The Venue Africa Source 2004 will be held in Okahandja, Namibia. The workshop will be held at the National Institute for Educational Development Conference Center (NIED),

The NIED eduational center is located in a quiet and relaxed suburb of Okahandja. The venue has good facilities including a large conference room, as well as smaller rooms for workshops, a library/ resource center and sleeping accomodation. Surrounded by spacious gardens and plenty of shade, the central focus of the campus is an ampitheatre where the morning meetings and announcements will take place. Here there is also a canteen, and outdoor grill, where meals and refreshments will be served. We will also be creating a 'bazaar' area - which was a great success at Summer Source - where people can relax and meet. This will also be used for evening entertainment, which will include projections, group discussions and some live music.

The National Institute for Educational Development is usually used as both a local community and national resource center for the research, training and development of Namibia's education curriculum and materials.

Okahandja http://www.okahandja.net/

Okahandja is just 45 minutes (70km) north of Windhoek. Transportation will be arranged from Windhoek airport to the venue.

Okahandja holds a quaint atmosphere stooped in history and tradition. There are many historical sites to visit and a large variety of birds to view. Okahandja is crammed with many small businesses, these include: few supermarkets, banks, hardware store, clothing store, hairdresser, stationary shop, shoe shop, a photo developer, computer and internet shop, pharmacy, bakery and restaurant, but to mention a few and also has a huge market of all sorts of local produce. Just a few kilometers from Okahandja is the Gross Barmen - Hot Water Springs, where a hot water spring inside swimming pool as well as a cooler outdoor swimming pool is available.

The word, 'Okahandja' is derived from Otjiherero (a local tribal language) and means "The place where two rivers flow into each other to form one wide one." These two rivers are the Okakango and the Okamita, which flow only during the summer season and are dry throughout most of the year.

Namibia Namibia was chosen for the 2004 Africa Source as it is the home country of the lead African partner: SchoolNet Namibia.

After nearly 30 years of prolonged struggle, Namibia celebrated its independence in 1990, and is rightly proud of its good infrastructure, rising literacy rates, ethnic tolerance and stability. Rich in natural resources, it is situated between Angola and South Africa, its coastline, the South Atlantic Ocean, includes the notorious Skeleton Coast. The country is known for its contrasting landscapes and geographical extremes, from the lush tropical forests and woodland savannaghs of Kavango and Caprivi to the desolate beauty of the Namib desert. This helps explain why Namibia has one of the lowest population densities in the world (at less than 2 people per square km) in contrast, however, Namibia's capital is the bustling modern African city of Windhoek.

For more general information on Namibia