Young ‘Generation Green’ voices celebrated at Unisa seminar

In celebration of both Youth Day and World Environment Day, Unisa’s Directorate of Sustainability, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Department of Quality Assurance and Enhancement hosted a Youth Month Webinar on 18 June 2025.

The purpose of the webinar was to conscientise the youth about the importance of protecting the environment for future generations and the role they should play in ensuring a sustainable future.

Programme director Dr Pfananani Ramulifho, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Sciences, highlighted that today's youth need to act urgently to protect the environment and be the agents of change.

In her welcome address, Dr Thelma Louw, Director: Sustainability, Monitoring, and Evaluation, said that the celebration of Youth Day and World Environment Day must remind everyone to take responsibility to protect the environment for future generations.

Princess Mthombeni (Image credit: GCIS)

Delivering the keynote address, Princess Mthombeni, a multi-award-winning communication strategist and a passionate advocate for nuclear technology, said that celebrating Youth Day and World Environment Day under the theme Generation Green: Youth Rising for a Sustainable Future requires widening the definition of the green generation to place nuclear power at its heart.  She emphasised that nuclear power can be pivotal in addressing South Africa and Africa’s energy generation and electricity challenges. “With its track record of being a clean, reliable, safe, and scalable energy source, nuclear power presents a viable solution,” she explained. “The evidence of this is the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant, the only nuclear power plant in Africa, situated near Cape Town. This nuclear power plant provides South Africa with 5% of its national electricity. It has operated safely for over four decades in a consistent, cheap, and reliable manner.”

Mthombeni lamented that in the year 2000, South Africa had missed a chance by abandoning the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) project, an innovation exclusive to South Africa. “The PBMR was a clear project that started during President Thabo Mbeki’s administration to power South Africa with electricity and augment Eskom power plants,” she continued. “Importantly, there is a need for South Africa to identify schools of specialisation and design a curriculum that will focus on nuclear technology. Also, Unisa needs to include nuclear-related courses in the curriculum.”

Speaking on the role that green innovation and technology must play in shaping a sustainable future and the role of youth, one of the youths who attended the webinar, Trust Chinyama, voiced the opinion that green innovation and technology are key drivers in creating a sustainable future in tackling environmental challenges and promoting eco-friendly alternatives. Renewable energy solutions such as solar power, wind power, smart agriculture, advancements in waste reduction, and smart urban planning are key in shaping long-term environmental benefits. The youth must participate in policy engagements by being involved in leading discussions.

A student living with disabilities alluded to the need for climate education to be accessible to deaf students using sign language, with interpreters and visual tools to help deaf students. “This would help them to participate fully in climate education,” she said, highlighting the concern of the exclusion of the deaf from climate education, despite their deep concern for environmental issues.

As the world grapples with the pressing issue of climate change, Unisa firmly believes that youth must be at the forefront of climate education and sustainable energy discussions. Youth involvement in climate education and nuclear power ensures that the next generation is equipped to address the environmental challenges of tomorrow.

* By William Thubakgale and Tshediso Madiseng, Department of Institutional Advancement