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Viewing problems as opportunities

AIESEC Namibia will host a Youth Speak Forum for the first time in the SADC region at the Polytechnic of Namibia from 16 to17 October under the theme Social Entrepreneurship: How to see problems as opportunities.

Youth Speak is a global youth movement and youth insight survey powered by AIESEC. It focuses on understanding the hopes and challenges surrounding the journey from higher education on to employment for young people. Over 100 countries and territories as well as 40,000 voices are captured in the comprehensive survey to engage stakeholders across government, business and education in letting the voices of young people be heard. By doing this AIESEC provides decision makers with key insights into a global youth opinion and how to bridge the gap between young people and decision makers.
“This year’s Youth Speak Forum will make history in Namibia to the extent that it will give the youth the opportunity to reflect back and understand if current issues affecting them are being tackled as stipulated in the United Nations agenda and also on the government level. No longer are young people sitting on the sidelines as in the past. Young people are actively taking action, and are increasingly being included in the decision making process.
This realization and understanding is needed to ensure that multiple generations are reflected in the discussions to form more inclusive and sustainable decisions”, said Organizing Committee member and Vice President of Public Relations & Marketing, AIESEC Namibia, Kleophas Johannes.
The event will be graced with well-developed and successful speakers in social entrepreneurship and a powerful panel discussion, leading into a series of workshops to be given by partner companies and organizations that actively support youth leadership and empowerment.
“The theme for this year has been deliberately selected to wake the young people not to be stacked in the idea of problems but to see these problems in their communities as opportunities that can enable them to develop themselves, the people in their surroundings, and to better the current status of their communities”, he said.
AIESEC is the world’s largest youth-led organization developing the leadership potential of young people worldwide. It is present in 126 countries and territories with 70,000 plus members across 2400 universities. “Since 1948, we’ve developed over one million people, including one Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and many prominent world, business and civil society leaders. AIESEC in Namibia is present at the University of Namibia, the Polytechnic of Namibia and The International University of Management, offering young people a chance to develop their leadership” said Johannes.

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