The Recent Happenings

There are always new things big and small happening in education in Namibia. NPH team tries as far as possible to follow all events and get involved where we can. The past week was no exception!

Dalia Uusiku (centre),
Miss People's
Primary School 2017 

• On Friday, 4 August, People's Primary School (Katutura, Windhoek) held a Miss PPS beauty contest. NPH was happy to sponsor the trophy for the winner of this beauty pageant.

Deon de Waal of NPH handing a trophy to 

John Muyambango of PPS, 

who accepted it on behalf of the school

• Also on Friday, Windhoek Vocational Training Centre held its annual graduation ceremony and NPH was singled out as the provider of the best textbooks on the market that help learners achieve best results. 

Norma Brand of NPH with the Certificate of Appreciation from WVTC

• At the same time, Ministry of Education Arts and Culture hosted the official address on the State of Education, Arts and Culture in Namibia, where the First Lady Monica Geingos was a special guest. Hon. Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa informed the nation on the successes and challenges within the ministry at the Chairman Mao Zedong Secondary School Hall in Otjomuise, Windhoek. She also launched the Friends of Education in Namibia Special Initiative (FENSI). This initiative aims to bring on board all the willing and able individuals to support the government in addressing the various needs in basic education in Namibia. NPH as a long-term partner in education was invited to take part in this event.

Freddy Nafuka of NPH, Hon. Katrina Hanse-Himarwa (MEAC),
Irvin Masule of NPH and Hon. Ester Anna Nghipondoka (Deputy MEAC)

Our Reading Trolleys and Reading Corners Are Finally in Namibia!

We have great pleasure to announce that our first Reading Trolley and Reading Corner have finally arrived in Windhoek and are available for purchase at NPH and Macmillan Education Namibia Bookstore at 19 Faraday Street in Southern Industrial! They are a perfect solution to any Primary School with space constraints and where access to variety of books for Junior Primary Phase is limited.

The Reading Trolley features:

Our General Manager, Deon de Waal, posing with
the Reading Trolley and Reading Corner Set

• 350 books (90 Grade 1 books, 120 Grade 2 books, 140 Grade 3 books). The book sets can be customised according to language required
• is strong, durable, with mesh panels and 4 swivel casters (2 lockable) for easy moving and storing
• is lockable and has adjustable shelves with dividers to keep books of different sizes in order, and 4 additional A4 shelves that hook onto side panels
• Dimensions: Height - 1300 mm; Length - 1000 mm, Width - 300 mm
• Colour: Red (Lead-free powder coating)
• The slogan on the Header board can be customised and sponsor details added if required.

The Reading Corner includes:

• 4 PVC foam floor mats in red, greed, blue and yellow (Dimensions: 1 m x 1 m, 40 mm thick), and a set of 10 PVC round cushions in various colours with Velcro closure
• 2 red wooden browsing boxes
• red wooden easel for big book or posters
• full-colour A1 posters linked to Junior Primary Phase Syllabus themes
• full-colour A4 alphabet cards
• grade-specific book packs for Junior Primary Phase, depending on the corner ordered (Grade 1 - 90 books; Grade 2 - 120 books, Grade 3 - 140 books).

The Reading Trolley and Reading Corners are a great way to create a comfortable and inviting setting in any Junior Primary classroom (from Pre-Primary to Grade 3) in order to encourage the love for books and reading in young learners from the start!

They are also a wonderful gift a company can sponsor for their local Junior Primary School as a way of giving back to the community!

Do not wait, order yours today J

175th Anniversary Celebration of Springer Brand Has Reached Namibia!

In today's economy, with businesses opening and closing down equally often, not many people can proudly say that they are part of a company that has a 175-year-old legacy.

Namibia Publishing House and Macmillan Education Namibia, as part of global Macmillan Group, join in this year's celebration of the Spinger brand's 175th anniversary. We are honoured to be part of a company that from its humble beginnings grew to be recognised as one of the best educational publishers worldwide.

Happy 175th Birthday Springer!

NPH and Macmillan Education Namibia Team

NPH Welcomes Our New Senior Sales and Marketing Representative!

It takes a real family relationship within the company to keep employees coming back!

Namibia Publishing House and Macmillan Education Namibia are happy to announce that one of our long-standing employees has joined us again after a brief absence!

Freddy Kaulinge Nafuka, NPH Senior Sales and Marketing Representative

Freddy Kaulinge Nafuka first joined the company, back then known as Gamsberg Macmillan Publishers, in April 2000 as an editor for Oshikwanyama Mother Language. He was later appointed a Marketing Officer and, over the years, worked his way up to the position of a Senior Publisher for African Languages. He briefly left the company in 2015 to pursue personal business ventures, but publishing is in his blood and he couldn't resist when we called him to join us again in our Sales and Marketing Department.

Welcome back Freddy! We are happy to see your beautiful smile again!

Namibia Celebrates Mother Language Day!

The UNESCO International Mother Language Day celebration has finally reached Namibia! Hosted by UNESCO and in partnership with various stakeholders, the event took place on 21 February, at the GZ Function Centre in Windhoek, in form of a Seminar on the future of Namibia's Mother Languages.

Honourable Anna Esther Nghipondoka, Deputy Minister,
MoAC, delivering a keynote address

Among the guest speakers were: His Worship Councillor Muesee Kazapua (Mayor of Windhoek), Honourable Laura Mcloed-Katjirua (Governor, Khomas Region) and Honourable Esther Nghipondoka (Deputy Minister, MoEAC), who delivered the keynote address.

Director and UNESCO Representative to Namibia, Dr Jean-Pierre Ilboudo, made an opening statement and stressed the significance of UNESCO International Mother Language Day for Namibia.

The event was chaired by Fr Rod April (Secretary General - NATCOM), who presided over the official part, as well as Ms Gwen Lister, (Namibia Media Trust), who facilitated a panel discussion on development of publishing, promotion and preservation of Namibian local languages.

From left: Mr Axaro Thaniseb, Dr Jean-Pierre Ilboudo,
Hon. Laura Mcloed-Katjirua, Hon. Anna Esther Nghipondoka,
His Worship Councillor Muesee Kazapua and Mr Sidney Boois

Namibia Publishing House as the main publisher of textbooks and literature in local languages was there to take part in the Seminar and the panel discussions. We hope that this event will generate a much needed revival in the cultivation of Namibia's local languages.

From left: Mr Axaro Thaniseb,  Hon. Laura Mcloed-Katjirua, Hon. Anna Esther Nghipondoka, 
His Worship Councillor Muesee Kazapua, Dr Jean-Pierre Ilboudo and Fr Rod April

Eldorado High School Choir

Eldorado High School Choir and the Ondunga Cultural Group performed several songs in the local languages to the great entertainment of the audience.

Ondunga Cultural Group

UNESCO to Host a Namibia Indigenous Language Seminar!

On Monday 23 January, the Windhoek National Office of UNESCO met with various stakeholders from the Ministry of Education Arts and Culture, NIED, publishers and Namibia Editors Forum for a Steering Committee meeting to prepare for the UNESCO International Mother Language Day Celebration that will be held on 21 February 2017.

Within the framework of this celebration, UNESCO office will host a Namibia Indigenous Language Seminar that will take place on 21 February 2017 at the Gateway Conference Centre in Windhoek.

This is the first time that Namibia will be officially celebrating the Mother Language Day with the rest of the world. Seeing that there are about 13 main languages spoken in Namibia, this celebration is bound to attract wide interest from all the indigenous groups in the country.

With the number of learners who speak their mother tongue at home on decline these days, the Seminar, held as part of the celebration of the Mother Language Day, is highly anticipated by publishers and teachers alike. 

The main goals of the Seminar are:

Askideas.com

• to take stock of the current status of Namibia's Indigenous Languages 
• to involve the various stakeholders in discussion and production of an effective framework for the successful development of Namibia's Indigenous Languages
• to support existing structures and initiatives in their efforts to popularise the use of Namibia's Indigenous Languages.

Namibia Publishing House welcomes the invitation to the Seminar and supports UNESCO's efforts in initiating a dialogue on the state of the Indigenous Languages in Namibia. We strongly encourage all the stakeholders to attend!

The Managing Director of the Schools division at Macmillan Education visits Namibia!!!

Last week our General Manager of Macmillan Education Namibia, Mr Deon de Waal, surprised Emma Bourne, Managing Director of the Schools division at Macmillan Education, who just landed at Walvis Bay for a short and sweet holiday with her husband, by swooping them of the airport arrivals terminal to show them a few of Namibia's best sightseeing spots nearby.

Deon de Waal and Emma Bourne with husband at Dune 7

Emma has visited Namibia numerous times, but had little opportunity to venture outside of Windhoek. We are extremely happy that she and her husband chose Namibia for their holiday destination this year. 

As they make their way to Sossusvlei to enjoy more of our country's beauty, we at Namibia Publishing House would like to wish them a safe journey, filled with wonderful experiences of the pristine environment that mother nature has to offer during their Namibian adventure!