For their contributions to youth empowerment in their various fields of endeavours, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JA) has honoured Folasade Adefisayo, commissioner of education, Lagos State; Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach For Nigeria, and other individuals and schools as part of its 20th anniversary programme.
Other notable personality honoured with the accelerator awards include: Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, managing director, The Education Partnership Centre; Enase Okonedo, dean, Lagos Business School.
Orondaam Otto, founder/executive director, Slum2School initiative; Femi Taiwo, Gbenga Sesan, who were honoured with ambassador awards. Mo’Abudu, Simdul Shagaya, Tayo Oviosu.
The 20th anniversary of JA also witnessed awards given to the Most Outstanding School, Volunteer, Teacher, Staff, and Venture in Management Programme (ViMP) class.
Simi Nwogugu, executive director, JA Nigeria, while speaking at the event, noted that when JA Nigeria set the theme for her 20th anniversary earlier in the year, it did not actually realise that “20 Years of Impact, Partnering for Growth,” was a prophecy!
Over the past few months, the organisation has ramped up activities towards the anniversary in the month of October, 2019, Nwogugu said.
According to Nwogugu, “It is impossible to describe the feeling of knowing that JAN is standing at a very important vantage point, from which we can see not only the almost million lives already impacted doing fantastic things but also the potential of the millions more we’re about to reach with these landmark partnerships we have signed over the past few months.”
She further said JA-Nigeria was envisioned to inspire and educate young people to become conscientious business leaders.
“JA-Nigeria achieves this by implementing economic education programmes that develop attitudes and skills necessary for personal success and social responsibility and delivers practical, experiential hands-on programmes under the three pillars of financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship to young people between the ages of 5 and 27.”
In addition to its own original, home-grown programmes designed to meet the unique needs of Nigerian youth, JA-Nigeria also has access to hundreds of JA programmes and initiatives tried and tested in several countries around the world facing the same issues of developing youth that can compete globally in the 21st Century and beyond.
