Celebrating young Nambian creatives

For the kids by the kids
JUSTISIA SHIPENA
Justicia Shipena



A Namibian children's show telling local stories via entertoyment and education, Waka Waka Moo, in collaboration with Standard Bank Namibia, will be hosting Namibia's first ever Standard Bank Waka Kids Choice Awards.

The award ceremony, which is slated for 12 December at the National Theatre of Namibia, aims to celebrate young creatives across the country. According to Waka Waka Moo founder Luis Munana, the awards will feature shortlisted categories in two segments. “Children will select the top performers of their choice and they will also reward fellow kids, teachers and schools,” he said.

He added that the first segment has seven categories, namely: Kids Choice for top artist, radio station, TV show/programme/movie, Namibian public figure, cool advert, athlete and corporate company.



Inclusive

“We are trying to be as inclusive as possible, but the primary focus is on the kids, however, there are some adults who are influencing kids positively in Namibia and we have to recognise them. It is open to children from grades four to 12 countrywide,” he said.

He added that once a child has been nominated, there is a committee set up, which consists of Standard Bank, ministry of education, arts and culture and Namibia Film Commission representatives, amongst others, who will analyse the entries.

“Once the shortlist is put together and we have our nominees, we will then leave it to the public to vote.”



Driving growth

Magy Mengo, the marketing and communications head of Standard Bank, said the bank is here to drive Namibia's growth and in doing so, growing children into the right direction as well as involving them in the process of growth.

“Our kids are the leaders for tomorrow, so we need to impact them positively, hence we decided to come on board for this,” Mengo said.



Up for grabs

Munana said the prizes for each category are valued at N$1 000, with a Standard Bank Waka Kids Choice Awards trophy.

“The winners are also awarded with a mentorship programme, depending on what category they win. This person will then help them sharpen their skills. Aside from that, there will also be vouchers from different institutions,” he said.

The Standard Bank Waka Kids Choice Awards is derived from an annual American children's awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon called The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, commonly known as the Kids' Choice.

The show honours the year's biggest ­television, movie and music acts as voted by viewers of Nickelodeon networks worldwide.