Twenty years after Namibia’s independence, Royal African Society & Friends of Namibia Society invite you to a unique event – a debate on the motion:
Twenty years after achieving independence from South Africa, Namibia is a stable, democratic country, and one of the most prosperous in Africa. But there are also deep, and some would say fundamental, problems. Is this a democracy without democrats? And what about the deep inequalities that still characterise every area of Namibian life?
The moment of Namibia’s independence was one of huge significance for the entire southern African region. It showed the weakness of the apartheid regime in South Africa, and proved that it was possible to move to majority rule, as South Africa itself was to do four years later. It showed, too, one possible face of the new world that was emerging as the Cold War ended. This debate will shed light on the importance of these new geopolitical realities not only for Namibia, but also for the region as a whole.
Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi, Managing Director of Namdeb, Namibia’s diamond company. Trained as a barrister, she has expert knowledge of Namibia’s financial and economic situation.
Tangeni Amupadhi, Editor of Insight, an independent current affairs and financial magazine published in Windhoek. He has wide experience of journalism in Namibia, South Africa and the US, and he has twice been named Namibian Journalist of the Year.
Professor David Simon, Head of the Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London. His research interests include development, environment, urbanisation and local government in Namibia, Africa and beyond. He is on the editorial board of several scholarly journals and currently advisor to UN-HABITAT on cities and climate change.
Henning Melber, Executive Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in Uppsala, Sweden. He was previously Research Director at the Nordic Africa Institute and Director of The Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU), Windhoek.
The debate will be chaired by Oona King, Head of Diversity at Channel 4 and a broadcaster, writer and political campaigner. She was MP for Bethnal Green and Bow 1997–2005.
PLEASE RSVP FOR THE EVENT AT RSVP@royalafricansociety.org /02030738321
This event was generously supported by Diageo Africa, Canon Collins Trust, The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Kalahari Minerals, Extract Resources, and VET.