School in a country struggling to recover decades of corrupt government

The high levels of youth unemployment in South Africa remain a pressing concern. Since 2012, the Church has provided pastoral accompaniment to a movement of unemployed graduates and concerned university students. In this work, it has drawn on Pope Francis’s Economy of Francesco methodology — a global process where young economists, entrepreneurs, and innovators collaborate to reimagine the economy in ways that do not leave anyone behind.

Call for a CODESA on Youth Unemployment
Advocates argue that South Africa’s economic landscape — marked by ideological divisions, racial tensions, and contested policy orientations — requires a new approach. They believe the only path toward effective solutions is rooted in the spirit of social fraternity, inspired by the Gospel. In practice, this means convening a CODESA on Youth Unemployment, modeled on the national negotiations of the early 1990s. Such a platform would bring government, business, and civil society together to negotiate a national youth employment plan with clear systems of accountability.

An Incubator for Alternative Economic Models
At the same time, young activists inspired by the Economy of Francesco are experimenting with alternative economic models grounded in solidarity rather than profit alone.

For these activists, the struggle against youth unemployment is not only about jobs but about building an economy that reflects Gospel values of dignity, solidarity, and care for creation.

“Today we are living in unjust international system in which has the worship of wealth at its centre.  It is a throwaway culture that discards young people as well as its older people. In some countries, there is youth unemployment of 40 percent and higher. A whole generation of young people does not have the dignity that is brought by work.”  Pope Francis, 28 November 2013.