Youth Conference 2017
Namibia & the Youth Involvement on Sustainable Economic Development

The Hanns Seidel Foundation together with the EU and German Embassy organised a conference aimed for the youth of Namibia to provide a platform to air out their views and opinions on Namibia’s economic development. This key information will later then be presented and feed into the AU-EU Africa summit, scheduled to take place from the 28-29 November 2017 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

A Government report on the status of the Namibian youth suggests that while the state is making concerted efforts to promote youth development, there are still worrying imbalances when it comes to the health, well-being, education, employment and economic empowerment of the youth.

In an effort to promote youth development and opportunities for employment, the Hans Seidel Foundation together with the EU and German Embassy organised a national youth conference which took place on the 7th of September 2017 and the FNCC building.  The Conference provided a platform for the youth, where these findings will later then be presented and feed into the AU-EU Africa summit, scheduled to take place from the 28-29 November 2017 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Amongst some of the key speakers for the opening remarks included the EU and German Ambassadors, Ms. Jana Hybaskova and Mr.Christian Schlaga respectively. In addition, The Chairperson of the National Youth Council, Mr. Mandela Kapere and Honourable Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations, Ms. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

The key speakers delivered some important remarks. Mr. Kapere stressed for more funding opportunities for the youth, whereas the EU Ambassador focused on shifting the paradigm of development assistance and funding and possibly exploring new methods. In addition, EU ambassador said the youth to become more resilient.

The key themes that were discussed at the conference in the breakaway session include the following:

• Financing for youth entrepreneurship – this engaged participants on how to access financing and developing their entrepreneurial skills.
• Essential Skills and Competencies required for the Namibian youth – Focused on building capacity and some key important skill that are transferrable in any given sector.
• Improving the regulatory and legal climate including market access to support young entrepreneurs
• Innovating business ideas.