Farewell Nehoa!

It is with a heavy heart, and simultaneously, great joy, that we bid our Museum Development Manager, Ms Nehoa Hilma Kautondokwa, farewell. Ms Kautondokwa has been with MAN since 2014 but her relationship with MAN began years before when she participated as a history teacher in MAN’s national School Clubs and Museums Exhibition (SCAMX) competition.

While at MAN, Ms Kautondokwa man poured her heart and soul into ensuring that MAN projects are successful. As part of “Team No Sleep”, she has worked day and night and gone far beyond the call of duty, to make sure that whatever she touched, she did so with excellence and precision, basically, making the impossible happen!

Ms Kautondokwa has played an integral role in every exhibition and publication produced by MAN during her tenure. Together with Dr Silvester, she has co-authored many exhibition displays and a number of exhibition catalogues, most recently - Oombale Dhi Ihaka: `A Bond that cannot be Broken’ (2019) and //Ha//xae (!Xung) Ma/aos (Hai//om) Gǁa ǁKae (Ju’/hoansi) Tȇȇ /xai (Khwe) Dea /Xae (Naro) Stand Together (English) (2020). The two catalogues were both written in two languages (English and Oshindonga and English and Ju’/hoansi) to promote mother tongue which is central to the safeguarding of culture.

Ms Kautondokwa has been appointed as Chief Education Officer for Culture at the Namibia Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM), Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation. In the words of Dr Silvester “As the world faces new and unexpected challenges I believe that our mission to promote positive values and to combat prejudice, hate and injustice will be more important than ever. We will continue to believe that our goal is not simply to make museums, but to Make Museums Matter ? Whilst, in the future, we may sit in different offices I believe that we will still share the same vision!”

Farewell Nehoa! Thank you for Making Museums Matter!