WINDHOEK– The 2014 Youth Leadership Development Programme (YLDP) has been ongoing since late February.
The programme has been launched and offered as an exclusive opportunity to emerging leaders for four years now. According to George Kambala, Assistance Co-ordinate of the YLDP, the course will run until September covering about ten modules over nine to ten months at the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation Stiftung (FES) Forum in Klein Windhoek. Kambala says the programme is targeting leaders from different youth organisations. Participants will get exposure to the practical social realities of the country by implementing their own small social projects. Youth leaders age 18 to 30(in exceptional cases 35, in a group of 15 – 25 people. “The nominated agency is required to pay a nominal fee of N$ 100 per module for one successful participant. This payment subsidises meals and logistics related costs,” he adds.
Organisations that are responsible for nominating candidates are National Youth Council, all political parties youth organisations and student organisations. “Candidates must have a proven track record of leadership responsibility and active participation with youth organisations also known as sending agencies. Being in a tertiary institution or have successfully completed studies in a recognised institution is considered as an advantage. They must be willing to stay and be part of the programme throughout the training period and spend approximately two weekends, Saturday and Sunday per month in a training session,” Kambala points out.
Selection criteria applied by the selection panel are organisational leadership experience, work professional experience, communication skill, appearance, commitment and team player.
Kambala says the programme’s objectives are to develop a cadre of future political and social leaders from different political persuasions and different walks of life with a certain number of key values such as tolerance, openness, personal integrity, respect, hard work, social responsibility, compassion and preparedness to work for the common good. “Based on these core values, future leaders will be equipped with basic techniques for personal improvement and relevant skills to lead and acquire additional knowledge, and gain experience through exposure to some of knowledgeable, responsible and socially conscious future leaders,” adds Kambala.
He goes on that the programme also provides young aspiring leaders with essential leadership skills, which shall include soft social skills in combination with factual knowledge on issues of local and international politics and economics, as well as increased consciousness about ethics and values and the consequences of one’s own actions and inactions. “As far as the skills components are concerned, the programme teaches and trains, among others, presentation, moderation, facilitation, chairing of meetings, CV and proposal writing, basic principles of planning and financial management. Regarding its training on factual knowledge, the programme focuses on fundamentals of Namibia’s democratic and economic system, her international relations and foreign policies, among others. Other sessions will deal with leadership ethics, responsible citizenship and value systems.”
The National Youth Council (NYC) in conjunction with FES invites youth to this programme widely acknowledged as the most valuable human development intervention. Since 2010 the third partner to this programme has been the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sports and Culture, especially in assisting it reach out to other youth in the regions. Past graduates have formed a Youth Leadership Alumni Association (YLAA), continuously promoting a culture of dialogue and tolerance. This programme is also offered to the youth in other regions other than Khomas.