Ideas On Civic Education

TWO weeks ago, the Namibian United States Alumni Association (NUSAA) held its second annual conference on the topic of Adult Civic Education.

Nahas Angula, Prime Minister of Namibia, opened the conference again and called on the members of NUSAA to: “Be creative. Look towards the future.Consider ways to strengthen and enhance our democracy so that in ten years, twenty years, a hundred years, we can look back and say that we made the right decisions after Independence.”And we have.One of the key ideas behind this year’s conference was to gather our members – Namibian scholars, businessmen and women, and Government officials who have studied in the United States or have been the recipient of a US professional exchange programme or fellowship – so that they might formulate concrete actions that might be taken to improve adult civic literacy in Namibia.US Ambassador Joyce Barr, in her remarks, reminded us of Thomas Jefferson’s thoughts on democracy: “We in America do not have government by the majority.We have government by the majority who participate.”So too must Namibia have a majority that actively participates.We are sending these ideas to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education but also wanted to inform the public and, hopefully, stimulate interest, debate, and action.We the members of NUSAA propose that the Government and people of Namibia might engage in the following activities to promote improved civic education.Gather a consortium of stakeholders – to include the education sector, NGOs, NUSAA, and other interested parties – to determine exactly what Namibian civic education should be and to lead in the formulation of a plan to improve national civic education.This plan must make civic education exciting for both youth and adult alike.That would involve using the correct language, for example use local languages to teach civic education in the regions or use the language of youth and examples of youth to make civic education meaningful.Look at the curriculum.When our learners are actively engaged in civic issues, they will also involve their parents by asking questions.The education system has an environmental module that might be tailored to make civic education exciting and relevant.Involve the media.After all, part of the media’s job is to inform the public of what its government is doing and to be a watchdog.It should play a role in this endeavour.So what is NUSAA’s next step? NUSAA and the American Cultural Centre plan to build on our recent work by inviting Namibian NGOs, teachers, the media, and the Ministry of Education to come together and discuss what programmes they already have in place and exactly what a Namibian civic education program should look like.The American Cultural Centre will bring Fulbright Specialist Michael Fischer back to Namibia – he participated in our recent conference – to help facilitate such a discussion.Mr Fischer’s organisation has helped groups in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, and Mauritius to design and run civic education programs.We look forward to Namibia’s next steps.Namibian/United States Alumni Association Board of Directors Via e-mailLook towards the future.Consider ways to strengthen and enhance our democracy so that in ten years, twenty years, a hundred years, we can look back and say that we made the right decisions after Independence.” And we have.One of the key ideas behind this year’s conference was to gather our members – Namibian scholars, businessmen and women, and Government officials who have studied in the United States or have been the recipient of a US professional exchange programme or fellowship – so that they might formulate concrete actions that might be taken to improve adult civic literacy in Namibia.US Ambassador Joyce Barr, in her remarks, reminded us of Thomas Jefferson’s thoughts on democracy: “We in America do not have government by the majority.We have government by the majority who participate.”So too must Namibia have a majority that actively participates. We are sending these ideas to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education but also wanted to inform the public and, hopefully, stimulate interest, debate, and action.We the members of NUSAA propose that the Government and people of Namibia might engage in the following activities to promote improved civic education.Gather a consortium of stakeholders – to include the education sector, NGOs, NUSAA, and other interested parties – to determine exactly what Namibian civic education should be and to lead in the formulation of a plan to improve national civic education.This plan must make civic education exciting for both youth and adult alike.That would involve using the correct language, for example use local languages to teach civic education in the regions or use the language of youth and examples of youth to make civic education meaningful.Look at the curriculum.When our learners are actively engaged in civic issues, they will also involve their parents by asking questions.The education system has an environmental module that might be tailored to make civic education exciting and relevant.Involve the media.After all, part of the media’s job is to inform the public of what its government is doing and to be a watchdog.It should play a role in this endeavour.So what is NUSAA’s next step? NUSAA and the American Cultural Centre plan to build on our recent work by inviting Namibian NGOs, teachers, the media, and the Ministry of Education to come together and discuss what programmes they already have in place and exactly what a Namibian civic education program should look like.The American Cultural Centre will bring Fulbright Specialist Michael Fischer back to Namibia – he participated in our recent conference – to help facilitate such a discussion.Mr Fischer’s organisation has helped groups in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, and Mauritius to design and run civic education programs.We look forward to Namibia’s next steps.Namibian/United States Alumni Association Board of Directors Via e-mail