Substance over form

Jeanette DiergaardtThe second African Youth Summit hosted by the Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID) featured speakers such as Windhoek Mayor Job Shipululo Amupanda, member of parliament Patience Masua and Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe, LGBTQ activist. As someone who believes in youth empowerment and listening to the grievances of young people, Amupanda called on the youth to see substance over form in one another - looking at someone’s character instead of judging them by the way they look or physically present themselves. He also believes that being mentally poor is far more devastating than being materially poor. Amupanda called on the youth to be substantive citizens and not just formal citizens on paper with a blue ID document. To Amupanda, a substantive citizen is someone who fights for what they believe in to have a proper claim to being Namibians. He urged young people not to passively look on while things are happening around them, but to play an active part in making the community a better place. Lastly, he called on the youth to take part in procedural democracy, which is a value system and a process that all should strive to be a part of. To Amupanda that means exercising your right to vote and being actively involved in the process. Furthermore, Amupanda is of the opinion that young people should continuously register as voters without having to stand in lines before elections.Masua, on the other hand, reflected on the 1976 Soweto uprising that led to the day being commemorated as the Day of the African Child. She outlined what the youth fought for back then and made the conclusion that because the youth are still being taught in other languages and not their mother tongues, the country is still somewhat colonialised. She called on the youth to find a collective stance, and to create a balance between the rural and urban youth.Lastly, what is important to her is that the public invests in the businesses of young people.Well-known activist Nthengwe emphasised that for the youth to merely have a seat at the decision-making table is derogatory. The sharing of ideas should come from a level playing field, no matter the age of the citizen, she said. She then outlined how to become an activist and how to find a worthy cause that speaks to the heart of the youth and how the youth should be having integrated generational conversations. She ended by extending an invitation to the youth to follow her platforms of fighting for the rights of LGBTQ people and fighting towards stopping violence against women and children.

Substance over form

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Republikein 2025-05-14

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Substance over form

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