ZONE National Youth Week opens

Marina Antonio
  • 2 Hours Ago

The 19th National Youth Week opened at the Windhoek showgrounds, with young leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs gathering under the theme “Young Innovators, Real Impact: Turning Challenges into Solutions for Namibia.”

The event makes one thing clear: Namibia’s youth are no longer just waiting for opportunities; they are taking up space.

The day began with the inspiring opening ceremony. Patience Masua, the Executive Chairperson of the National Youth Council (NYC), set the tone for the week. She reminded participants that “this isn’t a week for stating problems but for finding solutions”.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, Dino Balloti, officially opened the youth week and encouraged the attendees to be hard working, “ to not strive to be the smartest in the room but to always strive to be the hardest working in the room.”

The week features different activities. “Tomorrow we start with a two-day exhibition, and then we are going to do a community outreach where we are going to spend the day with kids from an orphanage. We will also hand over donations. The last day is going to be a youthful event, which includes a gala dinner and an award ceremony,” regional coordinator of commerce, Lydia Simon, said.

The atmosphere today was a reminder that while Namibia faces hurdles like youth unemployment and digital gaps, the solutions are already here, living in the minds of the youth. The goal of this week is to equip us with the actual skills to take those ideas back home and implement them.