Basic Education Minister, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, addressed young leaders during the Joint Sitting of Learner Leaders on the third and final day of the 2025 Learner Leadership Summit at the Johannesburg City Council in Braamfontein, Johannesburg on 27 June 2025.
“We’re gathered here under the banner of the G20. But even more powerful than the G20 are the values our country is promoting during its presidency: solidarity, equality, and sustainability. Today, I don’t speak to you only as learners. I speak to you as leaders. As active citizens of our country and the world. The Junior G20 Summit is a strong message to the world. South Africa’s youth are here, you have something to say, and you are ready to lead. Because leadership is not something that appears overnight – it’s built, step by step, from the ground up.”
In her address, The Pyramid of Leadership: From Classroom to the World, she said that Leadership is like a pyramid; a strong structure that begins at the ground level of school life, rises through the community, and reaches all the way to the global stage.
Minister Gwarube said that the Base of the Pyramid is Leadership in Schools. “Leadership starts in your schools. It begins with the small but powerful decisions you make every day. The values of the G20, solidarity, equality, and sustainability, must start in your classroom. The Representative Councils of Learners (RCLs) are not just about badges and speeches. They are the training ground for the leaders South Africa needs. You are the voice of learners. Use that voice. Set an example. Stand for what’s right”.
She then spoke about the Middle of the Pyramid, Leadership in Communities: “You are also members of your communities. Whether you serve on the Junior Council, the RCL, or lead projects in your area, you are already showing that young people aren’t waiting to lead tomorrow. Our communities face big challenges such as climate change; poverty; hunger; drug abuse; gangsterism; unemployment; gender inequality; and gender-based violence. Through Junior Councils and similar programmes, you are learning about public service, responsibility, and accountability”.
The Top of the Pyramid is Leadership in the World: “This Junior G20 Summit sends a powerful message that young people in South Africa are ready to engage with global issues. We cannot afford for our youth to be underrepresented, underprepared, or underestimated. You are here to challenge, to dream, to influence, and to build a future that works, not just for the wealthy and powerful, but for all. You are leaders because you care. Because you do not wait for permission to make a difference. Keep rising. Stand tall, uplifted by equality and guided by the light of sustainability. The future belongs to you. Lead it,” Minister Gwarube concluded.