This post originally appeared on South Africa Government.

We gather here on the eve of June 16, a day which changed the course of South African history.

On June 16 1976, the youth of this country resolved to take a stand against the tyranny of racial domination and social injustice.

Today, the determination, courage, selflessness and tireless activism that defined the generation of 1976 lives on.

It lives on in the many civil society activists who refuse to submit to injustice, inequality, ignorance and disease.

It lives on among all the HIV activists the world over, who continue to fight tirelessly to expand access to life-saving treatment for those living with HIV, those who are infected with TB and those affected by many other diseases.
The spirit of June 1976 lives on among all of you who have come to this Conference to make sure that our country continues to build on the progress we have made to date.

Today, we salute all the activists of this struggle for their unyielding commitment to the cause of freedom, justice and health for all.

Since the dawn of our democracy, we have been on a quest to respond to the myriad social, economic, political and cultural problems that confront our people.

The National Development Plan is now the road map for building a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.

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