Olupale Combined School’s History Club from the Oshikoto region has won the first prize in the School Clubs and Museum’s Exhibition Competition (SCAMX) organised by the Museum Association of Namibia (MAN).
This year’s competition took place under the theme ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ and featured approximately 20 schools researching their region’s cultural heritage.
The winning club was able to present a lovely display on the Oshipe festival, which marks the beginning of the mahangu harvest.
The prize was sponsored by the Robben Island Museum in Cape Town, South Africa where four pupils and their teacher will be travelling to, to take part in a ‘Nation-building’ Spring School in October.
“The MAN Team were very pleased with the enthusiasm and the commitment of the pupils who took part in this year’s competition.” said Naitsikile Iizyenda, the SCAMX coordinator,
“We hope that the competition will continue to grow and to encourage young people to not only to value Namibia’s history and heritage, but also to consider a career in the museum sector.”
The two-day competition took place in Outapi this year and included an excursion to the Omugulugwombashe National Heritage Site, Uukwaludhi Royal Homestead and the Outapi War Museum while the Ombalantu Boabab Tree Heritage Centre threw a braai for the pupils.
Defending champions Negumbo Senior Secondary School from the Omusati region scooped the second prize, with their exhibition on the Olufuko festival. They received a weekend outing, sponsored by the Cheetah Conservation Fund where pupils were taught about cheetahs and participated in game drives and other activities.
Haimbili Haufiku Senior Secondary School from the Ohangwena region won the third prize for their work on traditional baskets (Okaanda) while Hoeksteen Combined School from Rosh Pinah won a special book prize for the best oral history on the !Aman Festival, an annual celebration in Bethanie. As the winners, the Oshikoto region will be hosting next year’s competition.
