By Michael-Daniel Bam – Junior Mayor of the City of Cape Town
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At the close of the first plenary session of the G20 Interfaith Forum in Cape Town, August 10-14, 2025, Michael-Daniel Bam, the 16-year-old Junior Mayor of Cape Town, addressed the attendees. His comments can be read below or viewed here.
Honoured Ministers, respected religious and political leaders, distinguished professors, honoured guests, and fellow changemakers,
Good morning. Assalamu alaikum. Shalom. Namaste. Peace be with you all.
My name is Michael-Daniel Bam. It’s an honour to be here today, not only as the Junior Mayor of Cape Town, but as someone representing South Africa’s youth.
We meet here today because we believe that a better world is still possible. A world where faith becomes a bridge, not a barrier. A world where difference is met with curiosity, not hostility. A world where peace is more than the absence of war – it is the presence of justice, dignity, and understanding.
If we want that world, we must begin by teaching peace – not only in conferences, not only in treaties, but in our homes, our schools, and most importantly, our places of worship. Faith was never meant to be a tool for division. At its heart, every faith calls us to compassion, to mercy, to care for the stranger. If we allow those lessons to guide us, we will dismantle prejudice before it becomes hatred, and hatred before it becomes violence.
But it is not enough to speak of the future while neglecting those who will live it. We need more youth education – not just in mathematics or science, but in respect, empathy, and interfaith understanding.
We must teach young people that having different beliefs does not mean one must be feared, shunned, or silenced. We are told that the youth are the leaders of tomorrow – but if we truly want tomorrow to be better than today, we must equip the youth to lead in peace today.
Khalil Gibran, in The Prophet, reminds us:
“He who wears his morality but as his best garment, were better naked.”
Morality is not something to put on when the cameras are watching or when it serves our interests. It must be lived daily – even, and especially, when it costs us something.
And yet, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: we have failed at keeping peace and living in unity. Look at Gaza, where children grow up knowing the sound of sirens better than the sound of laughter. Look at Nigeria, where sectarian tensions fuel cycles of revenge. Look at Myanmar, where entire communities are displaced because of the way they pray.
So, we must ask ourselves: If our faith does not lead to peace, what is it leading to? If our religious education does not teach respect, what is it teaching? If our morality is not lived, is it morality at all?
The answers to these questions will not come from one speech or one conference. They will come from a commitment – shared across nations, faiths, and generations – to embed peace into the very fabric of our societies.
My call to you today is simple, but urgent: let us teach peace as a central part of faith. Let us make morality a way of life, not a performance. Let us give our young people the wisdom and the courage to see difference not as a threat, but as a gift.
If we do this, we will raise a generation who will not inherit our conflicts, but our hopes. A generation who will not need to gather in rooms like this to talk about peace, because they will be living it every day.
So today, I challenge each of us – leaders, educators, faith communities – to carry this vision forward. Let us be the generation that transforms words into action, that replaces fear with understanding, and that turns divisions into unity.
Because peace is not just a distant dream – it is a responsibility. A responsibility we all share, and a legacy we must build together.
Thank you for your commitment, your courage, and your belief that a better world is still possible.
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Michael-Daniel Bam is Cape Town’s Junior Mayor and is a purpose-driven changemaker who leads with action, compassion, and connection… and he’s only 16. At 15, he founded and registered the Michael-Daniel Bam Foundation – a non-profit company dedicated to uplifting those overlooked in society.