Pretoria - South African youth need to take a stand and actively map a path towards a better future, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
He called on young people to channel their energies towards positive initiatives.
The President said the youth of the 1976 Soweto uprising should be an inspiration for today's youth to be active agents of positive change.
"As young people, you occupy a very significant and strategic place in society and communities," he said at a President's Award for Youth Empowerment in Grahamstown.
The initiative is aimed at developing income-generation skills and encourages community service.
Zuma appealed to the youth to work for the total development the entire country, where all young people can realise and exercise their full potential.
