Educating youth on renewable energy

Justicia ShipenaThe energy ministry launched the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE) at the Safari Court Hotel on 24 October.The event took place in the presence of the ministers and senior officials responsible for energy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states.Also present was representatives from power utilities and regulators, as well as regional and international experts and international cooperation partners.A series of events were scheduled to precede the main event, including workshops, which took place from 22 to 24 October.In line with the launch, a public dialogue forum on youth and innovation under the theme ‘Promoting infrastructure development and youth empowerment for sustainable development’ was held on 23 October. Speaking at the dialogue, energy ministry director John Titus said youth should be assisted to become better educated in order to enter universities to improve their skills.“In line with the Harambee Prosperity Plan, the ministry of mines and energy is working together with the government and want to rectify all schools by 2020,” he said.Titus added the national energy policy involved the youth and two national workshops were held. The workshops gave an indication that the youth do not get enough support, hence the policy having a general statement to address this. Titus also said the youth can contribute best to the theme of ‘Promoting infrastructure development and youth empowerment for sustainable development’, as they have great ideas. With advancing energy, sometimes there are young people with brilliant ideas in terms of innovation and there are those who have received international epaulets from the international organisations.“This is a clear indication that there is definitely potential in them and they need to be assisted for Namibia to be able to move into industrialisation,” he said.Titus added there are young innovators out there, but they lack support. “Platforms like this could help inform our policymakers to adapt to crafting policies so that they can be better assisted.”Speaking to The Zone last Tuesday, Deon Shekuza, director of Namibia Youth on Renewable Energy (NAYoRE), said Namibia does not have a dedicated youth programme that can support young people. “When we as NAYoRE participated in the formulation of the Namibia energy policy; our aim was to give government some kind of leverage inside the policy that looks out for youth, so that when they try and implement it at a national level it is a bit easier,” he said.Shekuza added that with Namibia being the country where SACREEE sits, it is important that it takes the first step in developing a programme that can recommend it to other SADC members. Shekuza said government’s philosophy of the tenders and the morphology of the type of tenders being advertised are very debateable, as a lack of skills is emphasised, yet a tender for a megawatt plant is given to five or six to be developed. “The problem with that is that the foreign institutions will come and will set up some kind of infrastructure that will develop that megawatt plant we asked for, but that does not build our capacity. Namibia should rather aim to be developing it, and this is coming increasingly important,” he said.Shekuza also questioned how the young people benefit from the facilities like the wind power plant that was recently set up in Lüderitz.“Often these things are being done in the isolation of the youth and they need that programme or they might isolate some of the youth like, those that don’t go to school or lack knowledge in solar energy,” he said.Shekuza said when young people graduate from university in renewable energy fields, they seek jobs that they might not obtain, because companies are always looking for a specialised person.“Youth getting employment in the energy sector, especially women, is a big challenge,” he said.Shekuza said the programme should be able to help every young person, in every corner of Namibia.

Educating youth on renewable energy

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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Educating youth on renewable energy

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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