Youth in the Kavango East Region joined the rest of the world in celebrating International Youth Day at Rundu.
The event was organized by the Youth Ambassador of the region to foster discussions on green skills and sustainability.
The Youth Ambassador role was established in 2020 during the outbreak of COVID-19 and emerged as a dynamic force in combating the spread of the virus.
As per this year's theme, "Green Skills for Youth towards a Sustainable World", the Secretary General of the Youth Ambassadors, Lolita Tamar, says it will take green skills and knowledge to achieve a sustainable resourced country.
"A successful transformation towards a greener world will depend on the development of green skills in the population. Green skills, knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes need to be included. Develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society; this includes technical knowledge and skills that enable the effective use of green technology in an occupational setting."
Young people pointed out some of the challenges they faced, such as unemployment and a lack of access to markets for small business owners.
"During your discussions at the government level, consider a deliberate attempt that is going to see their businesses revitalised; their businesses being water for them to be able to still continue to push because now that we are confronted with unemployment in our country, we need young people that are innovative young people that can be able to provide jobs for other young people. For as much as we continue to speak and demand, we also call on the youth to be responsible and display a high level of discipline, commitment, and dedication to purpose," said Moses Shikerete, the Chairperson of the Youth Forum.
Kavango East Governor Bonifatius Wakudumo called on the youth to take agriculture seriously and not only wait for jobs that they studied for.
"We have the land here, the soil, and we have the sun. The climate is conducive throughout the year. You can apply various crops in terms of rotation. As we speak, 60% of our horticulture produce is imported from South Africa. What does that mean? We export money into South Africa's economy. Employment is created in South Africa, and then we get the produce, but we remain unemployed."
The Governor assured the youth that he took note of the challenges raised and that, as leaders, they would deliberate on them and see how young people could be assisted.
The governor further declared that one day per month would be dedicated to cleaning the town.