Youth push sustainable development

Justicia Shipena



The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), in collaboration with MTN Business Namibia, successfully hosted the Model United Nations (MUN) High School Conference from 19 to 20 September at the Safari Court Hotel in Windhoek.

A total of 15 high schools from the Khomas, Erongo, Otjikoto and Hardap regions were represented at the seventh edition of the conference.

Delegates were paired up to represent 30 United Nations member states.

The pupils represented countries such as Yemen, Sudan, Uzbekistan and others in a challenging debate about a model United Nations, advocacy for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global citizenship, as well as ensuring global water and sanitation availability and sustainability.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to Namibia, Charles Segoe-Moses, said young people are already contributing to the resilience of their communities, by proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress and inspiring political change.

Young people are the agents and catalysts for the change needed to advance the SDGs, he said.

He added that if the youth are provided with the necessary skills and opportunities, they are able to lead the goals for sustainable development in the world and therefore ensure peace and security.

“The time is now to empower youth organisations with the needed support, in order to open the way for them to have the ability to translate the 2030 global agenda into local, regional and national policies,” he said.

Segoe-Moses also emphasised that youth-led organisations play a significant role in not only monitoring but keeping governments accountable for advancing the SDGs.

“Coupled with political commitment and adequate resources, ambitious young people have the potential to change the world for decades to come,” he said.

St Paul’s College learner Salime Gossayn said it was her first time taking part in the conference.

She was very of proud of being names the best delegate.

She said the experience taught her so much.

“I really worked hard for it and it makes me so full of pride to know that everyone recognises your work and you can bounce back even though you have been through so many hardships,” she said.

Eliaser Paulus, a learner at Etosha Secondary School, said it was quite an experience and through this type of initiative he learned to get out of his comfort zone.

He would like to share the knowledge he gained with his peers at school, either through the debate club or any way possible to empower them and keep them informed about global issues.

The delegates successfully passed a resolution on each topic, which was favorably voted upon and adopted by the assembly.

After the conference, delegates were awarded with certificates for participation along with cash prizes sponsored by MTN Business Namibia. The award for best school, along with N$3 000, was awarded to St Paul’s College. The general assembly delegates voted for Gossayn as the best delegate, who represented Sweden during the conference.

The other prizes as voted for by the judges included the best speaker, who received N$1 500 from MTN.

This prize was awarded to a Grade 9 learner from Windhoek High School, Christiaan Prinsloo, who represented Yemen during the conference.

The award for best delegation was awarded to the United Kingdom delegation, represented by Selma Iyambo from Hochland High School and Ernst Calitz from Windhoek Gymnasium.

In addition, MTN awarded two innovation cash prizes to delegates who applied out-of-the-box thinking and approaches.

The awards went to Michael Petrus from Windhoek High School, representing of South Africa, and Heinrich Nel from the Etosha Secondary School, who represented France.

The MUN programme was launched by the UNIC in Namibia during 2012.

High school youth have been actively engaged through the programme, which has contributed to honing their leadership skills as well as research ability, writing, public speaking and problem-solving skills through hands-on experiences.