The Promenade Youth Initiative (PYI) has mobilised 40 dynamic young Nigerians as facilitators for its annual campaign to train and mentor secondary school students on entrepreneurship and leadership.
With the high rate of unemployment among Nigerian youths, PYI seeks to empower the youth, especially those graduating from secondary schools and technical colleges with entrepreneurial and leadership skills. PYI believes that holistic intervention will help youth develop capacities to start up their own businesses, reducing unemployment and function effectively as leaders in their communities.
In its second edition following a successful debut in 2012, the initiative will last for six (6) weeks. Focusing on leadership and entrepreneurship, it intends to reach 1000 students in five public secondary schools in Lagos during the period.
The volunteer facilitators had their training at the Radission Blu Achorage Hotel at Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island on Saturdays 24th and 31st August, 2013. Among them are entrepreneurs, professionals, advocates and university students – with a desire to positively impact their world.
In the training, Ben Lazarus from The Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative [CYFI] spoke on “Moving Nigeria Forward through Social Change;” while Elizabeth Olofin, the Executive Director of Fate Foundation spoke on “Effective Facilitation Skills for Engaging Young Students.”
PYI is a Lagos-based youth engagement initiative of the CYFI, created by Hezekiah Shobiye and Akingbolahan Akinwumi. The CYFI is a dynamic youth-based initiative launched in 2011 by the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos.
According to organisers of the training, the goals include to empower youth in public secondary schools in Lagos with the capacity to start up their own businesses and function effectively as leaders within their communities.
These youth will be provided with the platform and opportunity to showcase their leadership and entrepreneurial skills by organising a Promenade Youth Day where students would participate in mock business and local government contests using their new found knowledge.
In bigger picture, they PYI want to build a community of young professionals passionate and ready to contribute to social, economic and political change in Nigeria.
