Foundation empowers youths with digital skills for community development

As part of its efforts to promote the wellbeing of the disadvantaged, the Alex & Grace Izinyon Foundation (AGIF), a non-governmental organisation has empowered youths in the Federal Capital Territory with digital architectural skills to help develop their communities.

The foundation kicked off its 4th Annual House of Grace Outreach since August which engaged youths across the FCT through one of its project tagged the GYON Project . According to the foundation in a statement on Friday, the project focuses on the utilisation of digital solutions to address development deficits in communities by adopting the UN-Habitat Block-by-Block Community Project.

The GYON-Project was created and facilitated by one of the foundation’s board members, Grace Izinyon. She informed that the project engaged 20 youths (13- 18 years) from the Jahi one (1) community in Abuja, through a 4-day participatory design/visioning workshop.
“During the workshop, the youths learnt of public space issues, theories and design considerations. Subsequently, groups were formed, taught how to play the Build My Community game and then given the opportunity to brainstorm and create a public space that could be used to enhance their current community needs,” Iziyon said.

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“On day 3 of the workshop, the groups were taught and given the opportunity to design and build the models of their created space and after finalisation on day 4, they presented their models and reasoning behind their space to a group of judges consisting of experts, board members and chief executive officers.” She further explained

Alex Izinyon, one of the judges in his remarks said since digitization has taken the centre stage in global civilisation, AGIF deems it important and necessary to equip the youths with digital skills that would translate into workable solutions to poorly managed public spaces.

This is against the backdrop that as key stakeholders and drivers of social development, the youths ought to be actively engaged in development dialogues, planning and execution. It is AGIF’s conviction that the participants will obtain valuable digital skills and use the same for meaningful participation in urban development,” he concluded

Since its inception, the foundation said more than 1000 lives have been directly impacted by the annual House of Grace project. “Izinyon was very fond of outreaches including those that are faith-based, children-specific and hospital/healthcare-based. She created the FounORock initiative, a youth faith-based development program based on establishing the foundation of young people. This initiative was inspired by Matthew 7; the man that built his house on the rock,” the statement read.