President Hage Geingob has urged African youth to actively participate in the continental Agenda 2063 developmental aspirations.
Dr Geingob virtually addressed youth delegates at the Youth Connekt Africa summit underway in the Rwandan capital of Kigali.
Namibia became the 28th member of the Youth Connekt Africa in May this year, a platform which seeks to provide solutions and support the implementation of south-south initiatives to empower youth.
This is accomplished through programs to improve knowledge and skills, as well as investments in the ideas and innovations of youth from member countries.
President Geingob is happy with the pan-African approach young people are pursuing, owing to improved access to the internet across the continent.
"Digital channels and social media have resulted in an intensification of actors and the rise of 'Second Trade Diplomacy'. Therefore, the young people of Africa should embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution as part of the economic transformation of their continent. I am confident that efforts will continue across all African Union Member States to enhance youth participation and inclusion through representation at all levels of decision-making."
Namibia is in the process of implementing a cross-cutting National Youth Policy, which was adopted in 2021.
The policy provides a framework for the government to mainstream youth issues across various areas of empowerment, which the President says is not just rhetoric.
"The overall goal of the policy is to ensure that young Namibians are empowered and become self-reliant and become productive citizens through improved education, health, and economic outcomes, as well as increased political participation. Conscious efforts have been made to include young people in the political decision-making process, with the youngest Member of Parliament, who is aged 22, and a Deputy Minister, appointed in 2020 at age 23. There are other young people who are members of parliament."
Fourteen young Namibians are part of the more than ten thousand delegates to the Youth Connekt Africa summit in Kigali.
The summit is expected to map out new ways of enabling Africa's dividend to thrive, as the continent's economy recovers from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year's Youth Connekt Africa Summit is held under the theme "Accelerating Investments in Youth: Resilient Youth, Resilient Africa".