The SYNAPSE team was delighted to take part in the European Higher Education Fair 2026 at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) in Windhoek on 26 September, 2026. The SYNAPSE stand was hosted by Margherita Trestini, Managing Director of Apodissi Namibia, and Ms Toini Amutenya, Founder and Executive Director of Youth4Can. Over the course of the fair, they welcomed a steady stream of bright young women and men. They ranged from learners in their final year of high school to university students in engineering, agriculture, education and many other fields.

It was a pleasure to see the enthusiasm of young Namibians scouting the best opportunities that European countries offer in higher education. Visitors explored study options in Spain, France, Finland and Germany, and many wanted to know more about international exchanges, fellowships and scholarships under the Erasmus+ programme.

We were also honoured to welcome Ambassador Ana Beatriz Martins, EU Ambassador to  Namibia, who visited our stand and took an interest in the work of SYNAPSE.

At the stand, Margherita and Toini introduced visitors to how SYNAPSE connects young changemakers through virtual exchange and systems thinking. Many of them signed up to stay in touch. They will be the first to hear about the upcoming call for facilitators for the Systems Thinking Virtual Exchange, and they now have access to free systems thinking training materials on the Smart Step eLearning platform.

A warm thank you to everyone who stopped by, and to the organisers for bringing European and Namibian education together in one place. We look forward to continuing the conversation online and in person.