OYO new issue of its magazine ‘OYO, young, latest and cool’ is now out. This issue deals with the theme ‘leadership and role models’.
It is often said that the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and this is one of the reasons why the HIV pandemic is so terrible: it is affecting the generation that will be in charge of the country tomorrow. But who are the leaders of today? Who are the role models of today? Who are the people our young people look up to for advice and inspiration?
Our lives and our values are influenced by the world around us. Firstly, our parents play a major role in teaching us what’s right and what’s wrong, and it was good to see that so many young people selected their parents as role models. Then there is the school milieu. If children have positive role models in their parents, the school does not play quite so dominant a role: it is the place where we learn, but not the only place in which we witness formative behaviours. Nevertheless, many teachers don’t realise that they are role models to children, and their behaviour is not always exemplary. On the other hand, a great teacher can be an incredible inspiration to young people. Public figures are the third source of inspiration. They often allow us to dream and inspire us to become more.
We therefore felt it was important to assess who is an inspiration to our youth. We approached some of the local figures you referred to as role models and asked them to fill in a short questionnaire. We were delighted to receive such an overwhelming response, and wish to thank all the leaders and artists who agreed to contribute to this magazine, and in particular the President of the Republic of Namibia, H.E. Hifikipunie Pohamba. You will also read messages from Gazza, The Dogg, Gal Level, Lady May and Hitman in the magazine
It is important to remember that my role model may not be yours. This is particularly true when it comes to politicians (we tend to consider as role models the people leading whatever political party it is that we support) and artists (if we like hip-hop, our role model is more likely to be a hip-hop artist, for instance). It is also important to remember that role models are first and foremost people. They are not perfect, and we can’t expect them to be perfect at all times. Follow what they do well and forgive them for what they do wrong. Finally, and more importantly, it is important to remember that anyone can be a role model to someone. In fact, we often don’t realise that we have an impact on the lives of others. We don’t know that our little sister looks up to us, or that our friend admires us, or that the neighbour wants to follow in our footsteps. We all have the responsibility to lead exemplary lives. We all have the responsibility to influence young people positively. We all have the responsibility to make this world a better place to live in.
The magazine is currently being distributed in schools in the Kunene, Erongo and Khomas regions. For more information on the magazine, you can contact us at info@ombetja.org.
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