By now it has been firmly established that come 2014 there will be a massive new voting block. The 3 million new youth voters and who wins most of them will determine the possible future of South African politics. Generation Y, the millennial generation in our case, even the ‘born frees' will see political parties in a tail spin to woo that ever elusive youth vote.

A look at the past few election results both nationally and at a local government election level reveal that there is steadily an increase in youth voter turnout. Certainly in 2009 the majority of the voter turnout was the youth. This may have something to do with the fact that the youth comprise seventy percent of our country's population.  The question going forward has to be ‘who are these youth?'

Too long have assumptions been made about youth concerns and youth perspectives on politics. Much has been made of the fact that for some parties the ever increasing urban youth vote will begin to make a significant impact on election results but all this has been vague analysis. What few have done is to really establish who this youth are, what they want and how best to speak to them. Political analysts, commentators' even politicians themselves need to be asking themselves who this demographic really is.

It is not just a South African problem. A recent survey carried out in Europe as well as the confusion of polling companies in the USA primaries reveal the same conclusion; the millennial generation is the most unpredictable generation in the history of modern politics.

The American primaries have consistently shown how inconsistent some of the world's top strategists are when it comes to trying to attract the youth vote. The world over, political parties try to court the youth vote. Political scientists try to understand why they are so difficult to reach. Concerts and all number of other things are organized to try encourage youth participation but nothing indicates any party being a clear winner in the hearts of young people.

This is because most commentators and politicians don't start from the point of departure that the millennial generation is technologically savvy, extremely individual, liberal, curious, socially conscious and able to communicate in a variety of new ways. A generation that literally is in a global classroom they are far more informed consumers of both products and ideas. They can make or break a brand with a simple post or tweet similarly memes and revolutions.

This is important because the youth have always represented a market that is attractive to political parties. More often than not most of them have not made up their minds about their political leanings -blank canvases to convert to different political causes.

They represent a base of people who are willing, if you can get them there, to listen to different ideas. Mostly they represent a huge pool of potential talent and party growth and succession if groomed right. They identify themselves as individuals who at the same time want to be part of something bigger than themselves. The party that best mobilizes around this need will enjoy a large chunk of that 3 million voter pie.

To say the youth market in SA is incredibly segmented is to understate exactly the phenomenon that is under pinning why their vote is so elusive. Urban youth, rural youth, unemployed youth, young professionals, the discouraged job seekers, youth in higher learning institutions - all these require different solutions, but what remains is that they are the youth and if there is one thing that binds them together across the differences in backgrounds is that they all have the greatest capacity for hope and that is what a party that wants to speak to them all needs to understand and do.

 As the race to 2014 ramps up, South African political parties would do well to not once again ignore young people. The youth have proven whether it's the Arab spring, UK riots or the ‘occupy' movements that young people can make a difference if they are mobilized and unified around a candidate or an issue. Ignore the youth vote at your own peril.

Mbali Ntuli is Democratic Alliance Youth Chairperson

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