Keetmanshoop
A Nationhood and National Pride (NNP) campaign workshop held here last week has been hailed as highly successful by the participants. The two-day workshop, which ended last Thursday, was attended by about 30 people from different ministries, state-owned enterprises and youth groups and established a new NNP regional forum.
According to Shasimana Uugulu, the Ministry of Information Communication Technology (MICT)’s campaign manager, the aim of the workshop was to set up a forum that will be responsible for organising NNP activities in the region. He said the forum will consist of the people who attended the workshop, while a smaller team, consisting of ten, would be nominated from the larger group to coordinate the forum’s activities regionally.
Uugulu further explained that the main aim of the campaign – which was launched by former president Hifikepunye Pohamba – is to address social ills, such as vandalism of public property, crime, violence against women and children, tribalism, lack of respect for national symbols and alcohol and drug abuse.
He stressed that several regions, including Hardap, Zambezi and Kunene have already set up such fora and this will help to ensure that people in the regions take ownership of the NNP programme.
“The programme also aims to instil national pride and patriotism among Namibians,” he noted. Referring back to 1990 he recalled that after Namibia gained its independence, all Namibians came together under the banner of ‘One Namibia, One Nation’, and that spirit should never fade away. That’s what government wants to achieve with the NNP campaign.
He added that Namibians should understand the importance of unity, and Namibia as a country should encourage a strong sense of national identity. He urged all citizens to embrace each other, irrespective of their regions of origin and cultural identity, for the betterment and development of Namibia.
“We should all be united and patriotic as we march towards Vision 2030,” he stated. The regional forum will, apart from coordinating the implementation of NNP, also advise the national steering committee on issues related to the implementation process and strategy
The regional forum is also responsible for mobilising communities and regional structures to support the NNP, initiate local activities that will educate the local citizens to take pride in their country and contribute to economic development of their country. The regional forum will also solicit financial support from the local private sector to support Nationhood and National Pride campaign activities in the region.