The Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management (NIPAM) has received a donation of books worth N$219,700 from NIPPON Foundation for Policy Research in Windhoek.
The 53 books were donated to NIPAM's Learning Resource Center (LRC), which is a small library serving diverse users, such as researchers, policymakers, and chief executive officers, among others, with different information needs.
The books cover five main categories, which provide a broad perspective on Japan in the areas of politics and international relations, economy and business, society and culture, literature and the arts, and history.
"NIPAM LRC strives to excel in facilitating access to quality information resources to support research and capacity building. A donation of such magnitude contributes to understanding Japanese culture and helps build a solid and diverse collection of learning resources," Sankwasa Mubita, Acting Executive Director at NIPAM, said.
Also speaking at the event was Mariko Yano, Third Secretary at the Embassy of Japan to Namibia, who said "It is my hope that the donated books will deepen understanding of Japan as a country, its history, and its culture. Through this donation, we hope our amicable bilateral relationship between Japan and Namibia will be steadily enhanced. It is our aim that the donated books will contribute to NIPAM's LRC role in society. We hope that this donation reaches out to young researchers who are interested in Japan as well as leaders and intellectuals specializing in areas other than Japanese studies."
"The uses of LRC are diverse, hence the need and importance for LRC to work with various embassies to acquire a diverse collection for LRC's uses. More organizations and institutions are invited and encouraged to support the LRC to improve this collection and support the NIPAM mandate," said Sylvia Katjepunda, Manager of Library Services at NIPAM.
The books were donated under the Nippon Foundation's 'Project to Promote Understanding of Japan'.
NIPAM is the third institution in Namibia to benefit from this project after UNAM and the National Library.
To date, the Nippon Foundation has donated over 74,000 books to more than 1,000 libraries and research institutions in 130 countries around the world.