Interview with a Namibian Content Creator

I interviewed well known Namibian scholar and content writer, Elizabeth M. Ndura, yesterday. She is Senior Controller of the City of Windhoek, Namibia and a part time lecturer at the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL). Unofficially, Elizabeth is an aspiring writer who recently released her autobiography titled ‘My life journey from Ashes to Hope, a story worth telling’. This was my very first interview of a technical or content writer. It was very informative and it lasted for well over an hour.

Elizabeth’s resume is impressive. She’s schooled in Namibia, South Africa, Germany and the UK, and has worked in many levels of the Namibian government. Amongst her notable academic acheivements are a postgraduate diploma in Business Administration from the University of Namibia, and a MSc in Strategic Human Resouces Managment from the University of Roehampton, UK.

I structured the interview questions around seven themes:

1. Personal Background
2. Background and Career Path.
3. Content Development Process
4. Editing and Quality Assurance
5. Software and Tools Used
6. Challenges and Solutions in Content Development
7. Future Trends and Industry Insights.

The focus of the interview was on Elizabeth’s experience with technical writing, editing and content creation. Elizabeth’s has seven-year experience creating content as a full-time union representative. She also has experience in moderating and editing distance learning content for NAMCOL’s diploma and bachelor’s programs in Youth and Community Development. Elizabeth’s role at NAMCOL allows her to merge her expertise in training and labour relations, with content development. These experience and achievements highlight Elizabeth’s commitment to improving educational quality.

Approach to Content Development:

Elizabeth discussed her structured approach to content development and described how she ensures the training material keeps audiences engaged. She uses anecdotes, humor, thought provoking questions and interesting but relevant trivia to keep learner attention . She also descibed how she ensures training material are accurate, and meet educational standards. The steps she follows include:

• Stay Updated on Industry Trends: Continuously monitor the latest trends in relevant sectors to ensure that content remains current, valuable, and aligned with industry developments.
• Needs Assessment: Identifying learner requirements and curriculum objectives.
• Research and Content Structuring: Gathering relevant sources and organizing content logically.
• Content Creation and Editing: Writing and formatting for clarity, accuracy, and engagement.
• Quality Assurance: Ensuring content is free from errors and meets accessibility standards.
• Feedback Integration: Piloting materials with learners, collecting feedback, and refining content.

She uses Moodle and Blackboard for managing online content, and Turnitin for plagiarism detection

Elizabeth says NAMCOL and other Nambia government institutions adhere to the most stringent international standards in ethics, curriculum and content creation, and the standards are reviewed routinely to ensure compliance.

Obinna Ikeako

March 21, 2025.