Making waves in the communications industry

Shoki Kandjimi is a 26-year-old ambitious man who was born in Windhoek. He is a communications and public relations practitioner by profession and currently serves as the spokesperson for the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT).

He is self-motivated and believes in working hard to be the best version of himself. His family and country also serve as an inspiration to work hard and to be a change agent.

Kandjimi describes his journey and his overall experience at MICT as "amazing".

Growth encouraged

He says: "The ministry has allowed me to grow through the ranks and believed in my abilities to contribute meaningfully and strategically."

Kandjimi joined MICT in 2020 as an information officer at the Kavango East regional office.

Two years later, he was promoted to senior information officer in the media liaison section of the print media affairs directorate.

In addition, due to his hard work and passion for communication and PR, eight months later he was reassigned to the portfolio of senior public relations officer, thereby becoming the official spokesperson for the ministry.

When asked about his plans and his vision for MICT, Kandjimi said: "My vision is to articulate the programmes and activities of the ministry effectively and ensure the public understands the mandate of MICT and how it contributes to nation-building."

Showing the way

He is a youth leader who has served on various youth and non-governmental organisations that advocate for youth development and education.

Being the youngest spokesperson in the government, he emphasises that one of his goals is to adequately represent the youth in the ministry.

"I believe this position, enables me to influence ideas, and plans to speak to the young of our country and more so ensure that our communication strategies are well aligned with trends within our profession," said Kandjimi

Kandjimi believes in equally empowering the boy child and sees himself as part of an initiative where he can aid in rescuing young boys from social ills and assisting them in becoming better versions of themselves because he believes the current status quo is worrisome and no priority is being given to them.

Background

Kandjimi has worked as a communications officer at the Namibian University of Science and Technology radio station (NUST FM), and he also spent a few years as a radio presenter.

The young leader also spent some time working for Poiyah Media as a public relations officer.

He also served as an executive committee member at the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA), Namibian chapter, from 2018 to 2020. He is currently an active member of the public relations and communications industry.



With plans of pursuing a postgraduate qualification next year, he currently has a Bachelor of Communications Honours degree and a Bachelor of Journalism and Media Technology degree from the Namibia University of Science and Technology.

Kandjimi serves on several committees and is now one of Namibia’s most prominent youth leaders.

In August of this year, he was elected president of the NUST Alumni Association and will serve on the NUST Council (board), the highest decision-making body of the university.

Motivation

Kandjimi says one of his biggest lessons is to never stop learning. He believes it is this skill that has aided him in becoming a force to be reckoned with in his profession and brought him to where he is today.

He advises the youth to work hard, saying that it is important to master their craft. "I would like to encourage young people to take their education seriously, take up space in the field that they are passionate about, and bring up innovative ideas that can assist the country to become an industrialised and developed nation. Most importantly, live life!"

He added that it is important not to overthink things, to work hard, and to leave the rest to God.