Educate a Girl in Nigeria & Give Her a Future

Lagos: Dawood Global Foundation hosted the Educate a Girl Nigeria Summit at the Oriental Hotel and Virgin Rose Resort, both in Victoria Island, Lagos.  The training educated an audience of 250 deserving Educate a Girl Nigerian Scholarship winners, as well as two Pakistani “Educate a Girl” delegates. Leading Pakistani journalist Dr. Fouzia Khan flew in from Karachi to conduct the training.  Other keynote speakers included Canadian-Nigerian poet Juliet Kego Ume-Onyido, who flew in from Toronto, Canada, for the occasion, Tara Uzra Dawood, President, Dawood Global Foundation, and various local celebrities.  The Opening Keynote was delivered by Pakistani High Commissioner to Nigeria HE Umer Farooq and the Closing Keynote was made by Wana Udobang, a leading Nigerian broadcaster, writer, poet, performer and curator.  His Excellency held a special dinner in honour of the Pakistan delegation. 

The three-day training was comprehensive. Day One was focused on Personal and Professional Grooming for Success which was facilitated by Nigerian celebrity fashion designer Amede Nzeribe. The morning session of the second day of training focused on Basics of Journalism, News Writing and Science Writing, conducted by trainer Dr. Fouzia Khan.  In the afternoon session, participants were taught Water Journalism, Climate Science and Challenges of Climate Journalism.  The third day training focused on breakout sessions in the morning and Whole WoMan Network leadership training in the afternoon. The Closing Keynote by Wana Udobang reminded all attendees about the importance of finding your heart in a story.

“I am happy to be able to come to Nigeria to support the training of deserving girls in journalism,” stated Dr. Fouzia Khan, who is a professional Psychologist, Social Activist, Member National Steering Committee SGP/GEP-UNDP, Broadcast and Print Journalist and is currently serving as an Education & Gender Policy Advisor.

“We are delighted that Dr. Fouzia has made this long journey in support of this important initiative,” stated Tara Uzra Dawood, Founder of Educate a Girl, “and are very excited about our other fantastic trainers and speakers.”

Juliet Kego Ume-Onyido added, “We are delighted to see the birth of the award-winning Educate a Girl in Nigeria.” The aim of the program is to raise a new Generation of Transformational, empowered and media-savvy women leaders.

There is a huge shortage of jobs in Nigeria, especially among Youths. (2015 Unemployment rate as a function of the labour market is 23.9%, according to the Nigerian Bureau of  Statistics). It is important to note that the youth demographic as a percentage of the entire population is estimated to be between 65-70%. There exists a cultural bias, which manifests as a discouragement from hiring women for important spots in traditional media, journalism or positions in contemporary types of social media. Thus, this program is an important step to address an urgent need to increase the representation of women holding influential media jobs in Nigeria, to better address issues affecting women and girls, such as: domestic abuse, rape and sexual assault, harmful cultural practices, level of access to quality education and healthcare, child marriage, enacting laws and enforcing legislation to enhance overall welfare of women, female genital mutilation, funding  constraints for business start-ups, entrepreneurial training and mentorship, gender equity in corporate board representation, pay differentials, low level of participation in governance and leadership by women etc.

LADIESFUND's “Educate a Girl - mission 1000,” has the goal of empowering one thousand low-income young women in each of 5 continents, scholarships for vocational training in media studies, and to facilitate their entry into related jobs and strengthen women's voices in the media. It will also ensure a better and more professional gender representation in this important field.  We have chosen the field of journalism because we are committed to reminding girls that they have a voice, provide a platform for their voices to be heard and to encourage their freedom to say what they wish.  The project has formally partnered with the British Council, Swiss Consulate, British Deputy High Commission and UNDP in Pakistan, and the Pakistani High Commission in Nigeria.

“We have so many girls in need,” stated #EAGPakistan Fundraising Chair Nazneen Tariq Khan, “Please join us and spread the word.

To date, Dawood Global Foundation has funded 907 deserving girls in Pakistan to become journalists.  675 girls have gone through training, 500 have been certified, 3 girls have become news anchors, 6 girls have contributed scholarships out of their first ever paychecks and several girls have columns in leading newspapers and internships.

Oriental Hotel and Virgin Rose Resort were Venue Partners, Shamain was Beauty Partner, Environ Focus, June 6^th Interiors and Poetry4Change were Publicity Partners, and Glamour Gate Inc. was Print Partner, Planet Riders Fitness Club was Fitness Partner, Amede was Fashion Partner, Live it Up! was Props Partner and Ahmad Mian was Fellowship Partner.