Refracted Economies: Reimagining youth livelihoods in an age of tech innovation - HSRC Seminar

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) seminars

HSRC Seminar: Refracted Economies: Reimagining youth livelihoods in an age of technological innovation 23 April 2020 Online seminar Overview: The future of work in a technological age is topical, especially in the context of wide-scale youth unemployment. Current conversations centre on helping young people enter existing professions, become entrepreneurs or enhance (often science) skills development with a view towards salaried employment. Often missing are more nuanced conversations, including how entrepreneurship, skills, knowledge, formality, sustainability, permanence, and dignity exist along a continuum when it comes to describing ‘work’. Also missing is how work as we know it - full-time, permanent and along a single trajectory - is unlikely to be the norm as we fully enter the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Should we not begin to differentiate between gigs, jobs, careers, livelihoods, and employment? Might we not help young people think differently about work: where it might be available and how it might change? Presenters: Prof. Sharlene Swartz, Mr Krish Chetty and Ms Seipati Mokhema, Inclusive Economic Development (IED), HSRC Discussants: Mr Imraan Patel, Deputy Director-General, Department of Science and Innovation; Dr Tashmia Ismail-Saville, CEO, Youth Employment Service Chair: Dr Glenda Kruss, CeSTII, HSRC For more information and to download seminar presentation: bit.ly/refraeconomies