Youth ministry to launch YouthConnekt Namibia chapter

The ministry of sport, youth and national service, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), organised a stakeholder engagement on 6 September to create synergies among current youth programmes which will inform the activities of the YouthConnekt (YC) chapter in preparation for its launch.

They are planning to launch the YC Namibia chapter in October. YC is a programme that aims to provide holistic solutions to alleviate the challenges faced by African youth by widening the pool of economic, social and civic leadership opportunities through national YC initiatives.

African countries are encouraged to register a replica of the programme locally in their respective countries and modify the goals and aims of the programme to each country’s needs. YC Namibia aims to reach all youth in the country by involving them in the current African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) affairs, particularly women and youth in international trade and entrepreneurship.

Deputy minister Emma Kanema-Gaomas said the stakeholder engagement is aimed at popularising the YC Namibia chapter and the opportunities it presents for the Namibian youth.

“This is because our mandate as a ministry is focused on the promotion of youth empowerment initiatives as expounded in our third national youth policy. It is, therefore, our duty to ensure that we join hands with development partners and other progressive organisations in youth development.”

Adopted by the African Union (AU), YC Africa is a Pan-African programme established to co-design and accelerate relevant solutions for youth socio-economic development, and to support intergovernmental knowledge exchange on policy, programmes and partnerships.

Operationalised in 2020, the YC Africa hub aims to contribute to the achievement of Africa’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mandate, the AU 2063 agenda and the AU Youth Charter.

Through national YC initiatives, the hub accomplishes its mandate by coordinating a global network to create a continental ecosystem for African youth; sharing experience and knowledge on programme and policy design, youth initiatives and providing a conduit for resources at scale and data on youth empowerment initiatives.

She added that in this regard, it is important to emphasise that the YC initiative provides youth with a continental platform to connect, engage and collaborate on a host of issues ranging from governance, skills development, social and environmental issues.

She further said it is a comprehensive approach which focuses on youth empowerment in all elements of youth development, such as skills, employment, entrepreneurship, access to finance, positive values and attitudes, sexual reproductive health, civic engagement and the promotion of responsible youth citizenship and inclusion in local and national policy dialogues.

“Africa’s utmost resource is its youth, and Namibia is particularly not lacking in that regard as the majority of the population is youth.”

Kanema-Gaomas said there is an urgency for the participation of youth at the top end of our economy and as a government, they have put together a number of policy interventions geared toward bringing youth into the mainstream of the economy to enhance inclusion and cohesion.

“We have the mandate to ensure that young Namibians are empowered and become self-reliant and productive citizens through improved education and skills development, health and well-being, employment and economic empowerment as well as promotion of civic participation by youth and representation in civic and political development arenas.”

Alka Bhatia, UNDP resident representative, in a question-and-answer session, added that the idea of YC is to collaborate and co-create this strategy as they move further.

“The YC is a pan African platform and the idea is to not come up with a set of interventions.”



YC goals

Maano Shimanda, representative of UNDP, shared the goals of YC. One of the goals of this platform is to create two million jobs across Africa; empower 25 million youth with skills; have at least one million young leaders whose skills are enhanced; plan to connect and digitally empower 100 million young Africans and allow skills to be transferred to their local communities, and closing the gender gap where it aims to develop or enhance sustainable initiatives and policies that will reduce gender inequality.

“How we plan on achieving these goals as a member state is by shaping policies, creating and improving existing youth programmes and by strengthening partnerships with the civil society, individuals, government, private sectors, development partners and other stakeholders.”

Shimanda further said that the YC chapter for Namibia has just been introduced and is a platform that aims to connect youth with their peers, leaders, role models, skills and resources to promote access to civic engagement and entrepreneurship opportunities.

The platform taps into the resources for the youth by creating opportunities and skills needed to improve their nations' and communities' social economic status and provides a network for young people all over Namibia and beyond to share their experiences, knowledge and ideas on how the youth can positively impact development.

“We plan to launch the Namibian YC chapter in October and participate in the YC summit in Rwanda, which will take place from 13 to 15 October and establish our vision, mission and objective for the Namibian chapter.”



PHOTOS MICHELLINE NAWATISES

Photo 1: The stakeholder engagement is aimed at popularising the YouthConnekt Namibia chapter and the opportunities it presents for the Namibian youth.



Photo 2: Maano Shimanda, representative of UNDP shared the goals of YouthConnekt.



Photo 3: Deputy minister of the ministry of sport, youth and national service, Emma Kanema-Gaomas, says they are focused on the promotion of youth empowerment initiatives as expounded in the third national youth policy.