In commemoration of International Youth Day 2022, LEAP Africa, one of Nigeria’s foremost youth focused leadership development organisations and Dow are collaborating to deepen youth volunteerism conversation for the third edition of its Pan African ‘Youth Day of Service (YDoS)’ campaign, which is a youth-led social impact initiative to drive youth engagement in sustainability across Africa.
Themed, ‘Youthful and Useful’, the initiative is a personal leadership in action intended to empower young people, strengthen communities and trigger collective actions that would move the continent closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 2030 in view.
The International Youth Day is celebrated annually on 12 August to bring youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrate their potential as partners in today’s global society. Hence, the day provides organisations across sectors including employees, fellows and alumni members’ opportunities to come together in performing acts of service in their communities leveraging the SDGs framework.
“LEAP Africa is committed to supporting and nurturing the agency of young people across the continent with skills and tools to enable them to become transformative leaders in their sphere of influence. The Youth Day of Service provides an enormous opportunity to engage the hands and hearts of individuals, the third sector, and public and private stakeholders to actualise the SDGs. Our partnership with Dow in this year’s edition will support our vision to sustain our wide reach on the continent,” Femi Taiwo, executive director, LEAP Africa, said during a press conference held in Lagos to commemorate the International Youth Day.
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According to Taiwo, LEAP Africa seeks to rally young people, corporate organisations, both at the public and social sector to become advocates and renew the spirit of active youth citizenship with an emphasis on spreading the culture of service and collective responsibility. “To get involved, participants can either register their own project, volunteer for any existing project or sponsor the execution of a project as listed on the campaign portal. The registered projects can be physical projects or active virtual advocacy in different locations across Africa between August 12-18.”
“This year, Dow is collaborating with LEAP Africa on the Youth Day of Service campaign as the headline partner. Established 125 years ago, Dow has been passionate about advancing science and innovation to find solutions to questions that can change the world for the better. To achieve its goals, Dow recognizes the need for youth engagement and buy-in as they are key stakeholders in building a sustainable future,” Taiwo said, disclosing that the campaign will feature different projects championed by young people in various African communities.
Sami Mainich, managing director, Dow Northern & Western Africa, and Chair of Dow Africa Steering Committee, in his comments on Dow’s decades-long commitment to sustainability, stated that has always envisioned a better world built on human creativity, innovation, and problem-solving.
“Over 25 years ago, we embarked on a sustainability journey initially focused on improving our operational footprint. Now, we are expanding our scope by applying blueprint thinking which drives us to collaborate to change entire systems to achieve transformative change. We recognize that the future is created by what is done today through empowerment, collaboration, and deliberate investments in the communities we live and work in,” Mainich said.
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