WINDHOEK, Namibia ̶ UNFPA Country Representative Sheila Roseau today joined the Minister and Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth & National Service, the Executive Chairperson of the National Youth Council and the Presidential Advisor for Youth Matters & Enterprise Development to launch Namibia’s National Youth Policy III (NYP III). The launch is intended to serve as an inauguration towards mass promotion and dissemination of the National Youth Policy (NYP) to multi-lateral and civil society partners and most importantly, young people.
NYP III seeks to address challenges that undermine youth development in Namibia with the goal of ensuring that young Namibians can assume their rightful place in building a “united, inclusive and prosperous Namibian House”. Furthermore, NYP III aims to capacitate, foster and harness the capabilities of young Namibians to make a meaningful contribution to the realisation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the AU Agenda 2063, Vision 2030, national development plans and the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP).
The first National Youth Policy was drafted in 1993 and adopted following the formulation of the first National Development Plan (NDP1) as a guide for youth development programmes in Namibia. It was further revised in 2006 to produce the second National Youth Policy (NYP II) for the period 2006 - 2011. The NYP III builds on the foundation of both preceding National Youth Policies. It was written within the context of existing sectoral policies, national development plans (including Namibia’s recent Harambee prosperity plan), international policies and charters to which Namibia is a signatory. It also aligns to internationally recognised youth and human development indicators.
Namibia has a very youthful population as well. According to the Namibia Inter-censal Demographic survey in 2016, 36.8% of the population were adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 34 years), and another 36.4% were children (aged 0 to 15 years). At the same time, the 2016 Labour Force Survey noted that that the overall youth unemployment rate was estimated to be 46.1% (Namibia Labour Force Survey (NLFS), 2018). The high unemployment rate provides a partial impetus for the launch of NYP III.
“Namibia has a unique opportunity to invest in young human capital with the potential of socio-economic benefits. Failure to provide education, create decent opportunities and access to health services for a youth-dominated population poses a potential threat to the economic and social stability of the country,” said Roseau in her remarks, which preceded those of Minister Agnes Tjongarero. Roseau also expressed appreciation for the opportunity to partner with the Government of Namibia and various civil society partners.
Click here to watch video coverage of the launch: https://www.nbc.na/news/youth-ministry-launches-third-national-youth-policy.47593
