihood platforms through providing access to digital learning and earning pathways for young people.
- Encouraging entrepreneurship skills and opportunities to enable young people to develop and act on local solutions for local problems.
- Supporting young people as changemakers, co-creators and partners of various GenU social initiatives, digital platforms and movements.
“The launch of GenU SA is significant for several reasons. Key among them is that it shows the United Nations’ commitment to ensuring that the lives of millions of deserving young people are positively impacted by 2030. Some 65% of youth in South Africa (aged 15 to 34) remain outside of access to quality education, training or employment, and together with key stakeholders such as PwC and the South African government, we have a transformative role to play in ensuring our SDG targets are met—not only for our youth of today, but to create sustained frameworks that support youth development in the decades to come.”
