The Children's Parliament of Namibia prepares for its 6th session with a rigorous two-day orientation focused on essential skills and legislative acumen.

Led by mentors, the "soft skills" workshop covered leadership qualities, teamwork, sustainable development insights, conflict resolution strategies, empathy training, and communication skills.

The personal assistant to the speaker and former deputy speaker of the 4th Children's Parliament, Shaandre Finnies, stressed the importance of readiness in legislation and soft skills.

"We are teaching them basic communication skills, public speaking skills, as well as other things like emotional intelligence. However, the overall purpose of this weekend is really to prepare them for the week and make sure they are well equipped and armed to perform their duties in the chamber, respectively."

UNICEF's Judy Matjila highlighted the youth's rights to participate in policymaking.

"We work under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has a clause on the right to participation. That's why we are here, and that's why we collaborate with the National Assembly of Namibia to ensure that children participate and have their voices heard. We've seen the results in the past in different sessions: children have been vigorous and advocating for their rights."

During an interview on "Inside the Chambers," child MPs highlighted key issues they intend to address during their term.

These include improving teacher approaches, enhancing educational materials, ensuring teacher quality, infrastructure development, innovative teaching methods, and tackling dropout rates due to pregnancies.

Expressing their dedication to representing the voices of Namibian children, members stressed unity and mutual respect in voicing opinions.