Happy 2020, Namibia!

Namibia Publishing House and Macmillan Education Namibia Team are pleased to confirm that we are back from the holiday break and open for business as usual.

We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all our partners in Education a productive and prosperous 2020!

As the new school year has just started, we are busy with deliveries of our approved materials to bookshops and Waltons' branches across the country. 

Our Marketing Team will soon be visiting schools, promoting our latest additions to the Government Catalogue, so keep an eye out for them!

NSSCO Gap Submissions 2019 - a total success for NPH!

We are extremely pleased to announce that our list of approved materials for Grades 10 and 11 NSSCO level now includes the following titles in Oshikwanyama, Oshindonga, Otjiherero and Office Practice:

• Solid Foundations Nongonona Elaka Ondodo 10 fiyo 11 Embo lOmuhongwa loNSSCO
• Solid Foundations Nongonona Elaka Ondodo 10 fiyo 11 Ewilikimbo lOmuhongi loNSSCO
  (Both written by Vilima Ngonyofi Haukongo and Julius Kuhatumwa)

• Solid Foundations Pyokola Elaka Ondodo 10 sigo 11 Embo lyOmulongwa lyoNSSCO
• Solid Foundations Pyokola Elaka Ondodo 10 sigo 11 Ewilikimbo lyOmulongi lyoNSSCO
  (Both written by Rachel Nandjembo, Rakel Ndeshimona and Emilia Nyau)

• Solid Foundations Omukambo mOtjiherero NSSC Embo rOmuhongwa 
• Solid Foundations Omukambo mOtjiherero NSSC Embo Evatere rOmitiri 
  (Both written by Nathaniel Kaunomuinjo Mbaeva, covering syllabus for Grades 10-12)

• Office Practice Keyboard Layout

Look for them at our book store, local book shops and Waltons' branches across the country!

Coding Week 2019: Augmented Reality and Books

Mr Detlef Pfeifer, Goethe-Institut Namibia, explaining
Augmented Reality Concept

The Goethe-Institut Namibia, in collaboration with Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), University of Namibia (UNAM) and University of Applied Sciences known as Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW) in Berlin, hosted a project on coding at the beginning of May this year to create Smartphone Augmented Reality (AR) Apps that will bring five Namibian books to life.

Namibian Magic by Corrin-Del Klopper

One of the books selected for this project was a publication of Namibia Publishing House Namibian Magic by Corrin-Del Klopper. Students from the above-mentioned institutions worked very hard to create augmented realities for a Smartphones App that can be used to enhance the reading culture and experience of books written for Namibian children.

A team students working on Namibian Magic

Augmented Reality is created through images and animations that are regarded as extensions of the book. Using Augmented Reality is as simple as downloading the app from the App Store for Apple users or Google Play Store for Androids. The user has to start the app by scanning through pages of the book to activate the interactive and digital content on the Smartphone. The app is developed in four languages namely: Oshiwambo, English, Khoekhoegowab and German, therefore the user can activate the language that they are more comfortable to use. As the Head of Library and Information at Goethe-Institut Namibia, Mr Detlef Pfeifer, said, the project does not only promote a reading culture and preserve the use of books among the Namibian children, it also gives young coders the opportunity to gain experience. He further explained, “This coding week will challenge our students, not just in terms of time, but creating the ideal interface for a user to effectively engage with the digital content and experience the Augmented Reality App with pleasure.”

Five groups consisting of 24 Information and Communication Technology students from NUST (12), HTW Berlin (6), and 12 language students from UNAM competed from 29 April to 03 May 2019 to produce augmented reality books in Namibia. The best three Apps for the project will be presented by one of the members from each group at the International Conference on Culture and Computer Science in Berlin. 

The young coders from NUST, UNAM and HTW Berlin participating in the project

NPH is proud to be part of this innovative project as applying the concept of augmented reality to books, in particular children’s books, makes reading more interactive and relevant to the minds of the children and will encourage them to read more.

NPH donates books to Omahongero mEpukiro Initiative!

On 28 March 2019, Ministry of Education Arts and Culture received a donation of close to 5 000 school books worth more than N$700 000. The handover ceremony of the donation made by Omahongero mEpukiro Initiative took place at the National Library of Namibia in Windhoek.

Omahongero mEpukiro Initiative, which means “Education in Epukiro” in Otjiherero, is a book donation campaign that aims to promote the pass rate and the reading culture among future professionals in Epukiro Constituency. Four schools in Omaheke region are to benefit from the donation.

The Deputy Executive Director: Life Long Learning, Arts and Culture at MoEAC, Ms Veno Kauaria, highlighted the importance of reading books to children during her keynote address. It is scientifically proven that reading books from an early age equip children with vocabulary to communicate at high levels and excel at problem-solving. It also improves and builds children’s self-esteem as well as social awareness. Books in general open the imagination and ignite creativity among the children.

Books donated by the Omahongero mEpukiro Initiative

The Initiative was made possible with the generous assistance and donations from Namibia Publishing House and Macmillan Education Namibia, Waldorf School Windhoek, Catherine Bullen Foundation, Komeho Namibia Development Agency, Mech Repair Center and many other individuals. The donation is aimed to support teaching and learning as well as cultivating the love of reading among our learners. Ms. Veno hoped that other institutions and communities will take the good example set by the Omahongero mEpukiro Initiative. She urged people to give back to their community so that they can meet the Government half way for the future of the Namibian children.

Second from the left: Deputy Executive Director: Life Long
Learning, Arts & Culture, MoEAC Veno Kauaria,Chairperson
of the Omahongero mEpukiro Initiative Dr Hangara Ngungaa,
Omaheke Regional Director of Education Pecka Semba

Furthermore, the donation will immensely contribute towards the development of life learning at the schools and consequently support the national curriculum for basic education. In her closing remarks, Ms. Veno, on behalf of the MoEAC, expressed her sincere gratitude to the Initiative for playing an important role in the life of the Namibian child and to the sponsors, specifically Namibia Publishing House and Macmillan Education Namibia, for our generous contribution to the Initiative. “When you give a child a book, you are contributing to the knowledge of that child, and whatever that child consumed from that book, it will never be taken away!” Ms. Veno emphasised. We at Namibia Publishing House and Macmillan Education Namibia are committed to supporting the Government in promoting the reading culture in the country and shaping the future of all Namibian children.

Omahongero mEpukiro Initiative Committee receiving donation of books from Namibia Publishing House and
 Macmillan Education Namibia

NPH school textbooks now available at Waltons countrywide!

Freddy and Vaino arranging the display of NPH textbooks at the newly-opened
Waltons branch at Auas Valley Shopping Centre in Windhoek

We are extremely pleased to announce that, as of end of March this year, NPH and Macmillan Education Namibia have a new distributor for our approved learning and teaching materials for Grades 1 to 12. Waltons has joined a steadily-growing group of bookshops across the country that stock our school textbooks. 

Freddy Kaulinge Nafuka and Vaino Nasini Mukuve from the NPH Sales Team were present at the official launch of the new Flagship Waltons Store in Auas Valley Shopping Centre in Windhoek last week. They presented the Solid Foundations textbooks to the visiting public and answered queries. 

It is important to note that our Solid Foundations textbooks available at any Waltons branch are sold at the same price as listed in the latest Government Catalogue developed by NIED and distributed to all schools in the country.

Freddy Kaulinge Nafuka with NPH textbooks now available at any Waltons branch across the country

Happy International Women's Day from NPH!

Although our Namibian Women's Day falls on 10 December, most of the world celebrates this important day on 8 March. This year the global celebration takes place under the theme "Think equal, build smart, innovate for change."

Namibia has made great strides in the way women are represented in our Parliament at the decision-making level, with the Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and various female ministers and deputy ministers occupying 48 seats out of 104 in the National Assembly. This puts Namibia in the 10th rank among African countries that strive for equal female representation in political structures.

Namibian female ambassadors, such as Monica Nashandi in the United States, are one of many women who continue to positively represent our country abroad, but it is the everyday women in Namibia that deserve to be recognised today. The women who wake up every morning to contribute to our country's economy and feed their children despite the challenges that come with being a woman.

We at Namibia Publishing House and Macmillan Education Namibia acknowledge the immense contributions, sacrifices and achievements Namibian women have made and continue making every day, especially in the education sector. We wish you all a wonderful month ahead!

UN Women theme for 2019 celebrations of International Women's Day

Happy 2019 Everybody!

Namibia Publishing House and Macmillan Education Namibia Family welcome you heartily in 2019! 

After a much needed break from an intensive December deliveries' schedule before the holiday season, we are now back re-energised and already on the road to deliver books to regional offices that placed their orders late last year.

Although the holiday spirit still lingers in the air, it has been a busy week so far, with book retailers sending through big orders and parents and learners visiting our bookshop daily to replace lost books or purchase new sets of textbooks for this school year. 

Come and visit our bookshop at 19 Faraday Street in Windhoek and sponsor a set of textbooks for a child you know is in need!

Our approved Grades 10 and 11 Solid Foundations series of textbooks for NSSCO are a great gift for any senior secondary learner and will help them achieve optimal results in their final examinations in Accounting, Agricultural Science, Biology, Chemistry, Development Studies, English Second Language, History and Physics!

Businesses can also sponsor a Reading Trolley or a Reading Corner for their local Primary School or Kindergarten! This is a great advertising opportunity that contributes to improving a reading culture in the country!