June 16 was declared National Youth Day due to the active role that young people played in SA's liberation struggle, particularly during the 1979 students' uprising. 

Mashatile delivered the keynote address at the official commemoration of Youth Day at the Rag Farm stadium at the University of the North West Province in Potchefstroom.

"Today we honour and pay tribute to the valiant and fearless young people who stood at the forefront of the liberation struggle in June 16, 1976.
Regardless of their youthful stature, the youth of 1976 stood strong in the face of an oppressive system of the apartheid regime. They faced death with unwavering determination fuelled by a vision of equal rights and more just society. " 

--SABC--