Since the beginning of this century, Africans and Africa have become a center of observations and expectations in so many areas of human development. And one facet that a lot of International communities have been showing a lot of interest is in the area of entrenching solid and uninterrupted democracy and good governance in Africa; where rule of law, massive infrastructural development, health care development, human friendly policy etc are prioritize at all level of governance. Yes, as Africa continue to take strides to become the continent of our dream, the issues of governance and leadership still remains one of the vital vehicles for attaining a more prosperous and better Africa. Interestingly, more young people who over the years have remain the bulk of the African population and the emerging leaders are showing more interest in issues of governance, leadership and development in the continent.
If you are one of such young Nigerians and Africans that share this sentiment of better democratization of the African continent, and also believe that you are one of the major stake holders in African development, then apply to participate in DESPLAY Season 5, democracy training program today. Youngstars Development Initiative (Youngstars Foundation) Nigeria, with support from the National Endowment for Democracy, NED USA, is glad to announce the call for application from young people across Africa for its foremost youth democracy and good governance program DESPLAY, beginning in January 2010. Democracy Series: Participation – Learning and Active Youths (DESPLAY) is a knowledge based and activity oriented youth program that brings together youths from different places to deepen their democracy knowledge and foster active youth participation in good governance processes. Since 2005, DESPLAY has directly trained over 300 youths from Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon and over 3000 youths indirectly through her peer education component called Passing-it-On (PiO). Read the rest of this entry »
After visiting Abuja, Yola and Kaduna, Nigeria’s biggest youth event, The Future Awards (under the umbrella The Future Project), continued its national tour of the six geo-political zones of the country, taking its youth town hall meetings to Enugu, Port Harcourt and the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
“On these visits, we have tried to see that we can reach individual young people directly and practically. We don’t just want these crowds of people, we want to ensure that message goes through to the attendees – we had them, not just talk about Nigeria and then know how to nominate outstanding young people, but also to make them ambassadors in their communities for the values we hold dear – entrepreneurship and value creation,” Chude Jideonwo, the Creative Director, said.
The Port Harcourt Town Hall meeting had the awards’ Business Owner of the Year speaking to the youth, while Enugu had finalist for On-Air Personality of the Year (Radio), the popular Chuks d Spaceman of Cosmo FM. “Courtesy of support from HiTV for these town hall meetings,” Jideonwo, who was also in Enugu, said, “not only do we have our own events, we also visit youth events, clubs and gatherings of young people in those areas to spread our message of hope and change.”
The Ghana Town Hall meeting was the first of the international town hall meetings for this year, where The Future Awards engages with communities of young Nigerians in different countries. It was held in conjunction with the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana. The High Commissioner, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, sent a representative. The event held at the Shangrila Hotel, with an overflowing hall of young Nigerians living, working and schooling in Ghana, as well as a mix of Ghanaian youth. Also present was Screen Producer of the Year winner, Onye Ubanatu.
Performers included Ghanaian comedian Peter Wincousyn, Nigerian keyboardist Yemi (who reminded guests of Cobhams), Sammy and Bizkit. The event hosts were daughter of ace Nigerian producer, Daphne Akatugha (who is also one of the coordinators of the International Students Association) and Ghanaian writer Robert.
“We didn’t have any town hall meeting in Lagos because we had the launch event here, and we have also been on a breathless round of events, campuses across the entirte state talking to hundreds of young people,” Jideonwo explained. “But we finally decided to do another event in Lagos, partnering with the popular event Taruwa. The conversation about Nigeria and what young people can practically do to empower themselves and to add value to the country can after all never end.”
Nominations are still for the awards in the 20 different categories, and one of the main objectives of the tour is to get nominees from across the country and outside. According to Jideonwo, nominees are especially wanted in the Best Use of Science and Excellence in Public Service categories. Anyone can nominated any young Nigerian between the ages of 18 and 31 via the website www.thefuturenigeria.com.
Next on the schedule are Benin, Ile-Ife, Calabar, Londonm holding at the University of East London, and Johannesburg, which will be the last town hall meeting, held in conjunction with naijaborn.com, on the 28th of November.
After eight years of producing and hosting the acclaimed studio talk show, New Dawn, Funmi Iyanda is returning to the screen at the helm of a different kind of show. The new project is called Talk With Funmi (TWF).
Talk With Funmi is an exciting new programme that captures people around Nigeria. It is a thought provoking, illuminating and entertaining journey into the life of Nigerians from all over the country.
Funmi Iyanda journeys from state to state talking with Nigerians from all spheres of life. The show talks to people everywhere – capturing discussions that range from the hard hitting stories of the day to day challenges of Nigeria with some light-hearted banter and fun along the way. With the first season of recording already completed in some states, don’t be surprised if TWF soon shows up at your doorstep.
Beautifully produced and shot on high definition video, Talk With Funmi is a technical masterpiece. The excellent cinematography and deep, rich colours of the production provide tactile pleasure. TWF is an artistic blend of documentary, reality television and talk show and thus resists categorization. The result is groundbreaking and innovative television from a production team led by award-winning director Chris Dada.
With 36 states, over 200 ethnic groups and 140 million people, Nigeria is alive and teeming with vibrant stories. Nigerians are a people who love to talk, and Nigerians still have great stories to tell – stories of joy, laughter, hard work and success. Stories of suffering and harrowing pain; stories of hope and resilience in spite of all odds. As Nigeria moves towards 50, this is the perfect opportunity to capture transformative Nigerian conversations—conversations that will ignite meaningful change.
It is the power of these conversations that will unlock the potential of our nation and reaffirm the bonds that hold us together as a country. These are the stories that award winning broadcaster and journalist Funmi Iyanda has set out to capture in an ambitious and innovative television show.
The TWF journey promises to be one that is fresh, eye opening and fun and will be broadcast to TV audiences across Africa.
For young Nigerian web designers, here is your chance to contribute to Nation building and win national recognition. Can you design a website? Then here is your chance to make a mark in the web design contest of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development in partnership of Youngstars Foundation.
Web Specification
Your web site should be interactive and able to accommodate data base and online workshops/forums.
Interested young designers are to submit their entries which should include:
-A 2 paged website dummy for The Federal Ministry of Youth Development including the Home page and the Navigation page.
If you are an undergraduate seeking to gain practical work experience before you graduate, this call is for you! Wonder what your CV would look like when you do graduate and looking to improve its contents? Want to build a potentially life-long mentoring relationship with your boss who will guide you along your career path?
Positive Impact Network & GET Mentored present a unique opportunity for undergraduates to gain practical work experience, to make good use of spare time they may have (due to holidays, strikes or reduced work load) and to learn and earn, in the 3rd edition of the Summer Youth Internship Connect (SYNC) Programme.
What is it? The SYNC programme is a formal work/study mentoring programme that attaches young undergraduates to mentors for specifically defined periods- usually 6-8weeks. During this period, your mentor will pay you a monthly salary in exchange for you to perform daily tasks for him/ her. Tasks are as varied as your talent, and at the end of the day, your abilities would ensure when you leave school, you have exceptional references to fall back on! Read the rest of this entry »
In recognition of the success of Nigeria’s most respected youth event: The Future Nigeria Awards; the Africa Union (AU), “in considering a best practice necessary for adaptation during the review of its ongoing Youth Innovative and Creative Awards”, last month moved to adopt strategy from The Future Awards to implement one of its key youth development strategies continent-wide.
Through its Department of Youth, Human Resources and Science and Technology, the AU organized a strategy review workshop on its proposed Africa Union Youth Volunteer Corp in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the over 35 participants representing leaders of youth networks across Africa unanimously proposed to work with RedSTRAT (organizers of the Awards) to integrate the communication strategies that have had unprecedented success in capturing and sustaining the attention and buy-in of young people and the media in Nigeria.
Emilia Asim-Ita of The Future Nigeria Awards with Arm Awad, Egypt's representatives
RedSTRAT’s PR Director, Emilia Asim-Ita, was one of the three Nigerian representatives at the summit which was also facilitated by Emmanuel Etim, Winner in the Best Use of Advocacy category of the 2009 Awards. She was appointed to head the media committee for the entire project. Read the rest of this entry »
So, everytime there is a conference – you hear the speakers teach, admonish, advise, inspire..
Every year there is the awards, you see the winners – they inspire, they motivate, they are role models…
But then how about YOU? You must wonder: isn’t it about time that you moved from watching and listening to being?!
How did these guys do it? What kind of support did they get? Is that support available in today’s Nigeria? Is it as easy as it looks? All the advices they give – are they practical? How can one move from watching and listening to actually being like these role models?
Farafina magazine invites you to joint them for their premiere Visual Arts & Literature event holding at Bambuddha Restaurant on the 13th of December, 2008 at 2p.m. There will be a photography exhibition (by Adolphus Opara), a film screening (selected clips from Molara Wood’s interview with acclaimed writer, Ben Okri), spoken word performances, and readings by Nnedi Okorafor and Eghosa Imasuen.
The Central Working Committee of The Future Awards, on the morning of Tuesday, the 2nd of December, announced the list of nominees for the 4th edition of Nigeria’s most respected youth awards.
“It’s been weeks of intense work and research, and we are proud, immensely proud of the list we have from more than 10, 000 nominations! Voting starts immediately, alongside the rigorous 4-stage judging process. All the details, including the full list, will be posted on the website www.thefuturenigeria.com ,” said Emilia Asim-Ita, the Award’s PR Director. “And what really warmed our hearts about this list were the twin facts that we have a healthy percentage of nominees from all parts of Nigeria, and even though it’s a star-studded list, more than 50 per cent of the nominees are non-celebrities. “
The list is, as usual, filled with the brightest and best young Nigerians from all over the country – in music, sports, the corporate world, technology, business, amongst others.
NOMINEES LIST
(THE FUTURE AWARDS 2009)
On-Air Personality of the Year (Radio)
Phoenix (Rhythm Lagos)
Tito Otons (Raypower Lagos)
Tyeng Gyang (Cool FM Abuja)
Douglas Nwokocha (Rhythm Abuja)
Yaw & Matse (Wazobia FM Lagos)
Wildchild (Rhythm FM Lagos)
Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi (Cool FM Lagos)
Chuks Roberts (Cosmo FM Enugu)
Nominations are still for the awards in the 20 different categories, and one of the main objectives of the tour is to get nominees from across the country and outside. According to Jideonwo, nominees are especially wanted in the Best Use of Science and Excellence in Public Service categories. Anyone can nominated any young Nigerian between the ages of 18 and 31 via the website 
After eight years of producing and hosting the acclaimed studio talk show, New Dawn, Funmi Iyanda is returning to the screen at the helm of a different kind of show. The new project is called Talk With Funmi (TWF).
