Botswana: The Youth Engagement Lead – Mindset Change, Kaene Disepo, joined the BNYC Board for a workshop on youth employability, mental health and mindset change in Tsabong on Wednesday.
The aim of the workshop is to bring young people together in the region to discuss how best to explore solutions to the lived challenges youths face in the region.
This is a four days workshop that started on 7 February and will end on 11 February. The BNYC Board and the secretariat have joined in Tsabong this week for a four-day retreat where they are scheduled to have a youth workshop addressing mental health, entrepreneurship and other challenges faced by the youth. They will conclude with a visit to Lobu small stock farm which is run by the youth.
In his opening remarks, MYSC District Co-ordinator Rock Mphela mentioned that there are some challenges in their area that need to be addressed, such as a high number of school dropouts, drug abuse in the area and a large number of defilement cases.
BNYC board member Tshenolo Palai explained that the role of Board Members is to advise the government and the Ministry on issues pertaining to young people, advocate, disseminate information on youth programs and policies that will benefit fellow youth, and represent the council at various and international events.
Proposed subcommittees were formed that will primarily focus on Communication and advocacy, finance and administration, and strategic and stakeholder engagement. Their functions were elaborated, and chairpersons were selected for each committee.
Mindset Change Youth Engagement Lead Kaene Disepo stated that the cornerstone of mindset change is to change from a fixed mindset to growth in doing things differently. The aim is to go from a middle-income economy to a high-income economy.
Disepo, a former BNYC Board Member, advised the Board on how to execute its mandate effectively.