Youth document democracy in action

On Wednesday May 29, South Africans from all walks of life stood in line to decide who would form their next government.

After getting the results, we now wait to see whether a government of unity will be the answer to our political woes, tackling the issues that have been on voters' minds in the past few months.

A line of people waiting to cast their vote, with one of them wearing an ANC blanket to shield himself from the cold. (Fuwe Molefe )

Tadiwa Mkono captures a fellow young photographer as he approaches a man with a poster imploring people to vote for the EFF. (Tadiwa Mkono)

For millions of South Africans who took their responsibility of deciding on the government seriously, the semi-permanent mark on the left thumb was a sign of pride, especially for the young people voting for the first time (Zwelibanzi Zwane)

This year’s election was different because, for the first time since 1994, the question of who will lead the nation is in question.

South Africa’s youth, who mostly have a secondary recollection of the historical importance of the country’s first democratic election, have become increasingly disillusioned by the promised hope that came with democracy 30 years ago. They've been the ones most affected by rampant crime, rising unemployment and crumbling infrastructure, among other pervasive issues.

June is Youth Month in South Africa, with Youth Day on June 16 marking the anniversary of the Soweto uprising in 1976. To give the perspective of the youth some airtime, students from the Thokoza-based social and artistic initiative Of Soul and Joy (OSJ) were given cameras and sent to voting stations to try to make sense of the complex societal dialogue we live with in South Africa through the power of photography.

On the morning of election day, Fuwe Molefe, Siyabonga Mhlanga, Tadiwa Mkono, Lehlohonolo Sigaba and other young photographers took to the streets of Thokoza to capture some moments in our unfolding history.

Voters wait to make their mark as night falls and brings the cold. (Teboho Mabuya)

Crowds of people wait in snaking lines to vote, reminiscent of the pictures taken in 1994 of the first democratic vote held in South Africa. (Fuwe Molefe)

In 1994 the resources and responsibility for telling these stories largely belonged to journalists and professional photographers. Thirty years later, a historically silenced demographic in South Africa is now in a position to create their own archives with the purpose of engaging where they come from.

“It’s easier for the older generation to reflect on where we've come from as a country,” says OSJ project manager Jabulani Dhlamini.

“This project helps us to see the perspective of the youth in this pivotal moment in South Africa’s history, as they come face-to-face with changing the country’s destiny in these very difficult days.”

“This is a visual dialogue between 1994 and 2024, the past and the present. And the viewer gets to decide, do the stories told match their experiences right now?”

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