Thought Leader

Many of my close friends and the people I hang out with are under 35. According to local definitions, we’re “the youth”. By accident, I have a great deal of experience on youth matters – being one myself, working with youthful colleagues, enjoying long palavers with youthful friends, and being part of global youth networks….

By Martin Young Like it or not, Justin Bieber has got under my skin. For an adult in his fifties, that is a startling admission, but I think I have good reason. I like the guy, I really do. Bieber as a child dreamt of a big future, of fame and fortune, took the initiative…

Radio Jacaranda has been running a competition which entitles the winner to four tickets to the Justin Bieber show. All the wenners have to do is SMS their phone numbers to the station and if they call you back you have to answer by saying “I have Bieber fever”. Then, if you’re a man, you…

I’d just watched the new Tom Cruise sci-fi about alien machines who invade the planet to suck up Earth’s resources. The movie has a happy ending, though: the alien mother ship is destroyed and Tom gets back to his rustic cabin, his family, nature. Like in most sci-fi’s, the planet is fought for and saved,…

During April Freedom Month I was in Soweto to celebrate not just freedom osmosis but the triumph of the human spirit, the spirit of self-responsibility and determination. This was made possible by the hard work, focus and, above all, determination of two individuals taking their lives and the future of Soweto into their own hands….

It’s Freedom Day. Nineteen years ago today, I was in Hoedspruit, listening to reports of the queues on the radio and reflecting on stories about the AWB telling farmers about MK flying into the airforce base, warning them to hide in the shower with their guns. If South Africa were a person, it would be…

I find that some blacks are inclined to drive like taxi drivers irrespective of the model car they drive or their social status. It would seem that when it comes to doing the right thing on the road there is no difference between motorists from privileged suburban communities from, say, taxi drivers from the working…

I think I know why social media is good for everyone. I just think I do, but don’t really. Besides being a vehicle for sparking Arab Springs, social media is first with the news and enhances your brand if you’re a journalist, editor, social commentator or political analyst. In fact if you’re none of these…

On Saturday April 6 the Joburg leg of the Holi One We Are One festival took place at Emmarentia Dam where people congregated to throw colour into the air and at each other to celebrate the fact that “we are all one”. There were no VIP tickets sold but one did have to purchase bags…

If you want Jesus to go away you have to stop talking about him, and it’s perfectly okay in modern society to not believe in God, but you have to stop telling the world about it at every opportunity, or you merely affirm its existence. Let me explain: I have been fortunate to spend this…