More than 200 people laced up their takkies for Stellenbosch University’s annual Social Justice Walk on Youth Day this year, making it the biggest turnout since the event began.
Stellenbosch, South Africa (25 June 2026) – The 16-kilometre walk, hosted by Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Social Justice and Visit Stellenbosch, brought together students, staff, and community members to honour Youth Day, remember the 1976 Soweto Uprising, and raise funds for students facing serious financial hardship.
Youth Day in South Africa commemorates 16 June 1976, when thousands of school pupils in Soweto protested against apartheid education laws. Many were met with violence, and the day became one of the defining moments in the country’s fight for freedom and equal education.
This year’s walk marked 50 years since the Soweto Uprising and 30 years of South Africa’s Constitution.
It was a way for the university to remember the young people who fought for access to education, while also recognising that many students today are still locked out of opportunities because of debt, food insecurity, accommodation struggles and other financial barriers.
Funds raised through the walk go to #Action4Inclusion, a campaign that supports students who are at risk of dropping out because they cannot afford to continue their studies.
The route the walk took carried meaning. It stopped at the Ou Hoofgebou Monument where participants reflected on the Constitution and social justice, and continued to the old Lückhoff School, a site tied to apartheid forced removals. There, walkers were given symbolic stones and spekboom cuttings representing the weight of the past and hope for the future. It then moved through Ida’s Valley Community Market and the Dwarsrivier Valley communities before ending at the Pniel Museum, where participants reflected on justice, inclusion and hope.
At the final stop, Professor Thuli Madonsela reminded walkers that the fight for equal education still goes on.
“We are here partly because of a debt of gratitude to those who dared to believe that a better South Africa was possible, and that education was an anchor of that better world,” she said.
It is important to acknowledge that while much has changed since 1976, there’s still a long road ahead in making education truly accessible to all.
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