Conscious Citizens
Youth learns about Public Speaking and Debate

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Because of the dire need to engage the youth in informal settlements on current issues Conscious Citizens provided its independent platform.

As an introduction Wilmari Horn from Windhoek High School spoke on “The youth of today and prioritising”. Ms Horn placed emphasise on how the youth is more focused on building an imaginary life via social media as opposed to actively being engaged on current issues. Her main argument being that Namibia needs its youth to become relevant for the sake of development and growth.

The programme of the event titled "Dialogue and Opportunity for all" also included motivational power talks from representatives of NPSDA and NANSO. They focused on outlining the importance of the youth engaging with their organisations.

The highlight of the event was a public speaking and debate competition. The debate was on the topic: This House believes that Namibian youth are not actively involved towards nation building.

The proposing house argued that the Namibian education system has failed its youth from developing them into individualistic thinkers. Hence this proofs that indeed the youth are unable to actively be involved in nation building because the focus is on personal growth alone.

On the other hand the opposing house argued that there is nothing wrong with the education system and the claim on individualistic thinking is a myth. According to them there are records of active Namibian youth, who were educated locally. Spearheading national movements such as the Affirmative Reposition (AR) movement advocating for accessible land for all Namibian youths, as well as listing a variant of Youth entrepreneurs making headlines national were mentioned as examples. Hence resulting in the opposing house winning the debate

The results of the event were as follows:

• The youth participating were successfully introduced to public speaking and debate.

• The event partners were able to engage with the learners.

• The youth were engaging and actively involved in the programme.

• The youth expressed interest for more events of this nature

Conscious Citizens is open for dialogue collaboration with Namibian individuals and organisations. The event was a collaborative effort with the PAY, Namibia Public Speaking and Debate Academy, Free Your Mind Comedy (FYM) and the National Students Organisation (NANSO).