IMPACTFUL DEEDS
Mentorship project shapes students for bright future
Agroup of 31 students, 15 boys and 16 girls from Ikageng Junior School in Metsimotlhabe became the first batch of beneficiaries from a junior school, of the Convo Lounge-Debswana youth empowerment project.
Convo Lounge, a youth-led think tank implemented the mentorship programme between 2019 and 2020 in Tertiary institutions such as Botho University, Ba Isago and University of Botswana, and is actively exploring opportunities to engage with youth from other schools.
This time around, they partnered with Debswana employees under the transformation and innovation department’s the ‘Ambassadors for Good’ initiative.
According to Project Lead of Convo Lounge Africa, Bakang Keitumetse, the primary goal of the project was to nurture the talents of youth and promote career development opportunities. For Debswana, this partnership is a proclamation of their purpose to Make Life Brilliant for communities and Batswana at large.
This commitment is espoused in their 2024 business strategy, dubbed One Dream, One Team (0D0T) and their Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy named Building Forever. Building Forever – is a blueprint for creating a positive and sustainable impact that will endure well beyond the discovery of Debswana’s last diamond. Keitumetse told The Midweek Sun that students participating in the project were exposed to a diverse range of fields, including technology, creativity, innovation and robotics when they visited the Brain STREAM Education Centre and Orange Digital Centre Botswana.
They also visited Ntlo ya Dikgosi, Botswana Parliament and the Three Chiefs Monument, as well as the creative sector in media, broadcasting and performing arts, where they visited RB2 and BTV at the Mass Media Complex and performed at the Little Theatre at the national museum.
In addition, through Debswana they were exposed to the mining industry. All these gave the students a well-rounded and comprehensive experience.
The core focus of this collaboration was to impart essential skills through the creative and mining sector by bridging the gap between education and the dynamic job market through providing students with valuable insights into the realms of the creative industry, mining, and digital technology.
The idea of Convo Lounge, Keitumetse explained, emerged as an outcome of the successful implementation of the Convo Lounge mentorship programme, supported by the Botswana US embassy from 2019 to 2020.
“While Debswana is the first company to partner on this project, Convo Lounge is actively working towards collaborations with other companies. An upcoming partnership with another brand is in its final stages, with a project expected to commence in January 2024,” Keitumetse said.
The 31 students who participated recently graduated from the project, which started in August. During the ceremony, students showcased their creative skills through various plays that underscored the profound impact of Debswana on the landscape of Botswana. On the entrepreneurial front, students also pitched innovative business ideas related to the mining value chain. Keitumetse said the project does not end with the graduation. Students are further followed up, as Convo Lounge is committed to the long-term success of its participants. “We elected to work with Form 2 students and have continuous engagement strategies, including monthly check-ups to support them with their academics and soft skills development until they complete Form 3,” he said.
Since inception, Convo Lounge has registered some significant successes including positive feedback from participants, increased community engagement, and measurable improvements in the lives of the youth involved. In March this year, they also launched a weekly podcast on You Tube, Facebook and a Podcast platform called ‘The Convo Lounge Podcast’ to share knowledge and insights with a wider youth audience.
In addition, to continuously strengthen its operations, Convo Lounge recently graduated from the BSE Tshipidi Mentorship Programme, a programme which emphasises the importance of governance and ethics in business. According to Keitumetse, the challenge has been that the initiative is in its infant stage, and they have encountered hurdles in coordinating visits with the brands they aspire to expose students to.
“This underscores the necessity for a paradigm shift in how brands perceive Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives. Our project seeks collaborations with brands that transcend conventional financial support, emphasising active involvement in implementation, particularly through knowledge transfer,” Keitumetse said. He added that each student has unique interests, strengths, and needs and therefore, tailoring the programme to accommodate individual differences can be challenging but crucial for the initiative’s effectiveness. “We believe in forging partnerships where brands play an integral role in shaping and enhancing the educational experiences of the students, contributing not just resources but valuable insights and expertise to foster meaningful learning and skill development.”
Youth Engagement Lead, Mindset Change Campaign under Office of the President in the Ministry for State President, Kaene Disepo encouraged graduates during the graduation ceremony to embrace challenges as opportunities for learning and growth, and to believe in their abilities to overcome obstacles on their path to success.
Disepo further inspired graduates to embark on their future journeys with a renewed sense of purpose and the belief that they can be the change they aspire to see.