unesco windhoek office newsletter issue 12 , april 2016...

UNESCO Windhoek Office Newsletter Issue 12 , April 2016

Editorial Welcome to the twelfth

issue of the UNESCO

Windhoek Office News-

letter. This edition pro-

vides an update of the

events and activities im-

plemented by our Office

in April 2016 .

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO) Windhoek Office conducted a 10

-day Training of Trainers (ToT) in mobile application de-

velopment, in partnership with the Ministry of Sport,

Youth and National Service (MSYNS) and Namibia Uni-

versity of Science and Technology (NUST) through its

division, the Namibia Business Innovation Institute (NBII).

The Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innova-

tion hosted the first UNESCO scoping mission to Namibia

from the 18th to 28th April 2016.

UNESCO held a stakeholders consultation meeting to sup-

port the Human Rights and Documentation Centre of the

University of Namibia to undertake a comparative study in

UNESCO Windhoek Office Newsletter, Issue 12

Windhoek Office

Newsletter

The training of trainers was held from 11 to 22 April

2016 at NBII and the participants formed the first pool of

trainers who will in turn train young people in all 14 re-

gions of Namibia to produce mobile applications that can

solve identified local issues of sustainable development.

Out of the 27 trainers, 17 were women mainly Youth Of-

ficers and computer instructors from the Multipurpose

Youth Centres of MSYNS, trainee computer science

teachers from the University of Namibia (UNAM) and

members of the Developers’ Circle, drawn from UNAM,

NUST and the International University of Management

(IUM). To page 12…

UNESCO trains trainers on mobile applications development

Namibia on the impact of Human Rights Education

(HRE) at primary, secondary and tertiary level on the

learner as a rights holder.

The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MOEAC)

in collaboration with UNESCO held a one day consulta-

tive meeting to validate the draft Namibia Arts, Culture

and Heritage Policy in Windhoek on 19 April 2016.

Namibia through the National Committee requested an

extension to submit the 2005 Convention Quadrennial

Periodic report .

The reflection of the month focuses on the role of tech-

nical vocational education and training (TVET) by high-

lighting UNESCO’s strategy for TVET.

Lastly, UNESCO provided training to Namibian com-

munity radio stations on sustainability issues. The issues

include those of volunteers, equipment, structure and

community involvement.

We hope to continue informing you on our activities and

that you will enjoy reading our newsletter.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Ilboudo, Head of Office & Representative

The UNESCO Windhoek Office conducted a 10

-day Training of Trainers (ToT) in mobile appli-

cation development, in partnership with the

Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service

(MSYNS) and Namibia University of Science

and Technology (NUST) through its division,

the Namibia Business Innovation Institute

(NBII). The training was organised within the

framework of the UNESCO YouthMobile initia-

tive aimed at equipping young people with skills

and confidence to develop mobile apps for sus-

tainable development.

Your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated.

Please contact: [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]

UNESCO Scoping Mission supports Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innovation

HEA

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The Ministry of Higher Educa-

tion, Training and Innovation

(MHETI) hosted the first United

Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organisation

(UNESCO) scoping mission to

Namibia from 18th to 28th April

2016.

The UNESCO scoping mission

to Namibia was an initiative of

the MHETI and which, together

with UNESCO, strongly sup-

ported the review of Technical

and Vocational Education and

Training (TVET), Higher Educa-

tion and Science, Technology

and Innovation Systems in Na-

mibia.

During the mission, UNESCO

technical experts and a comple-

mentary team from Namibia

held discussions with the rele-

vant Government Ministries,

institutions and stakeholders.

The aim of the mission was to

assist the newly established

Ministry in defining policies and

programmes related to the

three pillars of the Ministry

(Higher education, Training and

Innovation) by assessing the

current status of TVET, higher

Minister of Higher Education, Training and Innovation, Honourable

Itah Kandji-Murangi addressing the scoping mission

evidence-based policies, aligned with

the country’s context and develop-

ment strategies as well as the inter-

national development frameworks,

particularly the United Nations Agen-

da for Sustainable Development.

Special focus was given on how the

youth and adults can be equipped

with the skills needed for employ-

ment, decent work and entrepreneur-

ship; while also underpinning inclu-

sive and sustainable economic

growth considering resilient and sus-

tainable infrastructure building and

industrialization.

The mission included delegates from

the UNESCO Headquarters (HQ),

UNESCO Harare Office and external

specialists. The team from HQ was

led by Dr Borhene Chakroun who is

now Head of the Section in charge of

TVET at UNESCO and composed of

François Leclercq, UNESCO expert

on TVET and Hassmik Tortian, Pro-

gramme Specialist in UNESCO’s

Higher Education section, in charge

of quality assurance in higher educa-

tion, and policy dialogue.

See page 3...

education and innovation in Na-

mibia, identifying strategic prior-

ities and proposing alternative

interventions responding to

those priorities.

It also aimed to consider the

contribution of TVET, higher

education and innovation to

overall development goals such

as poverty eradication as high-

lighted in the country’s Haram-

bee Prosperity Plan.

The overall goal for the scoping

mission was to support the defi-

nition and implementation of

The UNESCO Scoping mission visiting Seawork fish processors in

Walvis Bay. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO

UNESCO Scoping Mission supports Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innovation

HEA

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The scoping mission visiting the NAMPORT office in Walvis Bay for discussions

about the situation of TVET systems in Namibia. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO

From page 2…

The team from UNESCO Regional Office for South-

ern Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe consisted of Dr.

Peggy Oti-Boateng, Senior Programme Specialist

for Science and Technology, who also serves as

the Coordinator for the African Network of Scientific

and Technological Institutions (ANSTI) comprising

over 208 institutions in 37 countries in sub-Saharan

Africa and Ms. Carolyn Medel-Anonuevo, Head of

the Education Unit.

Part of the UNESCO Scoping

mission team visiting COSDEC,

a TVET training institution in

Walvis Bay. © Joseph Iilonga/

UNESCO

External specialists included Ms. Angela Chasha,

the Acting Head of Academics at Limkokwing Uni-

versity of Creative Technology, Botswana Cam-

pus; Professor Mayunga Habibu Hemedi Nkunya,

Board Chairperson of the National Construction

Council of the United Republic of Tanzania.; Pro-

fessor John Ouma-Mugabe, Professor of Science

and Innovation Policy at the Graduate School of

Technology Management (GSTM), University of

Pretoria and founding Director of the Foundation

for Innovation and Technology-Africa (FIT-Africa)

Pretoria, South Africa; Naomy Lintini, ILO Malawi,

Economy, labour market; and Dato’ Gail Phung,

Senior Vice President, Corporate Development of

Limkokwing University of Creative Technology,

Worldwide.

For details, read more our next Issue.

Report on the impact of Human Rights Education on the lives of Namibian youth validated

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Some of the participants at the Human Rights Education

stakeholder validation workshop. © Sarah Mofila/UNESCO

The study report on the impact of Human Rights Ed-

ucation (HRE) at primary, secondary and tertiary

level on the learner as a rights holder was validated

in stakeholders’ meeting held on 8 April 2016.

The meeting which was organised by UNESCO

Windhoek Office and the Human Rights and Docu-

mentation Centre of the University of Namibia

brought together thirty participants from various Min-

istries, Regional Directorates, the Private sector and

NGOs.

The objective of the meeting was to validate the re-

port before availing a final version for publication

and dissemination. In addition, programmes and

materials to address the needs and challenges iden-

tified in the research and within the framework of

UNESCO’s mandate were addressed.

In his opening remarks, UNESCO Windhoek Head

of Office and Representative to Namibia, Dr Jean

Pierre Ilboudo mentioned the importance of HRE in

Namibia and reiterated the position of UNESCO in

promoting HRE.

“UNESCO strongly supports promoting HRE from a

holistic perspective where it constitutes the basis of

making education systems democratic in the context

of national education reforms with a view to inte-

grate the learning and practice of human rights,” he

said.

Dr Ilboudo further alluded to the im-

portance of developing Human Right-

based Learning materials. According to

him the availability and accessibility of

such materials can guide and foster

open dialogues and socialization of

peace and non-violence through learn-

ing exercises.

The Head of Office also pointed out

that through engagement with Human

Rights Learning materials, teachers

and students are enabled to increase

their commitment to solve problems

peacefully; become more tolerant in

respecting other people's human rights;

obtain raised awareness of human rights viola-

tions; and become more anti-violent.

Human Right-based Learning materials can guide

and foster open dialogues and socialization of

peace and non-violence through learning exercis-

es. Through these, teachers and students are ena-

bled to increase their commitment to solve prob-

lems peacefully, become more tolerant in respect-

ing other people's human rights, obtain raised

awareness of human rights violations, and become

more anti-violent.

It is against this background that UNESCO sup-

ported the Human Rights and Documentation Cen-

tre of the University of Namibia to undertake the

study.

This exercise also included gathering information

on the implementation of HRE and an evaluation

of the impact of the actual teaching/learning on

human rights in the classroom as well as the trans-

lation of ‘human rights’ into practice in the school

environment.

Other issues of significance regarding HRE which

were discussed during the consultative meeting

included issues of pedagogy and teaching/learning

methods for human rights and values education,

the pre- and in-service training of educational per-

sonnel, the school/learning environment, the

school management, the evaluation of HRE pro-

jects and programmes.

Stakeholders validate Namibia’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Policy


CU

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The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture

(MOEAC) in collaboration with UNESCO held a

one day consultative meeting to validate the draft

Namibia Arts, Culture and Heritage Policy in Wind-

hoek on 19 April 2016. Local artists including cul-

ture and heritage practitioners attended the meet-

ing to constructively contribute to the finalisation of

the Draft Policy.

Dr Jean-Pierre Ilboudo, UNESCO Head of Office

commended the MOEAC and the team of advisors

working on this initiative for a very transparent and

inclusive approach. He also congratulated Namibia

for the successful inscription of the Oshituthi shom-

agongo, marula fruit festival into the Representative

List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Ac-

cording to Dr Ilboudo, UNESCO is pleased with the

efforts of the Namibian Government as no develop-

ment can be sustainable without a strong culture

component.

“As UNESCO, we are happy the Namibian Govern-

ment sees culture, in all its dimensions, as a funda-

mental component of sustainable development. In

Namibia, culture is viewed as a sector of activity,

through tangible and intangible heritage, creative

industries and various forms of artistic expressions,

which make it a powerful contributor to economic

development, social stability and environmental

protection,” said Dr Ilboudo.

During her opening remarks, Ms Sanet L

Steenkamp, Permanent Secretary in the MOEAC

urged the beneficiaries of the policy to interrogate

the draft policy before it becomes legally effective.

She also called on the participants at the meeting

not to take local knowledge of culture for granted as

the relationship between culture and development

can justify the development of the country.

“We can take our rich cultural heritage for the devel-

opment of Namibia through local designs, arts and

entrepreneurship,” she said.

According to Ms Steenkamp the country cannot

manage its arts, culture and heritage affairs inde-

pendently without the policy because it provides

guidance for artists and protects cultural knowledge

created by Namibians. She also urged the drafting

committee to make reference to the Harambee

Prosperity Plan introduced by the current President

of Namibia, His Excellency Dr Hage Geingob as a

means to eradicate poverty in Namibia.

Since 2001, significant developments globally have

impacted global and regional trade, security, diplo-

macy and people-to-people relationships. These

changes inherently required a review of the policy in

order to align and harmonize it with international

developments and current national needs in the

heritage sector.

The Cabinet of the Republic of Namibia adopted in

principle, a Policy on Arts and Culture of the country

in 2001, titled Unity, Identity and Creativity for Pros-

perity. Most of the targets contained in that policy

have been achieved in addition to other items not

mentioned in the policy document.

Ms Sanet L Steenkamp urging the audience to interrogate the draft policy before it is legalized. © Joseph IIlonga/UNESCO

Dr Jean-Pierre Ilboudo, UNESCO Windhoek Head of Office addressing the audience during the Namibia Arts, Culture and

Heritage Policy validation meeting in Namibia. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO


CU

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Submission deadline for the 2005 Convention Periodic Report extended

Additionally, the Arts and Culture sector in Na-

mibia was pre-occupied with the finalization and

validation of the Arts, Culture and Heritage Poli-

cy review which was concluded on 19 April

2016.

What have governments and non-

governmental actors done to implement

the 2005 Convention on the Protection and

Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Ex-

pressions?

This question is at the heart of the matter of

the quadrennial periodic reporting, through

which information is collected, inter alia, on:

national policies and measures taken to

support the creation, production, distribu-

tion, dissemination and enjoyment of cul-

tural goods and services;

international cultural cooperation pro-

grammes that facilitate working partner-

ships between public officials and institu-

tions, as well as professionals working in

the cultural and creative industries

preferential treatment measures that sup-

port the mobility of artists, provide greater

market access and strengthen cultural in-

dustries in developing countries;

measures to integrate culture into interna-

tional development cooperation pro-

grammes and national development plans;

actions taken to involve civil society in cul-

tural policy processes.

Namibia through the National Committee requested an

extension to submit the 2005 Convention Quadrennial

Periodic report. The extension time will enable the

team to further solicit more information from all rele-

vant stakeholders and to properly record, validate and

consolidate the information received as per the provi-

sions of the template provided by UNESCO.

The 2005 Convention Secretariat in Paris agreed with

the request and extended the submission deadline of

30 April 2016 to 30 June 2016. According to the Na-

mibian team, they noted that the extension would give

them adequate time to produce a report of excellent

quality.

“Namibia values the importance of submitting a com-

prehensive statutory report to this convention and

therefore sees this extension as a step in the direction

of ensuring that the final report is of expected quality

and that it shall meet the required standards set by

this convention,” they said.

Following a capacity building training on preparing the

Statutory Quadrennial Periodic report organized by

UNESCO Harare Regional Office for Southern Africa

(ROSA), the Namibian team started to work on the

2006 report through the 2005 Convention National

Committee.

However, Namibia, like many other countries in the

region was not ready to submit by the initial deadline

as required from all State Parties to the Convention.

This period, coincided with an important national plan-

ning process, that of developing a new National Devel-

opment Plan (NDP5), thus the majority of the relevant

stakeholders were heavily involved in national consul-

tations and planning processes.

Reflection of the month

The role of technical and vocational

education and training


UNESCO has a strategy for technical vocational ed-

ucation and training (TVET). SADC is developing a

regional strategy for the revitalization of TVET. Na-

mibia has its own strategies and plans for TVET and

is currently in the process of reviewing its TVET,

higher education and innovation systems through the

UNESCO Scoping Mission requested by the Honour-

able Minister of Higher Education, Training and Inno-

vation in Namibia, Dr Itah Kandji-Murangi.

Before one can understand the role that TVET plays

in our community, it would require a clear under-

standing of what TVET actually is. The easiest way

to understand this concept is to break it down.

Technical (adjective)

The term relates to a particular subject, art, or craft,

or its techniques. For example, "technical

terms" (especially of a book or article) requiring spe-

cial knowledge to be understood. Synonyms include

specialist, specialized, scientific, complex, complicat-

ed and esoteric.

It also involves or is concerned with applied and in-

dustrial sciences; "an important technical achieve-

ment". Synonyms include practical, scientific and

applied.

Vocational Education

Vocational education is education that prepares peo-

ple to work in a trade, in a craft, as a technician, or in

support roles in professions such as engineering,

accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, or law.

Craft vocations are usually based on manual or prac-

tical activities and are traditionally non-academic but

related to a specific trade or occupation. Voca-

tional education is sometimes referred to as ca-

reer education or technical education.

Vocational Training

Vocational training is education only in the type of

trade a person wants to pursue, forgoing tradi-

tional academics.

So in bringing the concepts together we can con-

clude that TVET is a “specialized education that

prepares people to work in a specific trade or oc-

cupation that a person wants to pursue, forgoing

traditional academics and sometimes based on

manual or practical activities which are traditional-

ly non-academic”.

In combining these concepts to come up with an

understanding of what TVET is, it becomes ap-

parent that this idea of education has taken on an

identity of its own and thus its own role to play in

our society. Evidently, this role has become vitally

important to us inasmuch as there are global and

regional strategies surrounding it that have impli-

cations on so many aspects of our lives.

UNESCO’s Draft Strategy for Technical Voca-

tional Education and Training (2016-2021)

Within the context of UNESCO’s Strategy, the

international community has set an ambitious

Agenda for Sustainable Development for the peri-

od from 2015 to 2030, which calls for an integrat-

ed approach to sustainable development.

Education is a central part of the Agenda, as stat-

ed by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4:

‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education

and promote lifelong learning opportunities for

all’.

This responds to the vision of the Incheon Decla-

ration: Education 2030, adopted by the 2015

World Education Forum. Compared with the Ed-

ucation for All movement over 2000-2015, Educa-

tion 2030 devotes more attention to Technical

and Vocational Education and Training and to

Higher Education. In this context, Technical and

Vocational education and Training (TVET),

See page 8….

Trainees at COSDEC producing bricks as part of the TVET

programme offered at the centre. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO





...From page 7

Higher Education and Science, Technology and In-

novation (STI) systems are expected to address

multiple demands of an economic, social and envi-

ronmental nature, including, among others, equip-

ping youth and adults with the skills they need for

employment, decent work and entrepreneurship

(SDG 4), promoting inclusive and sustainable eco-

nomic growth (SDG 8), and building resilient infra-

structure, promote inclusive and sustainable indus-

trialization and foster innovation and transitions

(SDG 9).

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development pro-

vides impetus for an expansion and transformation

of education and training systems that would be co-

ordinated with development interventions in other

sectors. Adopting such an approach can highlight

new and sometimes overlooked opportunities to

simultaneously achieve sustainability objectives and

contribute to employment and competitiveness.

UNESCO will work with Member States to set the

foundation for supporting implementation based on

the Education 2030 Framework for Action and on

other frameworks including UNESCO’s TVET strat-

egy for the period of 2016-2021.

Assessment and Review of TVET in the South-

ern African Development Community Region

and of the Development of a Regional Strategy

for the Revitalisation of TVET

TVET is an important tool of public policy. It can

support economic growth and poverty alleviation;

facilitate the transition of young people to decent

work and adulthood; improve the productivity of

existing workers and allow for the reinsertion of the

unemployed into work; assist in reconstruction after

conflicts and disasters; and promote social inclu-

sion.

The value of TVET is clearly recognised in SADC’s

work, which is governed by the SADC Protocol on

Education and Training (1997), and by UNESCO,

which sees TVET as one of its three priority areas

in its work on meeting the Education for All (EFA)

goals.

However, in spite of the importance of TVET for

development and a range of national reform initia-

tives to support TVET over the past two decades,

major concerns remain regarding the state of TVET

in the Southern African region. Evidence gathering

for this UNESCO report demonstrated the very

weak knowledge base for TVET in the region at the

time.

This means that the report has to be seen as a first

step towards better knowledge for better policies

and practices. The limitations of the data mean that

the findings are often the best currently possible

rather than meeting the highest standards of rigour.

It is apparent that there is a pressing need for a

better inter-regional understanding of what TVET

means, even if countries are to continue with their

own preferences. It may also be important to devel-

op a glossary of what is meant by certain terms-

See page 9...

Front Office trainees at

Windhoek Voca-tional Training Centre (WVTC), © H. Ujambala/

MOHETI





From page 8…

(e.g., life skills, subject knowledge, and technical

skills); a taxonomy of how these relate to each other

theoretically; and a theory of how their acquisition/

development should be sequenced and structured.

Such a discussion would also need to clarify what

should be included under the rubric of TVET (or any

other preferred term).

It is necessary, for instance, to decide whether tech-

nical/commercial schooling; the provision of occasion-

al vocational subjects in an otherwise academic edu-

cation; and/or the infusion of a whole schooling with

vocationally-oriented notions such as life or employa-

bility skills merit consideration as part of a broader

skills or TVET strategy. Equally, it is necessary to con-

sider what elements of higher education are also

properly parts of TVET: for instance, non-advanced

provision in TVET institutions; provision in specialist

advanced technical, vocational or professional institu-

tions; the provision of vocational subjects in universi-

ties (and whether these include subjects such as law

and medicine); and/or the infusing of all university pro-

grammes with employability skills.

According to the report, although all SADC countries

are committed to TVET, national visions of what TVET

is for are often not clear. The widespread weakness of

data systems, particularly on any key performance

indicator, can give the impression that there is little

conviction that TVET should lead to employment.

Certainly, there is little awareness of recent interna-

tional concern with promoting employability, and noth-

ing at all about broader notions such as capability or

active citizenship.

Whilst there is considerable rhetoric about TVET’s

developmental role, statements about it rarely go

beyond the rhetoric. There is almost no sense that

there are national or regional theories of how TVET

plays a developmental role. Instead, there is a ten-

dency to present formulae that TVET improves

competitiveness and insertion into the global

knowledge economy, which tell nothing about what

these concepts mean in national contexts or how

national TVET systems go about supporting these

larger policy objectives. It is not surprising, there-

fore, that several countries still have little to say

about the developmental potential and impact of

TVET in their overall national development strate-

gies. This gap seems particularly striking as African

countries experience high economic growth levels

that increasingly bring about new skills challenges.

A request from the Government of Namibia for

a scoping review

The Minister of Higher Education, Training and In-

novation of Namibia, Dr. Itah Kandjii-Murangi, sent

an official request for a scoping mission to the Di-

rector General of UNESCO, Dr. Irina Bokova. The

general aim of the mission is to assist the newly

established Ministry in defining policies and pro-

grammes related to the three pillars of its mandate,

by (i) assessing the current status of TVET, higher

education and innovation in Namibia, (ii) identifying

strategic priorities, and (iii) proposing alternative

interventions responding to those priorities. The

mission should also consider the contribution of

TVET, higher education and innovation to overall

development goals such as poverty reduction.

Particular attention is to be paid to the country con-

text, including human development, economic ac-

tivities and labour market functioning, and to key

policy documents such as Namibia’s Vision 2030

and National Development Plan 4 (2012/13-

2016/17).

With regards to TVET, the mission should produce

a diagnosis of the system in terms of policies,

programmes, infrastructure and human -

See page 10...

TVET trainees at the Swakopmund COSDEC.

© Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO





From page 9…

resources, identifying current weaknesses and barriers to

the expansion and transformation of the system. Broad are-

as to be considered include enrolment in TVET, the use of

information and communication technologies and innovative

approaches in service delivery, relations between TVET and

firms (e.g. for apprenticeships and instructor training), policy

development and review, monitoring and evaluation, financ-

ing (especially training levies and funds), and promotion of

TVET.

Specific advice is also requested on: (i) the creation of a

Centre of Excellence on TVET (with the aim of obtaining

UNESCO recognition as a Category 2 Centre); (ii) the es-

tablishment of a network of regional Vocational Training

Colleges designed to respond to the local demand for skills;

and (iii) the articulation of programmes across levels of

qualifications and training institutions (from Community

Skills Development Centres to Vocational Training Colleg-

es).

For higher education, the mission should identify the key

strengths and weaknesses of the higher education system

in Namibia, including academic performance as well as eco-

nomic and societal benefits. In particular, the mission should

examine the management of higher education and: (i) assist

in the design and implementation of a capacity building pro-

gramme on higher education management, including a high-

er education management information system (HEMIS); (ii)

suggest ways to handle the issue of unqualified and under-

qualified teachers and faculty development; (iii) provide ad-

vice on the use of information and communication technolo-

gies in service delivery.

Innovation is considered a key element to ad-

dressing cross-cutting issues in the education sys-

tem, especially related to the final employability of

all graduates. Regarding innovation, the mission

should identify the extent, strengths and weak-

nesses of Namibia’s national innovation system

(research, science and technology) and make

propositions on promoting a culture of technologi-

cal, process-related and organizational innovation

or innovativeness; the aim is to delineate the con-

tours of a national innovation policy. Specific ad-

vice is also requested on: (i) the ongoing review of

the 2004 Research, Science and Technology Act;

(ii) patent filing and licensing; (iii) the articulation

between research and development and industry,

including technology transfer centres, start-up in-

cubators, and sector-specific industrial clusters.

The Role of TVET in Namibia

In the upcoming weeks and months, the UNESCO

Scoping Mission report will offer insight into the

current status of TVET in Namibia. The key find-

ings and recommendations will be presented to

the Minister of Higher Education, Training and In-

novation in June 2016 and shared with the various

stakeholders during a validation workshop.

It is anticipated that generally TVET can address

multiple demands of an economic, social and envi-

ronmental nature, including, among others:

equipping youth and adults with the skills

they need for employment, decent work and

entrepreneurship (SDG 4),

promoting inclusive and sustainable eco-

nomic growth (SDG 8),

and building resilient infrastructure, promote

inclusive and sustainable industrialization

and foster innovation and transitions (SDG

9).

But in order to accomplish these goals, there

needs to be systems in place that promote

TVET equitably and in a qualitative, coher-

ent and collaborative manner.

Read more in our next Issue!

Students demonstrating an experiment at the Namwater HRDC

Training facility in Okahanja. © H. Ujambala

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UNESCO trains community radios on sustainability issues

The community radio sector in Namibia continues to

grow, with stations having maintained their sustaina-

bility for five or more years (Base FM in Katutura,

Live FM in Rehoboth, UNAM Radio in Windhoek)

and new stations (Oranjemund Community Radio in

Oranjemund, //Karas FM in Keetmanshoop) coming

on air, as well as proposed stations (Omaheke Com-

munity Radio in Gobabis) in the process of being

established.

One area of vital importance, however, remains sus-

tainability. Once having received their licence and

their equipment from donors or agencies, some sta-

tions then battle to sustain their operations.

The issues include those of volunteers (should they

get paid? should they get an ‘allowance’ for their

services?), equipment (purchasing of new equip-

ment, maintenance of existing equipment), structure

(the relationship with the board, the founding docu-

ments) and community involvement (are regular

meetings held with the community and does the

community regard the radio station as their own?).

These aspects were discussed during a workshop held in the small town of Rehoboth (approximately 85km south of Windhoek, Namibia’s capital city) during April, 2016.

The trainer, Mr Robin Tyson, is himself a former radio and television presenter, and was manager of the National Radio service of the public broad-caster, Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) for many years after independence.

“In a country like Namibia, which has a well-developed broadcasting network in the main towns and cities, but a dependence on the public broadcaster in rural areas, community radio plays a key role in not only assisting communities to de-velop, but provides them also with a platform for self-expression and growth,” said Mr Tyson.

The participants consisted of representatives from two Rehoboth community stations, Live FM and Kairos Radio, as well as Ohangwena Community Radio from the north of Namibia and Base FM, a community radio station based in Windhoek.

The workshop was organised within the frame-work the UNESCO/Swedish funded project, “Empowering local radios with ICTs”.

Participants at the UNESCO Workshop on Community Radio Sustainability –

Rehoboth, Namibia – April 2016

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The Circle brought together mobile development

agents to share and develop ideas into useful local

mobile applications.

At the official opening of the training, Dr Jean-Pierre

Ilboudo, Head of Office and UNESCO Representa-

tive to Namibia, emphasised the crucial role of ICTs

and mobile applications in supporting sustainable

development.

Dr Ilboudo called for all stakeholders to come to-

gether in support of the YouthMobile Initiative. He

said he was convinced that by having this training

of trainers, the partners set in motion the machinery

that will help Namibian youth unleash their potential

to develop mobile applications to solve local issues

of sustainable development, generate income, cre-

ate jobs for others and thus reducing youth unem-

ployment and eradicating poverty. He added that

the Initiative prioritises young women who are vastly

underrepresented in this field.

The Head of the Windhoek Office thanked the Min-

istry of Sport, Youth and National Service for ex-

tending a hand of partnership to UNESCO and con-

tributing to the success of the training workshop.

Through the Youth Directorate, he said, the Ministry

made a huge contribution by supporting the partici-

pation of Youth Officers from the various regions to

participate in the training.

Dr Ilboudo also thanked the Namibia University of

Science and Technology, other partners from the

government of Namibia, the University of Namibia,

IUM, One Billion Africa, Physically Active Youth and


TechGuys, for contributing to the training of trainers and to the YouthMobile initiative in different ways.

Mr Dickson Kasote, a Communication and Infor-mation Consultant at UNESCO Windhoek Office spoke about Sustainable Development and the Sus-tainable Development Goals (SDGs). He explained the three pillars of sustainable development namely, economic, environmental and social and demon-strated how they are interconnected. Mr Kasote emphasised the important role mobile applications can play in the SDGs, giving examples of different goals such as no poverty, no hunger, quality educa-tion, climate action and others. He also said mobile application development has the potential to lift many Namibian youths out of poverty and unem-ployment and make them important contributors to sustainable development.

The first day of the ToT was dedicated to setting up the Android development environment, an introduc-tion to Object Oriented Programming, an overview of mobile application development and the main components of an Android application.

The participants developed their first mobile appli-cation on the second day of the training and they all expressed interest in becoming coders and pro-grammers. Throughout the ten-day training, the fa-cilitator introduced topics such as introduction to cross platform mobile applications, design thinking process, publishing apps through Google Play Store and many others which all helped the participants understand the basics of mobile application devel-opment.

Mr Maurice Nkusi, the Acting Director: Teaching and Learning Unit at NUST engaged the partici-pants and presented on facilitation techniques and the e-Learning Platform which will be used by the -

See page 13...

Dr Jean-Pierre Ilboudo delivering the official opening

remarks at the ToT workshop. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO

Mr Maurice Nkusi, the Acting Director: Teaching and Learning

Unit at NUST talking about the eLearning platform. © Joseph

Iilonga/UNESCO

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participants to strengthen their skills and knowledge

in coding as they prepare to train youth in the re-

gions.

The objectives of the Training of Trainers were to:

Equip 27 trainers with the technical and peda-

gogical skills and knowledge to train young

Namibians in mobile applications develop-

ment and entrepreneurship.

To empower the trainers, particularly women,

to become coders and programmers who will

train young Namibians in mobile applications

development.

To contribute to efforts in solving identified

local issues of sustainable development espe-

cially those related to poverty reduction and

climate change, and to reduce chronic youth

unemployment through the sale of smart mo-

bile applications and formation of small busi-

nesses.

The Training of Trainers focused mainly on the

technical aspects and will be followed by an e-

Learning course which is being developed by the

Centre for Teaching and Learning at NUST. The e-

learning course is aimed at equipping the trainers

with the pedagogical skills required to train the

youth. The Centre is currently working on the

course content in collaboration with NBII and One

Billion Africa, in order to adapt it specifically to mo-

bile applications development.

At the closing event of the training workshop, most-


of the participants said the YouthMobile Initiative is good for Namibian youth and sustainable develop-ment. The training of trainers workshop was hailed as an important initiative. However, the majority of the participants said that 10 days were not enough.

One of the participants challenged the other train-ees to take it upon themselves and push towards the empowerment of young Namibians in order to contribute towards a sustainable future through the use of mobile applications. She said that even if resources are limited, much can be done when peo-ple join hands to support the YouthMobile Initiative.

Most of the trainees recommended UNESCO and partners to organise a refresher course which will bring the participants together again so they can get more technical knowledge of coding and program-ming before the actual training of youth starts in 2017. They all said they have internet access in their various towns and they agreed to participate in the eLearning programme which is meant to break the distance barrier.

Dr Ilboudo presented the participants with certifi-cates of accomplishment at the closing ceremony. He pledged UNESCO Windhoek Office’s continued support to the group of trainers who will be part of the first phase of the training of young Namibians in mobile apps development.

The Deputy Director of the Directorate of Youth De-velopment in the MSYNS Mr Yul Andrews delivered the closing remarks on behalf of the ministry. He said he was delighted to see a group of people who are trained so that they can empower young Namib-ians with the skills to develop mobile applications to solve local issues of sustainable development. The Deputy Director expressed his appreciation to UNESCO and all the stakeholders who were in-volved in the ToT and encouraged the participants who represented the ministry to go back to their re-gions and make a difference.

The trainers pose for a group photo. © Joseph Iilonga/

UNESCO

Dr Jean-

Pierre Il-

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handing a

certificate

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to one the

partici-

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Director of Publication: Dr. Jean-Pierre Ilboudo

Chief Editor: Chimbidzikai Mapfumo

Deputy Chief Editor: Joseph Iilonga

Editors: Aina Heita, Dickson Kasote, Boyson Ngondo, Ehrens Mbamanovandu, Veruschka McKay

Photo Highlights of the month

UNESCO scoping mission viewing some of the Shark meat

caught and processed by Seawork in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

© Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO

The UNESCO Scoping mission during a site tour at the Seawork

fish processor in Swakopmund. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO

The UNESCO scoping mission visiting Dune 7; one of the

highest dunes in the World. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO

Professor Mayunga Nkunya in action at Dune 7 in

Swakopmund, Namibia. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO

Some of the flamingo flock eating near the beach in

Swakopmund, Namibia. © Joseph Iilonga/UNESCO

Dr Jean-Pierre Ilboudo and François Leclercq watching a flock of

flamingos eat near the beach in Swakopmund. © Joseph Iilonga/

UNESCO

unesco windhoek office newsletter issue 12 , april 2016...

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