SGCI Gender and Inclusivity Initiative, Namibia: reflections on the journey

Abstract

Mr Johannes Ndjamba, Division of Science Promotion at the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology, Namibia. As a result of his involvement in the NCRST change team, Ndjamba now perceives of the concept of gender as "way broader" than a simple male/female dichotomy, and this realisation has led him to re-think some of the ways he does things in the workplace. "Personally, I am now asking myself why I do some things." For example, in his division he is the only man. When the team is invited to schools as part of the NCRST's Science Centre outreach project, without being asked, he takes the initiative to organise the visit. Now, he wonders why he is not giving his female colleagues the chance to organise the visits. "They are also capable of driving, and loading car with materials. Anyone of us can do it."Ndjamba is keen to see the momentum around the project continue and extend to broader society. "We are not stopping," he says. "I don't think there's anything wrong with our [current] practices-it's the way people have been brought up-but there are certain things we can change, things we can look at with a different lens."