Nedbank hosts it’s third YouthX Live, tackling social good and sustainability issues among the youth

On Saturday, 5 November 2022, youth in Pretoria got to attend and experience the third Nedbank YouthX Live event, where they learned and interacted around the topic of social good and sustainability. Hosted by presenter and actor, Moshe Ndiki at 012 Central, guests received masterclasses and tips from four changemakers in the YouthX Social Good & Sustainability category:

• Candice Chirwa – a menstrual health activist, business owner, writer and TEDx speaker

• Dr Gwen Tonyane – a mental health psychiatrist

• Catherine Constantinides – a humanitarian, environmental and climate change activist

• Sonia Tona – a South African-Congolese designer, presenter and content creator.

The event was hosted as part of the Nedbank YouthX movement, which has been created to address issues that the youth face daily, empowering them by unlocking their potential to unearth ideas that can benefit society. The programme was broken down into three segments; Talk X, Money Talks and Power Panel, ensuring that young people learn as much as possible and have the opportunity to ask questions.

As part of her Talk X masterclass, Candice Chirwa, popularly known as Minister of Menstruation, touched on the purpose of philanthropy and how it is about finding your passion in how you’d like to give back to the world, how you’d want to make a change and most importantly what you’d like to be remembered for.

Among other topics, mental health psychiatrist, Dr Gwen Tonyane spoke about the issue of mental health among the youth, “Youth have the highest rates of unemployment, social and financial exclusion, substance abuse and experience high rates of violence and abuse. Some of the above factors may precipitate and exacerbate mental health conditions. The real wealth is your health, I encourage you all to take your mental health seriously and take care of yourselves.”

Sonia Tona; a designer, presenter and content creator who uses her craft to redefine and cultivate conversations around sustainability also shared her story with the audience. When asked what advice she would give to young people who would want to follow in her footsteps, she said “My advice would be to get started early, don’t delay, or wait until you feel ready. I started my journey as a designer with R500 that I earned through modelling. In the same breath, I would also urge young people to develop a strong foundation in whatever it is that they do; don't rush the process.”

Former Miss Earth South Africa, Catherine Constantinides also gave a masterclass, speaking about her work as a humanitarian, activist and environmentalist in South Africa and other parts of the world. Constantinides advised young people to follow their passion and do what makes them come alive, especially when it comes to social good. She further encouraged them to be deliberate about making a change in the world, to be brave, courageous and take risks.

Nedbank’s Executive Head for Marketing, Nthabiseng Matshekga, said, “This year’s social good and sustainability changemakers were carefully selected with the youth in mind, as they are at the forefront of the issues that young people face. Topics around sustainability, environmental and climate change challenges need to be discussed more, as well as menstrual and mental health issues, which still plague the youth. That is why this event was so important to us and we hope that our changemakers created an educational and positive impression on all the young people who attended today.”

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to unlock your potential! Follow @Unlocked_ZA for more information on YouthX Live events and how you could be named the next Changemaker of the Year.