SHADE-IN

Reported by Bliss Ojeruse, Executive Director, Saving Hand Development Initiative (SHADE-IN) Introduction The communiqué was drafted by a 3-persons committee including Newton Otsemaye, British Council State Coordinator, Edo State, Temple and Omotunde Clement. Saving Hand Development Initiative (SHADE-IN) was represented at the Conference by Bliss Ojeruse, Executive Director, who participated virtually. Background   Against the backdrop of the resolution reached at the inaugural national conference held in September 2022, the steering committee on civil society regulatory environment was saddled with the task of working closely with development partners to institutionalise the national civil society conference as an annual event to sustain and track progress made in improving the civic society operational environment in Nigeria.  To drive this initiative that would facilitate continuous engagement within the regulators and civic actors, beyond donors' intervention, the CSO Accountab

The statistics on the violation of girls' rights across the globe is alarming. While one may argue that the attention on the girl child is becoming discriminatory against the boy child, the data available show that the girl child is still more deprived and more at risk than her male counterparts. The focus for this year's International Day of the Girl is "Invest In Girls' Rights: Our Leadership and Well-being." It is important to invest in girls' rights. This way, they can develop the skills to keep them confident and safe. According to the data from United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF),  📍Nearly 1 in 5 girls are still not completing lower-secondary and nearly 4 in 10 girls are not completing upper-secondary school today. And in certain regions, the numbers are even more dismal. Around 90 per cent of adolescent girls and young women do not use the internet in low-income countries, while their male peers are twice as likely to be

By Bliss Ojeruse Source: UN International Youth Day 2023 Infographic Education has a relationship with skills, and green skills are not left out. Hence, it is important as an organisation that advocates for youth education, leadership development, value reorientation and neighbourhood transformation to address this International Youth Day discourse from the angle of education as it relates to green skills for youth towards a sustainable world.  In an International Youth Day 2023 Infographic tagged "5 Things To Know About Green Skills For Youth," it was captured that persons with university education obtain green skills quicker than persons with no university education. It also stated that less than half (45%) of NDCs mention green skills development in climate change education. According to an UNDP report, "Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, are countries' self-defined national climate pledges under the Paris Agreement, detailing what they will do to help

To invest in people, prioritize education. This is the theme for the 2023 international day of education.  This statement is in all sense factual and this is why Saving Hand Development Initiative (SHADE-IN) prioritises education. One of our children whom we reached out to in a community settlement in 2010 and have supported through his university education just graduated as a Civil Engineer in December, 2022. Recently, one of us was reached by one of our children who has not been able to further his education because of lack of funds. There are so many children who are in this situation in Nigeria. In seven years from this year, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are meant to be achieved. But how far have we gone in achieving it? Let's start with Goal 1, "No Poverty." Rather than this, it appears that there is an increased poverty rate. In Nigeria for instance, you do not need to read the statistics to know that hunger is in the land as a result of extreme poverty.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the international of the girl child with the theme: "Our time is now—our rights, our future." Every girl has a right to live, to choose her career, to education, hygiene and healthcare. According to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, "Now more than ever, we must renew our commitment to work together so that girls enjoy and exercise their rights and can play a full and equal part in their communities and societies. Investing in girls is investing in our common future." This year we have celebrated girls, young women in Africa and Nigeria who became global champions because they were free to exercise their positive rights. As we celebrate today, we would like you to ponder on these data and think of how you can support a girl child. These data are from the United Nations (UN). Did you know? 👩‍🦰Up to 10 million girls will be at risk of child marriage. The profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are putting girls a

Currently, in our world today, we have different generations of persons - from the Gen Alpha (2013-2025), the Gen Z (1995-2012), Millennials, Gen Y or Gen Next (1980-1994), Xennials (1975-1985), Gen X or Baby Bust (1965-1979), Baby Boomer Generation (1946-1964), the Silent Generation (1925-1945), the Greatest Generation (1910-1924), the Interbellum Generation (1901 -1913), to the Lost Generation or the Generation of 1914 (1890-1915) -  Reference . According to World Health Organisation (WHO), "Ageism refers to the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age." It is important to find a balance among the various generations, to collaborate and tap into the uniqueness of each generation and age in order to address Ageism. It is the duty of the older generations to provide guidance to the younger generations while also learning from them because times have changed. It is also important for the younger