80 best Youth Day quotes, messages, greetings, wishes, pictures

South Africa is one of the countries that have the highest number of public holidays. While everyone enjoys the chance to be away from work and school, it is prudent to understand the history and significance of the days. Therefore, these Youth Day quotes, messages, greetings, wishes and pictures aim at doing that.

On 16th June of every year, South Africa marks Youth Day to pay tribute and honour the memory of the brave school children who participated in the Soweto Uprising. Some of them lost their lives as they protested for human rights, some of which we enjoy to date. These Youth Day quotes, messages, greetings, wishes, and pictures could go a long way in setting the mood.

Youth Day South Africa

What is the significance of Youth Day in South Africa? On 16th June 1976, more than 10,000 black students marched out of classrooms into the streets of Soweto to protest against the racial laws that deterred their access to education.

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One of the laws they were against was Afrikaans being made compulsory in black township schools. The rules had also prohibited the use of local dialects in schools, although the constitution recognised English and Afrikaans as the country's official languages.

The protests were meant to be peaceful. However, a confrontation with the South African Police Service led to the death of 176 students, the majority of whom were shot dead. Among those who lost their lives were Hector Pieterson and Hastings Ndlovu, shot at Orlando West High School. The Soweto Uprising played a significant role in establishing the ANC's role in the anti-apartheid struggle.

What is important about Youth Day?

On this occasion, we reminisce about the lives lost in the struggle for the freedom we enjoy today. We also pay tribute to the lives lost by reminding ourselves of our roles in making South Africa a better country. One way of doing so is by sharing Youth Day quotes, messages, wishes, greetings, and pictures.

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Youth Day South Africa quotes

What does Youth Day mean to me? Young as you are, you have a significant contribution to the country. These happy Youth Day quotes express your efforts and why you matter.

1. Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear the fabric of our society and weaken our nation. Nelson Mandela
2. Let me say this and say this with the utmost conviction: the nation owes you a clear policy and practical measures to ensure that the younger generation contributes to, and benefit from, our new democracy. Nelson Mandela
3. The younger generation offers the promise of happiness, but life offers the realities of grief. Nicholas Sparks
4. In a considerable measure, our freedom was due to what young people such as yourselves did 40 years ago, not very far from where we lived in Soweto, where Hector Pieterson was shot and killed. But you are fantastic. Reach for your stars because now you can be anything and everything you want to be. Archbishop Desmond Tutu
5. What should young people do with their lives today? Many things. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured. Kurt Vonnegut
6. The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. Friedrich Nietzsche
7. I am not young enough to know everything. J. M. Barrie
8. There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. The love of books is the best of all. Jacqueline Kennedy
9. It must be wonderful to be seventeen and to know everything. Arthur C. Clarke
10. When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young. Maya Angelou
11. Everyone believes in his youth that the world really began with him and that all merely exist for his sake. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
12. It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it, but the young know they are wretched. William Somerset Maugham
13. To get back to my youth, I would do anything in the world except taking exercise, get up early, or be respectable. Oscar Wilde
14. The excesses of our youth are drafts upon our old age, payable with interest, about thirty years after date. Charles Caleb Colton
15. The youth do not see the old. They are not programmed to see the old, who are cancelled, negated, wiped out. Doris Lessing

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Youth Day messages

How do we celebrate Youth Day? One effortless way of participating in the occasion is by sharing messages. These are some of the messages you could send your friends.

1. We as young people have a voice, and we can change the future of our country with this voice.
2. You should stay strong for the future generation.
3. Liberate yourself from the shackles of self-satisfaction and complacency.
4. You should decide whether you intend to live within the status quo or you want to challenge it. Either one you choose, remember that it is your decision and not anyone else.
5. You have to grow from the inside of yourself. Nobody can make you grow but yourself.
6. Take control of your future right now. Be the lion that conquers the world.
7. We are what we wish for ourselves. If you think yourself strong and might, then strong and mighty you will be.
8. The members of the younger generation are the heroes of tomorrow.
9. Whenever you look for days when there are no problems, the younger generation is a part of the solution to your problem.
10. You cannot believe in God unless you have looked and believed in your abilities. You cannot believe in the younger generation unless you have empowered them.
11. You alone have the power to decide how your future will look like. You alone can decide what you want from your future, leaders and country. So, do not sit back and complain about incompetent leaders, yet you can be the leader you envision.
12. Your social status should no longer be a barrier to being educated and becoming skilled. We recognise that a country that invests in its younger generation is clearly on the road to prosperity, and that is where we want to be.
13. Though the challenges we face are immense, our young people have proven time and time again that their unmatched optimism and desire to make a change is unyielding.
14. As the people of our country, you are the change agents that everyone has been waiting for.
15. The voices of young people in movements have been catalysts for change. They have brought about the change we enjoy today, hence, a promise for a better tomorrow.
16. You should work like a master and not as a slave; work incessantly, but do not do a slave’s work.
17. The younger generation contributes to their communities, which builds an ethos of positive and engaged citizenship where young people become activists for good, activists for changing the lives of our people.
18. Only you can choose how your future will seem, as though only you can choose what you need from your future, pioneers, and nation.
19. Let us cheer to the sprightly years, times to make wonderful recollections throughout everyday life, and times to pursue the unattainable.
20. The vitality and ability of the younger generation of our nation are unmatched. We as a whole are confident that with your endeavours, you are going to lead our country higher than ever.

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Youth Day wishes

Youth Day wishes could go a long way in reminding your friends and family to be their best.

1. You must become the change that you want to be, and you must become the vehicles of transformation, vehicles of innovation, and vehicles of creating this great country of ours, South Africa.
2. The members of the younger generation are growing to be better leaders that we all need.
3. The whole universe is yours; conquer yourself.
4. The greatest sin is to think that you are weak.
5. Do not hate anybody because that hatred that comes out from you must come back to you in the long run. If you love, that love will come back to you, completing the circle.
6. Learn everything good from others, but bring it in, and in your way, adsorb it; do not become others.
7. The vigour and power of the younger generation are unmatched. Make the most of this time for the good of your family and your country. I am sending my best wishes on this day.
8. Have faith in yourself — all power is in you. Even the poison of a snake is powerless if you can firmly deny it.
9. May you grow in strength and determination as you build our country in the future.
10. Youth symbolises high energy, positivity and spirit to make things happen. I wish you a happy day.
11. On the occasion of South African Youth Day, promise yourself to become a responsible youth and work for the country's development and brighter future. May you always shine bright!
12. Let us cheer to the cheerful years and chase the unattainable.
13. May you are blessed with the power to empower those around you and make South Africa better.
14. If the younger generation is on the right track, the country is in safe hands.
15. When the younger generation's high energies are focused in the right direction, there are brighter chances for the country to progress. Happy Youth Day.
16. Since you will be the legend of tomorrow, I wish you the absolute best of Youth Day.
17. Make the best choice, and make sure to place God in the entirety of your choices. The future that you ache for is practically around the bend.
18. The younger generation is the young firearms of the nation who will convey the new change to lead another changed life for the better. Warm wishes to you!
19. Guarantee yourself to wind up a dependable younger generation. May you generally sparkle brilliantly!
20. The life and intensity of the younger generation are unmatched. Take advantage of this time for the benefit of your family and your nation. I am sending all the best today.

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Youth Day greetings

How do we celebrate Youth Day? Apart from the quotes, these greetings can go a long way in making your friends and family cognisant of their role in change.

1. Be the change that everyone needs and create the world of yourself by yourself.
2. Believe in yourself and your abilities, and you will become a great leader of tomorrow.
3. Unleash your strength on this national Youth day.
4. This year's Youth Day calls on young people to rebuild our economy and make a difference in the lives of our communities.
5. I am sending warm wishes to you because you are hope for the generations to come. All the best!
6. The younger generation is the young guns of the country who will bring the new change to lead a new transformed life for the better.
7. Everything has a beautiful ending. If it is not beautiful, then it is not the ending. So keep working hard until you experience a beautiful ending.
8. I am sending you warm wishes today. Let us guide and support our young people because they are our tomorrow and our hope.
9. The young generation is vivacious, confident, valiant, brilliant and decided. They are the fate of a nation, and I hope they commend this astounding stage on Youth Day.
10. Youth Day is an update that you are capable, brilliant, solid and roused to do the things you need. Never surrender to circumstance. All the best on this glorious day!
11. Each start in life dependably has its closure. It is hence left to you to begin well so you can end well.
12. A country's younger generation is the most potent blessing; they can dream and make every dream come true.
13. Arise! Awake and stop not until the goal is reached. I wish you a happy day.
14. Youth is humanity in the making. If something is in the works, the more attention you pay to it, the better the product will be
15. The best resource that a nation can have to grow is Youth. Cheers to the young energies and minds!

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Youth Day pictures

If you communicate best through pictures, you can still do so. These are some of the pictures you could share to accompany the quotes, messages, greetings and wishes.

The students' brevity was unmatched

Blurred as the pictures are, they symbolise the struggle for the freedom we enjoy today. The young students depicted brevity when during the protest, despite police brutality.

Enough is enough!

The Soweto Uprising significantly contributed to the end of apartheid rule. The students wanted the issues that they faced addressed. However, the worst happened.

Innocent lives lost

What was meant to be a peaceful protest turned into a historical event. More than 700 scholars were injured, while 176 were killed. Hector Pieterson was one of the deceased.

History lives on

How do we celebrate Youth Day? In commemoration of the lives lost, you can re-enact the Soweto Uprising to pay tribute to the lives lost.

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Teach them while they are young

You can engage young kids in activities to make them understand the significance of the holiday. That way, they will understand their role in the country's future.

Raise issues affecting the country

As part of empowering the younger generations to be better, you can raise awareness on citizens' issues. One such critical topic is gender-based violence.

Equip the younger generation with the moral compass

As we push for a better future, it is prudent to equip the younger generation with the required morals. One way of doing so is by empowering them through education.

Celebrate the youths

Apart from learning about the significance of Youth Day in South Africa, you can celebrate the people doing their best to make the country great.

The struggle for freedom

The holiday is a great opportunity to learn more about the country's freedom. You can do so through movies and books.

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Share Youth Day pictures

You can send your friends pictures to convey the message of freedom. You can also post a WhatsApp status of the same.

Youth Day quotes, messages, wishes, greetings and pictures have enlightened you on the holiday's significance. They have also given you options on ways of marking the day.

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Source: Briefly News