The theme for youth month in 2025 is: 'Skills for the changing world – Empowering youth for meaningful economic participation.'

'Youth' is defined by the National Youth Development Agency Act 54 of 2008 as “persons between the ages of 14 and 35”. These years are the timeframe when most youth will be in school, furthering their studies after school or starting to enter the workforce, if they are fortunate enough to do so.

It is well documented that South Africa has an astronomical youth unemployment rate. The importance of youth empowerment and the upskilling of the youth to participate in the economy can therefore not be ignored.

It is self-evident that if we aim to empower the youth, we need to ensure that they have access to the necessary tools to do so. Access to further studies, study material and employment opportunities are therefore inherently essential for the youth in South Africa to work towards realising this goal.

In the recent case of Blind SA v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others (CCT 300/24) [2025] ZACC 9 the Constitutional Court handed down judgement in May this year, which effectively ensures that persons with visual and print disabilities may continue to lawfully obtain access to and make use of accessible formats of materials, including study material.

The case follows on an earlier order granted in favour of Blind SA by the Constitutional Court in 2022, which ordered that such access be granted for 24 months, and gave the government the same amount of time to change the law to allow for such access. Unfortunately, by 2024, this process had not been finalised and the order granting such access lapsed. This meant that without intervention, many accessible formats of materials and academic works could no longer legally be accessed by disabled persons, effectively excluding them from empowering and upskilling themselves.

Whilst the Blind SA case itself did not hinge upon the age of the persons with disabilities, the outcome reaffirms the rights of persons with disabilities to access such materials. Inherently, given that the youth with disabilities depend on such materials, the order of the Constitutional Court reaffirms the commitment of the South African legal system to ensure that our law provides for opportunities to all members of society to empower themselves and participate effectively in society.

To truly address the theme of Youth Month, we must ensure that all young people, including those with disabilities, are included on efforts to build skills and create opportunities. Empowerment should not only focus on economic challenges but also remove the barriers that prevent some youth from accessing education and employment.

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