Visibility, Advocacy Awareness

In a bid to improve the quality of conversations about Early Childhood Development in Namibia, the campaign has partnered with various broadcasting corporations, namely Eagle FM, Omulunga Radio, NBC and One Africa Television to have informative discussions about ECD for increased awareness and advocacy.
See below the activities we’ve had on the different platforms:
EAGLE FM

1st Interview:  March 2020

Topic: ECD in Namibia – The focused on the status of ECD in Namibia, developmental milestones and what lies ahead. Panelists:
  • Ms Eline Nghiitwikwa- Previous Director of Community Development at the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare
  • Ms Edda Bahn – Deputy Executive Director of the Ministry of Education and
  • Ms Sonia Godhino – Previous Senior Education Program Officer at the European Union

2nd Interview: June 2020

Topic: ECD in Namibia – The discussion focused on the effects of COVID-19 on ECD, the importance of building maximum capacity in young children and the factors affecting ECD education/literacy in Namibia. Panelists:
  • Hilma Webber- ECD Coordinator- Development Workshop Namibia
  • Mila Cravinho – ECD Consultant and Expert

NBC TELEVISION

1st Broadcast: July 2020

The topic for this discussion was “Prioritizing ECD in Namibia” and broadly focused on the ECD agenda in Namibia, highlighting its history and developmental milestones. This discussion served as an introduction/appetizer to the campaign, so as to prepare audience/listeners for more promotional content. The program producer will furnish me the video recording of the show, which will be shared amongst the NIECD Committee Members. Panelists:
  • Hon. Bernadette Jagger – Deputy Minister, MGEPESW
  • Ms Indileni Daniel – ECD Section Head, CoW
  • Ms Sonia Godinho – Senior Education Officer, EU

2st Broadcast: July 2020

The second broadcast on Tupopyeni discussed the Cost of Inaction, which focused on what the country loses by not investing in ECD at a national and household level. Panelists:
  • Ms. Esther Lusepani – Executive Director, MGEPESW
  • Ms. Kenanao Motlhoiwa – Chief: Child Survival and Development, UNICEF
  • Mr. Martin Suhr – Country Program Director, Interteam Swiss

3rd Broadcast: September 2020

This broadcast focused on the Importance of Father’s Involvement in the Early Years of a Child’s life. The discussion was received remarkably well by the public, as audiences were engaging in the discussion on social media as well as during live studio call-ins. Panelists:
  •  Mr. Julius Nghifikwa – Deputy Director: School Health, MoEAC
  • Mr. James Itana – Executive Director, Regain Trust

4rd Broadcast: October 2020

The 4th broadcast on Tupopyeni discussed the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities, wherein it sought to inform viewers about how early identification, support and services are vital towards ensuring that children with disabilities or children with special needs are able to get the appropriate care and an opportunity to fully engage and benefit from early learning and ECD opportunities. Panelists:
  • Ms. Leopoldine Nakakshole, (MoEAC)
  • Ms. Huipi Van Wyk – Director, Side by Side
  • MS. Leviene Smit – Mother of child with disability

NBC RADIO

1st Interview: July 2020

These radio interviews on NBC National Radio are the audio versions of the discussions held on Tupopyeni and are intended to cater to audiences who missed the live television broadcast. Discussion topic: Prioritizing ECD in Namibia Interviewees:
  • Ms Sonia Godinho, Senior Education Officer, EU
  • Ms Mila Cravinho, ECD Expert and Consultant

2nd Interview: August 2020

Discussion topic: Cost of Inaction – What we lose by not investing in ECD Interviewees:
  • Ms Sonia Godinho, Senior Education Officer, EU
  • Ms Mila Cravinho, ECD Expert and Consultant

3rd Interview: September 2020

Discussion topic: Importance of Father’s Involvement in Early Years of Child’s Life Interviewees:
  • Mr. Julius Nghifikwa

4rd Interview: October 2020

Discussion topic: Cost of Inaction – What we lose by not investing in ECD Interviewees:
  • Ms Huipi Van Wyk

ONE AFRICA TELEVISION

The #RightStart campaign partnered with One Africa Television to produce a 5-part series about the different components of Early Childhood Development that will air on One Africa Television as of March 2021.

Panel Discussion 1: Importance of Prioritizing ECD in Namibia – July 2020

In this discussion, the ECD agenda in Namibia was reviewed, highlighting its developmental milestones and forecasting what lies ahead. This first discussion served as an introduction/appetizer to the campaign and is meant to prepare the audience/listeners for more promotional content on the platform Panelists:
  • Ms. Jessica Brown – ECD Officer – UNICEF (Moderator)
  • Ms. Loide Velishavo – Deputy Director – MGEPESW
  • Dr. Aune Victor – Education Specialist – UNICEF
  • Mr. Luis Munana – Founder – Luis Munana Productions & Waka Waka Moo Television Series

Panel Discussion 2: The Importance of Health and Nutrition During the Early Years of a Child – August 2020

This discussion aims to inform viewers about the dangers of a faulty diet on the child’s health and development. Panellists inform viewers about the practices that can be adopted to improve child health nutrition. Panelists:
  • Ms. Jessica Brown – ECD Officer, UNICEF (Moderator)
  • Ms. Nicole Angermund – Programme Officer – Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition
  • Ms. Rose-Mary De Walt – MoHSS

Panel Discussion 3: The Importance of Early Learning and PlaySeptember 2020

This discussion aims to inform viewers about the importance of early learning and learning through play in order to provide an understanding about how best they can support children adopt playing as a means of learning at home and at school Panelists:
  • Ms. Jessica Brown – ECD Officer – UNICEF (Moderator)
  • Ms. Mila Cravinho – ECD Consultant and Expertn
  • Ms. Indileni Daniel – ECD Section Head – City of Windhoek
  • Ms. Liezl Moller – Founder of ECD Center and Principle
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