On Friday, 02 September 2022, advocate, activist, tech entrepreneur, and well-known author Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe released her second book titled “You Fucked With The Wrong Generation: An Ode To Modern-Day Activism in Namibia.“
The event was held at Berrylicious Restaurant in town under the Official hashtags #WrongGeneration #OdeToActivism #NdiilosBookLaunch. The book highlights Namibia’s social, political, and activism landscape over the past two years.
It also seeks to resolve the question of whether or not this generation has been fucked with the most or if it simply leveraged modern digital tools to position itself as the the “private school of generations” while erasing the liberation generation that predates it.
Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe
Giving credit where credit is due:
- The book cover illustrations are done by Virgil Mwatolele
- Design and Layout by Fiona Nandago
- Editing by Merja Iileka
- Foreword by Mehafo Amunyela
- Referencing was done by Ndaundika Shefeni
Adriano Visagie entertained the crowd as the Masters of Ceremonies. There were also performances from Yeezir, Tapz, SheCantGo and Suzy Eises while Nongee Kandjii, Ndiilo’s best friend, welcomed the attendees to the event with welcoming remarks. Kandjii currently serves as a Youth Advocate in the Trade Union Congress of Namibia and works as a Candidate Attorney in a local firm.
“Firstly, she is very honest and does not conform to the status quo and knows very well that tomorrow will not come if we do not challenge the reality of today. She pushes the envelope to ensure that this generation and other generations to come to understand the importance of working as a collective. When trying to achieve something, even if you are not directly impacted or influenced by the change to come, you still need to advocate for it. That is something my best friend does effortlessly, passionately, intentionally, and beautifully.”
Nongee Kandjii
Mehafo Amunyela, who wrote the foreword is a Media student at the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the co-founder of Afterbreak Magazine. She is especially passionate about youth-related topics and aims to empower them through Afterbreak Magazine.
The year 2021 was what the kids called an “L” to the movement. From those being outed as sexual predators and abusers, as well as financial abusers, thieves, liars, and manipulators. Since then, I have distanced myself from the term activism. I can therefore relate to Ndiilokelwa’s desire to do the same. It is through the energy associated with it that the term is no longer positive. We’re thrown into one pile behind vile comments like, “It’s those feminists…”
Mehafo Amunyela
Mehafo described the book as very important for all activists and alike to read as it’s not only relatable but understandable too. She hopes that it will be eye-opening to all other readers as it was for her. “To those who are going to continue the fight as activists, here’s to being better.”
Virgil Mwatolele is an illustrator and motion graphic artist at Advantage, an advertising agency in Windhoek. He was responsible for the book cover design. Apart from the cover, he also worked on a few paintings that were auctioned at the event. Amongst the painting is one for the late David “Stone” Ndjavera who was a mentor to Ndiilokelwa and many others.
Another person that worked on the book is Fiona Nandago who is creative in the area of brand design, web development, social media, and management. Her style is minimal and yet so amazing and fascinating. She worked on the book layout and Ndiilokelwa’s website. You can check it out here to see what I’m talking about.
Both Mwatolele and Nandago were asked to shed some light on their experience in working with the author which they described as pleasant. According to them, she is quite understanding and lenient and often provides a bit of additional time seeing that they also had other priorities at hand.
All four paintings shown in the picture above were auctioned and sold at the event. Virgil explained further about his paintings, with all of them being related to what has happened over the past two years within the social and political landscape of Namibia.
Finally, the highlight of the night arrived when Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe took the audience through the author’s notes and a few pages from the book chapters which the audience listened attentively. Ndiilokelwa took us through her journey over the years as an activist. She also, shared some of the tactics such as meditation which she started in 2018 kept her going especially during the times when she had a lot on her plate, more hacks and tactics can be found in the book in chapter five to be specific “My Plate Is Full.” At last, the long-awaited Question-and-Answer session with the audience came at the end of the discussion came
The multi-talented creative, SheCantGo summed up the night with a poem on the generation not to be fucked with. Here is a glimpse of stanza seven of page 99:
“Take heed, the great Poet pens down a stanza for the ages”
“Take this as gospel: The youth have woken”
“The time is now to take up your cross”
“For as sure as is the sunrise, the rebellion is on the horizon”
Copies of the eight chapter book were sold at the launch for N$ 300.00. The books are also available on site ndiilokelwanthengwe.com and in three reputable bookstores: Exclusive books, Radical Books, and Book Den. Alongside the eight chapters is the poem that was performed by Niita Shikongo at the launch titled “An Ode To Modern Day Activism In Namibia”. In Adriano Visagie’s voice “Ladies and gentlemen as well as the gender non-conforming community, I present to you Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe’s second book You Fucked With The Wrong Generation: An Ode To Modern Day Activism In Namibia “
Exceptional article. You’ve captured the event wonderfully Selma.