YOUTH'S CHALLENGES
Millennials must step up to the podium in the national debate
Young professionals need to ensure that their generation is represented on the boards of companies
Part of what drew me to SA when I moved here in 2011 was the disproportionate role young people were playing in business, politics and social development. At the time it seemed that millennials, born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, despite the country’s hierarchical culture, did not feel they needed permission from their elders to make a mark in their respective fields. Role models such as former DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko and Maboneng Precinct developer Jonathan Liebman inspired me to start spending a good portion of my free time chasing (sometimes literally) CEOs and policymakers up escalators and approaching them at public venues, such as restaurants and gyms. Although I am frequently ignored or growled at, I nonetheless persist with my lobbying efforts for the sake of the country’s future, which directly correlates with my future. As national morale hit a low during former president Jacob Zuma’s second term, baby-boomer business leaders, born between the m...
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