There was a jubilant and reflective atmosphere at the 40th-anniversary commemoration of the United Democratic Front, with calls for active citizenry and community mobilisation.

The 40th anniversary of the founding of the United Democratic Front (UDF) was celebrated at the Johannesburg City Hall on Sunday. In the crowd were Struggle stalwarts Sophie de Bruyn, Mavuso Msimang, the Rev Frank Chikane, Trevor Manuel and former presidents Kgalema Motlanthe and Thabo Mbeki.

The event kicked off with former student leader Lulu Johnson chanting "UDF unites, apartheid divides", a slogan used by the UDF during its anti-apartheid protests. Johnson said that uniting South Africans was even more urgent today and that "progressive" young people had to reject acts of hooliganism and instead act to protect state resources such as electricity and water.

Former Weekly Mail editor Professor Anton Harber reflected on the role of the media during the anti-apartheid struggle and said that despite the violence and censorship progressive media faced during apartheid, they often found grey areas in the law to find ways of telling the stories of violence, unrest and the unlawful detention of people fighting apartheid.

Harber said that today the news media faced different challenges such as fragmentation and "struggling to survive", but at least they had the protection of the Constitution and courts against intimidation and harassment.

"We need to remind ourselves...