Patience Makwele
Namibian youths have been urged to take an active role in shaping their communities and preparing themselves for opportunities emerging from technology, innovation and new industries.
The call was made during the commemoration of International Youth Day in Keetmanshoop on Wednesday, where youth leaders highlighted the need for young people outside major centres to have access to opportunities and platforms to participate in Namibia’s development.
Keetmanshoop junior mayor Llewelyn Rooi said young people should not be left on the margins as the country embraces technological advancement and new economic opportunities.
He pointed to developments such as green hydrogen in Lüderitz as examples of emerging opportunities that young Namibians should prepare themselves to participate in.
“Technology and partnerships” should be used to bring opportunities closer to young people rather than concentrating them in capital cities, Rooi said.
He said young leaders have an important role in encouraging civic participation, strengthening communities and helping bridge the gap between young people and government.
Rooi also stressed that youth development is not the responsibility of people holding leadership positions alone.
“Whether it’s a little boy playing in the streets or a 30-year-old sitting in a corporate office, if all of us play our part, we can make our Namibia a stronghold for youth development and so much more,” he said.
His remarks were echoed by Siyabonga !Aebeb, a member of the Sixth Session of the Children’s Parliament and regional chairperson of the Namibian National Students Organisation council for //Kharas, who urged and challenged young people to take ownership of their personal development.
!Aebeb encouraged young people to embrace opportunities, invest in themselves and become the change they want to see.
“You are not the leader of tomorrow or of the future. You are the leader of today. Lead yourself and change starts with you,” he said.
Education, innovation, youth, sports, arts and culture minister Sanet Steenkamp similarly challenged young people to move beyond waiting for opportunities and instead prepare themselves to create and take advantage of them.
Steenkamp said young Namibians face different circumstances, with some living in urban areas and others in rural and remote communities, while access to technology and connectivity remains uneven.
Despite those differences, she said young people share common aspirations for education, employment, dignity and a better future.
“Your postcode should never determine your potential,” Steenkamp said, urging young people to continue learning, adapting and contributing to their communities.
She said Namibia must move from being merely a consumer of technology and knowledge to becoming a creator of technology, knowledge and solutions, with young people at the centre of that transformation.
The minister also highlighted artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, renewable energy, digital entrepreneurship and data science as areas increasingly shaping the future of work and learning.
The International Youth Day commemoration was held under the theme “Youth Advancing Multilateral Cooperation through Technology and Partnerships.”
Rooi said the theme was particularly relevant to //Kharas, where young people should be exposed to opportunities arising from the region’s economic and technological development.
He said youth participation would be critical in addressing challenges such as unemployment and school dropouts while building stronger communities.
Steenkamp, meanwhile, urged young Namibians not to see themselves merely as beneficiaries of development but as active participants in shaping the country.
“You are already creating businesses. You are already making music and art. You are already excelling in sport. You are already developing technologies,” she said.
She encouraged young people to ask what they could learn, create, lead and contribute rather than waiting for permission to participate.
