'1985', My '1976': Fiction, Facts and the Future

Youth Day, as it is popularly known, is a day in which South Africans honour the youth that was ambushed by the apartheid regime police in Soweto on 16 June 1976. On that day, several youths were inured and many lost their lives.

1985, in line with 1976,  signalled the beginning of the end of apartheid and governance in South Africa. Following an upsurge of violent and non-violent resistance to the racially -exclusive system of apartheid, the government then, declared a partial state of emergency on 20 July 1985.

Recently we (my wife and I) found ourselves having a general chat about Youth Day with our kids. We told our kids that we were too young to talk about what happened  1976 as we were toddlers then. We told them about our experiences during 1985 on the Cape Flats. We told them of family, friends and community activists that were innocently injured and killed.

We told them of the dispersing of large student crowds, of the dodging teargas canisters, covering our faces with masks (like we doing now within the existing Covid-19 pandemic), putting sliced tomatoes and onions slices on our faces to sooth the burning sensation from the teargas.

 In the midst of the conversation, I made mentioned of the of word, 'Casper'. My 11 year old daughter listening attentively, suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and asked the following: 'Daddy, how does Casper, the friendly ghost, feature in Youth Day?' I responded: 'My baby, this particular  'Casper' was a ghost but not a friendly one. It was a ghost of the past. It was a military vehicle used by the apartheid police during the 1985 State of Emergency'

Moving from 1985 to the present: the Youth of the day is facing a myriad of challenges, covering amongst others: poverty, unemployment, inequality, gender base violence and the list goes on. On 9 April 2020, our SA President, his excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster with respect to Covid-19 lockdown.  The said challenges have been amplified by the existing Covid-19 pandemic we are currently experiencing.

The Youth then (yesteryear) fought the battle for political freedom. The fight this round is a one of economic freedom and technology freedom (as covered in a previous blog post).
Recently on LinkedIn, I saw a post of a vacancy for an electrical engineer. For the said 1 position, some 500 people applied for it. From a recent futures trends webinar, it was indicated that in the next few years most of the jobs will be self-employed in nature. I also saw a LinkedIn post recently of a qualified chemical engineer that could not find a job. She up-skilled herself by learning Java and Python script. The list goes on.

Going into solutions-mode, I  propose some ideas to consider:

1. Start a Strengths Revolution. Most people do not know their strengths. If one ask the question, most likely their answers will cover amongst others: their titles, positions, qualifications, experience, etc. Within each one of us, we have natural intrinsic  talents. In some corners, the term, 'naturals' come to mind. Examples that comes to mind are the late Mr. Hamilton Naki (heart transplant assistant then for the late Professor Christiaan Barnard) and Dr. Riad Moosa (local stand-up comedian with a qualified medical qualification)
2. Move beyond the Youth Age Definition. Start a Entrepreneurial Revolution before, during and beyond the Youth Age Definition, bottom up.
3. In conjunction with above to items, start a ESTEEM Revolution  from all levels and all platforms and 360 Degrees (Start, Support, Promote, etc.):
• E = Entrepreneurship
• S = Science
• T = Technology
• E = Engineering
• E = Entrepreneurship
• M = Mathematics
4. Start a Whole Brain Revolution. Embrace Fiction (Imagination, Creativity, etc.) and Facts (Rationale, Reason, Logic, etc.)
5. Everybody should consider developing a Personal Strategic Plan. In the corporate world, it is called an IDP (Individual Development Plan) and in the professional domain, it is called CPD (Continuous Professional Development)

Several weeks ago, I read  a book called 'Reclaim your Heart' by Yasmin Mogahed. Some where the writer makes reference that if one reflects back in your life where one went through a bad patch, there are some things good that take place but went unnoticed.  Perhaps not directly, but I reflected on Mogahed's writings and 'thought back' retrospectively to the year of 1985.

Drawing from my knowledge and experience as a professional engineer and manager, I identified two items that were good. The one was a fictitious movie called: 'Back to the Future' (1985) by Steven Spielberg and  the other was a book called: 'Innovation & Entrepreneurship' (1985) by Peter Drucker.

As a kid then, 'Back to the Future' just blew me away with all its far fetched technologies and gadgets in the movie  I watched in 1985. Interestingly enough, that time it was all imagination (and make- believe) but now 35 years later about 10  of these science-fiction items then are now a reality and readily available.

When I did my post graduate studies at UP, I was introduced to the management thinker and writer, Peter F Drucker (known as the Father of Modern Management or in some circles, known as the Guru of the Gurus). Drucker wrote some 3 dozen management books. Of all the books Drucker, just before he passed away in an interview he made mentioned that from all the books he wrote, 6 of them stand out from the rest. 'Innovation & Entrepreneurship' was one of them.

'Innovation & Entrepreneurship' (1985) by Peter F Drucker is a real gem. It covers the topics of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in a systematic fashion.  The book makes reference to 7 Sources of Opportunities.  The book is still relevant today as it was then in 1985. Drucker is all about the Long Term, Innovate Today and Results.

Before I conclude this post I like to share two stories about 2 very special people respectively. Both happen to be medical doctors.

The first story is in the form of the youngest neuron surgeon (or one of the youngest) in South Africa. She is 34 year old, a black female doctor, with the name Dr Nomsa Shezi.  Listening to an interview on Newz Room Afrika, Dr Nomsa Shezi gave some advice to the youth of the day. I made my own summary of the interview:

• With change, there needs to be some form of Pain (in my words: no pain no gain?)
• There must be some form of Sacrifice (in my words: work harder? work smarter? work harder and smarter?)
• Have a Vision of your future (in my words: have a personal strategy plan?)
• Maintain / stick to your own Identity (in my words: find what are your unique intrinsic strengths/ talents/ natural 'flow')
• Fight (in my own words: Focus and don't take your eye off the ball)

The second story is about well known Cape Town community doctor that sadly passed away in the early hours of this morning because of Covid-19. Dr Fuad Jakoet was a  family doctor and served communities in most areas in Cape Town. Today Cape Town pays tribute to a giant figure with a golden heart who served the poorest of the poor. He was always concern about the everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

Dr Fuad Jakoet and his brother, Dr Yusuf Jakoet, studied at UCT. They were the first (part of the first group) of non white students that were allowed to study Medicine at UCT. Quoting an actual WhatsApp I received earlier today about Dr. Fuad Jakoet: 'During his student days at UCT he was an inspiration to many during those dark days with outstanding academic results. He was awarded a number of class medals for outstanding academic excellence. He gave us hope during those years. A true community doctor'

The brains behind the historical launch of the Falcon 9, takes form of a South African born, Mr Elon Musk. I don't know what subjects Musk did at school, I am almost sure that Maths and Science were part of his studies.

'To Predict the Future, you have to Create it' Peter F Drucker

I dedicate this post in memory of all the Youth (that has died  whilst fighting for our freedom that we enjoy today) and the late fallen giant, Dr Fuad Jakoet