Elzaan de Wee ,
Please provide us with your views on the state of peace in the country you will represent at the One Young World Summit?
Namibia is a peaceful and stable country. There is peace and stability along three major pillars: economic, political and religious stability. Namibia is ranked moderately high on the 2017 Global Peace Index.
Another aspect of peace is quality of life. Namibians generally enjoy a good quality of life, but our inequality between rich and poor means that many people do not enjoy such a good quality of life. Namibia enjoys a good social structure where families and communities are supporting each other.
During my time of working in different communities throughout Namibia, working on roadshows touring my country, I met people living on low incomes and many unemployed youth, but I also met many inspiring people.
When talking about peace in a person’s life, one needs to include sustainability and the protection of their basic human rights and well-being.
It is a basic human right for every Namibian to eat, to be educated and to be a well-rounded individual. That already falls in line with Namibia’s Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5) which aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).
Namibia has spectacular sceneries, wildlife and a major tourist industry. In December 2010, Lonely Planet named Namibia the 5th best tourist destination in the world in terms of value.
How do you think your work and/or activism contribute to a sustainable peace?
I believe that the next generation plays a big role in sustaining that peace, so we need to invest in them now. My work is primarily geared towards the arts, children and youth empowerment.
Organising community theatre workshops and giving the youth that platform to express themselves and what they are not happy with is both therapeutic and healing. Art brings people together and allows them to question things.
My work starts by connecting young people to mentoring, opportunities, resources, and exposing their minds to new possibilities. I particularly advocate for the youth to start their own businesses and innovative activities. This will give them self-esteem so that they can gain self-confidence and self-reliance, in order to gain security and to be free in decision-making, such as choosing their own path and shaping their own future. I believe this freedom of choice and decision-making is very important and everyone has a right to human dignity.
If you can challenge the way young people see themselves, they can empower themselves socially and economically to fight unemployment, poverty, low education and ultimately work towards sustaining peace in those areas.