Four Namibians are among a group of 14 African youths from various countries, who are attending the third and fourth Young African Leaders Initiative’s (YALI) connect camp being held at a local hotel.
The purpose of the camp is to invest in the next generation of African leaders through intensive executive leadership training, networking and skills building, which intends to prepare them to make social changes in their communities.
Dr Yusuf Kalyango, the Director of YALI, says, “One hundred and sixty young African leaders benefited and got the opportunity to collaborate, learn and network with US and African resource experts and with each other during the eight YALI Connect Camps.”
One of the confident, upcoming young leaders among the group, Elizabeth Namupembe says, “I am part of the activity and I venture for entrepreneurship. I went to the US and I was there for six months to gain experience. I learned the best practices on issues such as how to be good mentors and mentees by looking at key issues, networking sections and learning activities.”
Meanwhile, Priscilla Hernandez from the US Embassy, commented: “The US Department of State selected Namibia as the host for this training because Namibia has earned a reputation for promoting youth development and Namibia’s youth have demonstrated a desire to constructively find Namibian solutions to Namibian change.”
The US Department of State works to build friendly, peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports and professional exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships.
Six countries are represented at the camp – Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Namibia.