By Sabina Elago
WINDHOEK– Learners from the region of Kavango have earned top honours in the debate held at Safari Hotel recently.
Representative of the youth from 14 regions debated on the occasion of 2014 World Population Day under the theme “Investing in Young people.”
The Omusati region came in the second place while the Oshikoto region came third. Ingo Simaneka from the Oshikoto region received an award as the best male speaker and Verena Iipumbu from the Omusati region as the best female speaker. Fekayamala Augustu from the Kavango region said the competition was tough but their confidence and determination made them win. “When we got here it was just a final touch and motivation among ourselves. People fail because they judge and doubt themselves before even starting, we had confidence and we believe in ourselves,” says Augustu.
Augustu s adds that due to the lack of internet they were unable to do theory research but that did not discourage them from winning. “We did not do any research as we did not have internet to research theory information but base on our argument, numbers and statistic we did it and it feel so good. There was no room for mistake and we stood on what we had then,” he says.
Speaking at the award ceremony was the Youth Ambassador, Olavi Hangula, who said that such platforms do not only assure that the voices of young people are heard but also that their ideas to improve the nation are recognised.
“I am not a very good friend of the phrase ‘Young people are the Leaders of tomorrow’. Why lead tomorrow when you are alive today? It is important to recognise that our youth is the only guarantee we have for the Namibia we dream of but also that we should indeed start acting today,” says Hangula.
He adds that education is the core of the concern of Namibia as the Namibian child needs knowledge to have power. “If we are to be on par with the rest of the world, information communication technology should have been debated upon for computer literacy among the Namibian Youth, as the youth has a significant impact on our country’s development,” says Hangula.
The competition was hosted by the Ministry of Youth, National Service Sports and Culture and the National Youth Council, in collaboration with National Planning Commission and United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA).