The InnoCreativa Youth Hub declared open on July 2, in Lagos by Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate, has received significant traffic online from Nigerian Youths who want an outlet for their creative energy on www.cycdi.com/ic2030.
The Youth Hub was launched at the Civic Centre alongside the launch of the United Nations’ Solutions 17 Sustainable Development Goal’s programme, an event which was well attended by the Ronald Kayanja, country director of the United Nations Information Centre, diplomatic missions, corporate organisations and members of the press.
Foluke Michael, promoter of the project, and the founder of Creative Youth Community Development Initiative confirmed that calls for entries to be part of Solution17 for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8 have been embraced by Nigerians.
“Just one week into the calls for entries we have had unprecedented traffic on our websites www.cycdi.com/ic2030 and beyond anything, this has communicated to us that the interest by the Nigerian youth to contribute to the SDGs has been on the rise” she said.
Last week, Soyinka, a supporter of the project, who spoke at the unveiling of the Innocreativa Hub, said that the Nigerian youth needs to do a little more to be part of the solution to national and global problems.
He said; “Nigerian youths are full of spunk outside but when they are inside Nigeria, they are full of gas. We are building a generation of illiterates. They are the first to comment on the internet on issues they are ignorant about. When you talk about education, I get texts from the new generation and can’t believe these texts are from the youth.”
He went ahead to commend Michael’s initiative and her team as one of the examples of positive engagement of the myriads of the Nigerian problems.
“I have had to work with so many young people and I must say I am very proud of Foluke and her team” he added.
Foluke’s Creative Youth Community Development Initiative (CYCDI) Solution 17 won the United Nation’s Action Award in 2018 which is presently being franchised to be deployed in India, Morocco and Switzerland.
The Innocreativa Youth Hub is a call for youth to take on the challenge of the 17 SDGs. Seventeen finalists would be camped at the Innovation Lab and would be taken through several empowerment initiatives for two weeks before they eventually present their respective solutions to the public.
Tayo Orekoya, lead consultant at the CITC Global Consulting firm which is presently partnering with CYCDI to deliver values and raise deliverables on the project said that, “there are positive developments already following the challenge of Professor Wole Soyinka.
“I believe we are at the edge of a major revolution and the Innocreativa Youth Hub is a great catalyst system for social change and our strategic edge would help put more value on the table for all stakeholders” he said.
