Namibia hosts first-ever Commonwealth Youth Consultative Dialogue

The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC), elected in October 2024 at the Commonwealth Youth Forum in Samoa, is ten months into its mandate to represent over 1.5 billion young people across 56 member nations.On Tuesday, the council presented its first administrative report during the second day of the ongoing CYC Consultative Dialogue in Windhoek, outlining both progress and serious structural challenges.The report highlights many obstacles, including limited funding, the absence of a permanent secretariat, weak engagement with governments and inconsistent youth representation structures.However, it also points out achievements such as climate justice workshops, AI awareness campaigns, youth leadership programmes and global representation at events like the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).The council emphasised the need for stronger collaboration, long-term investment and clearer frameworks to improve its effectiveness.DialogueNamibia officially opened the first ever consultative dialogue on Monday, welcoming over 100 youth delegates, policymakers and partners. In her opening remarks, Minister of Education, Arts and Culture Sanet Steenkamp reaffirmed the government’s commitment to youth development and described Namibia’s youthful population, with more than 60 per cent under the age of 35, as a powerful call to action.Steenkamp outlined national efforts such as the National Youth Fund, entrepreneurship programmes and infrastructure projects already reaching young people across the country.She said the challenges faced by the youth, including unemployment, digital exclusion, mental health and limited access to finance, require collective and bold solutions. She called on participants to ensure the dialogue results in a forward-looking, youth-informed Windhoek Declaration based on lived experiences and implementable actions.Structural change neededAfrica Regional Representative on the CYC Executive, Rosy Schaneck, urged delegates to question outdated structures that limit youth power. She said young people are often included symbolically rather than meaningfully, and described the dialogue not as a summit, but as a summons.“We are not here to make edits,” she said. “We are here to tear down what no longer serves us and build something with radical purpose.”CYC Chairperson Joshua Opey also addressed practical constraints faced by the council, including the inability to operate fully from its office in England due to administrative and legal limitations. He called for stronger support, especially in funding and representation, to empower the council to better address global issues affecting young people.The event is expected to conclude with the adoption of the Windhoek Declaration, a youth-led document aimed at guiding future engagement across the Commonwealth.

Namibia hosts first-ever Commonwealth Youth Consultative Dialogue

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Republikein 2025-12-01

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