Namibia sets to welcome African youth and women in tourism

Once again, Namibia is set to welcome over 500 youth and women in tourism from across the African continent in the 2024 Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit, which is slated to take place from May 28 to 31, 2024 in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.

Hosted by the Namibia Ministry of Environment Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), the summit will be jointly convened by UN Tourism, Africa Tourism Partners, BDO and Millvest.

It is also endorsed and supported by AFCFTA, Namibia Tourism Board, NIPDB and NEPAD. However, one of this year’s focus areas is amplifying the voices of young women in travel, tourism tech entrepreneurs, hospitality and aviation professionals among others.

One of the major activities in this year’s edition is the Ministerial Roundtable, with key speakers including; Pohamba Shifeta, MP - Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Namibia; Heather Sibungo, Deputy Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Namibia; Gemma Matshediso Mbegabolawe, Regional Economic Communities Coordinator, Directorate of Institutional Matters and Programme Coordination (DIMPC), AFCFTA Secretariat, Ghana; Emma Kantema-gaomas, Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth & National Service, Namibia and Linda Pereira, CEO, CPL Events, Portugal. e session aims to raise awareness of equal opportunities and inspire solutions to gender disparity, emphasising gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Other notable speakers participating at summit include; Barbara Rwodzi, Minister of Tourism & Hospitality Industry, Zimbabwe; Mbali Mngomezulu, manager, Business Development; Mastercard, South Africa; Mike Tavares, founder & CEO, Ojimah, Mauritius; Nawa Likando, Head of Digital Strategy, Transformation, and Innovation MTC, Namibia; Joanne Mwangi – Yelbert, director, Professional Marketing Services (PMS) Group, Kenya, Akwasi Agyeman, CEO, Ghana Tourism Authority and Mukameenda Salare Cluster Commercial Manager, Hilton Windhoek, Namibia.

Also known as the “land of the brave”, Namibia has a remarkable diversity of spoken languages of about 30 overall and o ers a journey of discovery and wonder. It is also the land of contrasts where the harsh beauty of the desert meets the bounty of the Atlantic Ocean.