South Africa is characterised by a youthful population and, in many ways, the socio-economic dynamics among its young people are reflective of those playing out in broader society. This MISTRA edited volume seeks to extend our understanding of the role and potential of the youth in South Africa’s development. Incorporating both the great possibilities and enormous challenges facing the young generation, it seeks to understand young people in context, and the ways in which their identities and agency are shaped by interconnected challenges and structural conditions.

The book analyses the limitations of existing policies on youth and development, while building our understanding of the necessity of fostering and prioritising the development of young people for the country’s future. It sets out the youth policy environment; the historic background to the youth’s role in national development; the structural challenges facing many young people on their path to a better future; the resilience, agency and engagement that they demonstrate as societal and economic participants; and the important processes of identity formation that young people engage in, both as a result of and in spite of their circumstances.

Contributors to the volume offer both personal and professional insights as researchers, practitioners and activists. They examine the youth’s engagement with politics, protest, entrepreneurship, education, and religion, as well as with sexuality, violence, and a multitude of other life experiences.

It is hoped that the contributions in this volume will not only add to discussions about the scope and focus of youth development, but will help to chart a way forward that re-imagines the role of young people.