The International University of Management (IUM) has been selected to host the 2024 Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Saarmste) conference.
This came after a delegation from South Africa, led by Kenneth Ngcoza, a scholar from Rhodes University, successfully conducted a site visit to the IUM to assess its suitability as the chosen venue for the conference.
Conference chairperson Martha Nyamakuti on Wednesday last week during a press conference at IUM in Windhoek said the site visit is in accordance with Saarmste's mandate to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the venue for the upcoming 2024 Saarmste conference.
She said they were also keen to visit the IUM campus at Dorado Park.
"The purpose of this visit is to assess the campus facility and to explore the available resources to ensure that it aligns with the requirement expectations of hosting such a reputable conference," said Nyamakuti.
Former education minister and founder of IUM David Namwandi expressed his enthusiasm as the momentum builds towards the upcoming 2024 Saarmste conference. He shared in the excitement surrounding the event.
"We are honoured by the opportunity presented to us to host the Saarmste conference next year," said Namwandi.
The conference serves as an excellent platform for fostering strong and enduring alliances among academics from southern African countries, Namwandi said.
"We expect this conference to facilitate networking opportunities between Namibia and other southern African countries," he added.
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Namwandi emphasised the importance of unity among stakeholders in preparation for the 2024 conference. He called for unity and cooperation to ensure the success of the event.
"Unity is strength and synergy is power. When we work together as Africans, we will also be respected by other nations in the world," he said.
Science education professor and former Saarmste president Kenneth Ngcoza echoed Namwandi's message of unity and encouraged Africans to join hands and collaborate.
He emphasised the importance of working together to achieve common goals and advance the fields of science and education in the African context.
He also urged southern African countries to share their human and capital resources in order to maintain unity.
"Africa does not need to depend on other people and the only practical way for that to materialise is if we hold hands and work together," said Ngcoza.
"Sharing is not a foreign concept to us as Africans. Thus, we need to take that spirit of ubuntu into a space of promoting research," he said.
