Gender, Identity & Healing – Discussion

• Gender, Identity & Healing – Discussion •

Part 4 of the discussion series ‘Intergenerational Dialogue’

Information by the organisers, Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Namibia (FES):

Gender, Identity & Healing – Discussion

How do histories of violence, shifting gender norms, spirituality, and trauma shape who we are, and how we heal?

Join us for the fourth and final Intergenerational Dialogue under Threads to Remembrance: Building an Inclusive and Informed Namibia. This session brings elders and youth together to reflect on the intersections of gender, identity, masculinity, spirituality, and healing, while unpacking how colonial legacies continue to influence emotional wellbeing and community life in Namibia today.

The conversation will also engage difficult but necessary reflections on intergenerational trauma, the weaponization of gendered violence during colonialism, the emasculation of Black men, and the tensions between African spirituality and imposed belief systems, centering pathways toward restorative and collective healing.

Experts:
Marcella Katjijova, Psychological Counseller, Trauma Informed Care Practitioner (LinkedIn Profile)
Assaph Utjevera Kandjeo, Traditional Leader & Pastor (LinkedIn Profile)

Moderator:
Jacinta Kasume, Civic educator (LinkedIn Profile)

“Discussing evolving gender roles, the intersections of culture and identity and how collective healing can bridge patriarchal and colonial legacies.”

Thursday, 21 May 2026
17:30 – 20:00

Venue: Swanevelde Community Hall, P. Gurirab St / Cnr. Dr Libertina Amathila Avenue, Orwetoveni, Otjiwarongo
Map: GMQ7+432, Otjiwarongo, direct link to venue on Google Maps

Due to limited seats, kindly confirm attendance in advance with:
nidinquiries@gmail.com, +264 81 727 2472

• See also the article of Sarala Krishnamurthy (Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences at NUST; Profile on LinkedIn): Defined, or Disrupted? Investigating post-memory and transgenerational trauma in Herero Nama Genocide survivor family narratives, published in Eckl Häussler Akawa (eds.) (2024): An Unresolved Issue, which is freely available as a PDF download.

• See also the report “Transgenerational Trauma Among Descendants of the 1904-1908 Genocide” by the Namibian on the panel discussion “‘Psychological Implications of Genocide” (part I of the NID & FES discussion series ‘Trilogy to the Future’), in the ‘Media Reports’ section of this website.