Alinah Kelo Segobye

"“Providing an escape”"

""The library gave us little orange cards assuring that we were diligent members,”"

"“High illiteracy rates throughout the continent especially affect the prospects for girls and women.”"

"“They are new spaces” that will help us actualize “our desire to learn, to be creative, and to share.”"

"“To build a South Africa that many of us truly believe we deserve.”"

"“Driving our economy through knowledge will replace our dependence on a mineral-driven endowment”"

""Libraries will remain critical in this journey to the milestone years of 2030 and 2063”"

"“Libraries have come a long way from the village community hub centered on the baobab tree and the European-style buildings of colonialism,”"

"The African shepherdess who navigates intricate paths, streams and crevasses on mountainsides is more knowledgeable of the future. What I can learn from her is that the streets as a fabrication of order ned constant maintenance. I cherish their view of the future which is that our common future is mediated by the ones above and below. We are mere custodians of this realm and should discharge our duties diligently."

"Know your history, have good command of language(s) and remain open to new ideas. Be in constant quest for knowledge. The art of futures thinking is as important as the science of it."

"Leadership – Until the fear factor and the legacy facto becomes the informing principle for our leaders then the future will always be a “foreign country” Leaders must think beyond their term in office and of the people who entrust them with their livelihoods."

"All global think tanks, scholars, village elders, children and all resources of learning. There is no privileged source all are equally important."

"Alioune Sall – the first “futures studies” expert I met. Nelson Mandela - who gave his life and time to South Africa’s liberation in a selfless way. They keep me in constant reflection about destiny and legacy and to know the two are not accidental."

"A deep rooted passion for the continent’s development agenda both past and present. The present is where I can feed my quest for knowledge."

"Evidence based research to inform policy development. African unity and integration. A common and shared future of Africa’s development potential realised in my lifetime."

"Botswana, Tanzania, Britain and South Africa – Tanzania and South Africa continue to inspire as the cradles of human kind and technological innovation."

"Most as a student of the African past. The future was always in my immediate thoughts in seeking to explain the meaning of the past."

"Others describe me as… Discerning. I describe myself as… Inquisitive."

"Archaeology. The future of the future lies in the past."

"Read widely across all disciplines."

"Partnerships Are Needed To Support Botswana’s Young Innovators."

"I’m extremely excited and confident because, like other African countries, Botswana has a very youthful population. The younger generation is less inhibited in their use of technology and are willing to take risks in experimental areas of their lives."

"Botswana’s youth are embracing technology, breaking barriers, and creating innovative solutions across various sectors, from agribusiness and tourism to creative industries and entrepreneurship."

"There is need for greater global visibility and partnerships to support these young innovators."

"Innovation involves bringing together ideas, research, development, financing, and commercialization."

"It looks good when it has a positive impact on people’s lives. In Botswana, which has been driven mainly by the diamond mining sector, innovation means ensuring that key value chain beneficiaries are the communities in and around where the resources come from, and that these technical solutions are sustainable and won’t bring negative impacts on the environment and livelihoods."

"We also look at ways to address the challenge of youth unemployment by utilizing resources to develop programs targeting young people, providing them with entrepreneurship skills and artisanal training. In the context of policy advisory, we produce knowledge products like foresight research to anticipate future job demands and those that will be phased out of the industry."

"The HRDC was conceptualized almost 20 years ago to address challenges emerging in the management of the higher education sector in Botswana. At the time, Botswana had one national university, the University of Botswana, but there was a shift in the education ecosystem with new private service providers entering. It became clear that one university would not meet all the needs in terms of intake and access."

"The government developed a second university, the Botswana University of Science and Technology, but with new private players, issues of quality assurance, employability, and access arose. The government, through what was then the Tertiary Education Act and the Vocational Training Act created the Tertiary Education Council and the Botswana Training Authority to oversee quality assurance and ensure a resource base for education and training."

"The biggest challenge currently facing the country is unemployment, with a youth unemployment rate above 30%, including both secondary school and postgraduate graduates. There are problems of people without jobs and ironically jobs without people, pointing to misalignment between supply and demand of labour. It’s crucial that we explore alternative pathways to ensure the Government can address employability."

"Another major challenge is Botswana’s mono-economy, largely dependent on the diamond mining sector. In the past, we exported raw diamonds without beneficiation, but recently, the government has negotiated with investors to house some of the manufacturing value chain in Botswana, creating job opportunities for young people. However, the job market remains narrow."

"The government has created safety nets and financial services to ensure young people have access to capital, such as the Chema Chema fund, similar to Kenya’s Hustler Fund. The focus is on small and medium enterprises, with agencies like the HRDC and the Local Enterprise Authority supporting young people in developing and scaling their businesses. Access to markets remains a challenge, but the government is exploring continental trading partnerships and attracting foreign direct investment."

"A transformative investment has been the digitalization of the education sector during and post-COVID, ensuring all young people have access to technology, including electrification and Wi-Fi in villages."

"We have been a bit shy of adopting technology, but we’ve seen young people rapidly take up technology and innovative solutions to their everyday problems. We cannot stay with our heads buried in the sand; we have to move with the rapidity of change."

"Young people are becoming globalised through online media platforms, using digital skills to promote themselves in creative industries like fashion, food, film, and photography. In Botswana, the government has made technology affordable and accessible by providing devices, smart boards and Wi-Fi in villages and schools."

"While job losses have occurred in sectors like financial services due to automation, the HRDC works with other agencies to retool and reskill the human resource. Young people are diversifying into areas like agribusiness, food processing, artificial intelligence and drone technology for crop and wildlife management."

"The use of new technologies has also been beneficial in public health, with telemedicine enabling doctors in Botswana to work globally without moving, and in education, with online learning programs making education more accessible and inclusive."

"Innovation is a broad term that can mean anything from the discovery of new technologies to putting them to good work to transform people’s livelihoods. It has to have a social and economic impact on people’s lives."

"Innovation involves bringing together ideas, research, development, financing, and commercialisation. It looks good when it has a positive impact on people’s lives. In Botswana, which has been driven mainly by the diamond mining sector, innovation means ensuring that key value chain beneficiaries are the communities in and around where the resources come from, and that these technical solutions are sustainable and won’t bring negative impacts on the environment and livelihoods."

"It’s important that whatever innovation we are developing is done ethically and sustainably so that it can continue benefiting communities positively. This is especially critical when dealing with challenges like access to clean water and safe birth technologies, which can transform the lives of women and children."

"In terms of land management, Botswana has an interesting system where people have access to both rural agrarian land and urban land. The government has ensured that young people who have inherited land can use it as capital for agribusiness and tourism. They can have a traditional cattle post on part of the land and develop the other part into cultural villages or eco-villages."

"Community-based natural resource management has also been important, especially in the Okavango Delta, where indigenous skills like mokoro poling are being brought into the tourism market. We’ve seen young people venture into using indigenous products like leather and the palm tree to make products that are now going into a more global space through online marketing platforms."

"There has been an explosion of new talent and creativity, taking what has been the traditional marketplace and moving it into a global export platform. In the music scene, young people have used indigenous languages to create new music genres like Amapiano, gaining global visibility."

"In the culinary world, Botswana chefs are promoting the country’s cuisine globally. Young entrepreneurs are manufacturing beauty products for black skin that are entering global markets. They are becoming boundary less in their innovation, enterprising, and partnering to ensure their products reach beyond Botswana’s borders."

"I’m extremely excited and confident because, like other African countries, Botswana has a very youthful population. The younger generation is less inhibited in their use of technology and are willing to take risks in experimental areas of their lives. They are breaking barriers that were there before in terms of access to new knowledge, innovative technologies, and markets. They are able to hybridize what they know and create new fusions that are becoming beneficial. For example, the fusion between music, clothing, and film allows young artists to move between different workspaces. They can hold multiple jobs as DJs, fashion designers, voiceover artists, filmmakers, and product developers, multiplying their skills and income opportunities."

"However, their biggest challenge is protecting their products, as there are many perils that make them extremely vulnerable. We need a regulatory framework to ensure they can continue protecting their resources and knowledge."