Codebridge Youth - Crossing Borders

On day 3 of the Rosh Pinah Youth Summit, attendees nominated representatives to establish a Rosh Pinah CBY Forum. Attendees were then also able to vote for their chairperson, vice chairperson, and other roles in terms of the forum composition. The Namibian National Youth Council attended the youth summit, which is also vital to ensure youth engage with the statutory body responsible for youth in the country. 

The Rosh Pinah Youth Summit took place at the Community hall on 26 to 28 July 2022. A total of 105 youth registered to attend the three-day long summit. This is a very healthy amount if one considers that the town’s population is estimated to be roughly 3000 people. Over the 3 days, the attendance averaged 80 youth per day, with the peak of 105 youth attending day 2 of the 3-day youth summit. 

Trevali also took the opportunity to introduce youth to “Spot”, the robot dog. Spot is an exciting upcoming addition to Trevali's Rosh Pinah mining operations. Trevali aims to leverage Spot's state-of-the-art robot technology to automate routine inspection tasks, perform long-distance operations, and capture data in a safe, accurate and timely manner.

During the three days, the facilitators of OpenUp, Adrian Kearns, Khumo Sello, Katlego Mohlabane and Damian Pool, were able to engage the youth in critical areas focusing on:  “ what it's like to be a youth in Rosh Pinah, what makes them belong and connected, what opportunities exist and they seek, what change they would like to see, and lastly, how they would like to influence decision making in their communities.”

Youth were divided into groups and engaged on the above topics, with the facilitation team guiding discussions and lending their experience based on previous youth summits hosted. The outcome was a youth summit which brought many insights into the youth demographics in Rosh Pinah. The information has been consolidated into a report and shared with all relevant stakeholders. Over the coming months, OpenUp will implement workshops to upskill the CBY Forum in Rosh Pinah to advance identified youth projects. OpenUp will also assist the forum with establishing Youth community evenings for two-way communication between the forum and the youth of Rosh Pinah. 

Over the next 3-6 months, OpenUp, in collaboration with Trevali and other key stakeholders, will provide the necessary support, resources and skills training to ensure the CBY Forum in Rosh Pinah is driving change in the community and is the voice of the youth.

Above the newly elected Codebridge Youth Forum members. They will be upskilled to implement various projects as identified by the youth at the Summit.

The existence of the Rosh Pinah CBY Forum is of fundamental importance. The Codebridge Youth Project, “Community-led solutions for the youth by the youth”, has crossed the borders of South Africa!  

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