Dear Reader,
Welcome to a new edition of the Voice Nigeria bimonthly newsletter. In this edition we bring you more stories about the beautiful work that Voice grantees are doing, and the impact the Voice project is making in Nigeria and in the lives of rightsholders - persons with disabilities, the vulnerable elderly, youth, women facing exploitation, abuse and/or violence, indigenous people and ethnic minorities.
June and July were interesting months, filled with numerous activities for grantees and the end of a project cycle for some grantees.
Linking and Learning Workshop 3 - LEKKI, LAGOS
Linking and Learning (LL) workshops are not all just work and talk. The venues of Linking and Learning events are carefully chosen to allow participants to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of life, connect with the natural environment, unwind and get refreshed.
The first LL workshop took place at the beautiful and breathtaking Zuma Rock Resort in the FCT. The second LL event was hosted at the amazing Nike Lake Resort in Enugu. The most recent edition of the LL workshop took place in the Lekki Conservation Center which is an oasis of nature within the urban chaos of Lagos, home to a suspended canopy walkway that rises over the reserve and is reported to be the longest canopy walk in all of Africa.
The outdoor activities at the linking and learning event provided a means to connect with nature, talk about self-care, and share personal stories to inspire and encourage one another. It was really a memorable time.
A gathering of Social Justice Crusaders: The Heart of The Matter
Social justice advocacy is the support and creation of platforms for additional assistance for those in most need in order to promote social, economic, and political equity.
We had a great time last month discussing social justice with a diverse group of stakeholders at a forum put together by the Voice Nigeria Community of Practice on Social Justice, a Linking and Learning event facilitated by Cognito and Nine.
It was a room full of very passionate people … but it wasn’t only passion that brought them together.
It was much more.
It was a deeply shared sense of conviction that the social benefits and privileges of the Nigerian society - or any other society for that matter, ought to be divided equitably. The Social Justice Community of Practice (CoP) recognizes that social justice is the fulcrum of human needs and aspirations as it is a solid foundation required for nation building, peace and progress.
They also see it as the collective responsibility of individuals, communities, institutions and government. This was one of the reasons behind organizing a one-day stakeholders engagement forum on Social Justice in Nigeria, an event supported by the Voice Nigeria program, an innovative grant funded by the Netherland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which aims to increase participation, access and justice for marginalized groups.
Held on Wednesday 20th July 2022, in the heart of the capital city of Abuja, the stakeholder forum was an avenue for experts, implementers and citizens to share learnings, experiences, best practices and case studies around various social justice themes, create access to trending social justice information and contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject matter.
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NOW US AWARD Bootcamp: Nothing about us Without US
The goal of this bootcamp was to create an enabling environment, encourage conversations in safe and secure spaces where participants will understand the “NOW-Us Award” concept, overall project framework and consolidate their collective voices in celebration of unsung heroes and heroines.
The NOW-Us Award was introduced by Partos-The Spindle in collaboration with Voice, to celebrate inclusion by showcasing target group-led initiatives during the annual Partos Innovation Festival.
There were amazing presentations and pitches from 10 shortlisted participant organizations, and in what turned out to be a memorable event, African Caribbean Heritage Alliance (ACHA) selected three winners of the NOW-Us Award grants, who will go further to implement programmes that will directly impact the lives of the Voice target populations - rightsholders. When rightsholders are empowered, lives are changed, the community and society evolves.
The Now-Us Award is partnered between Partos, Spindle and the Voice Team to celebrate inclusion as part of the annual Partos Innovation Festival. The Partos Innovation Festival is an inspiring event on Innovation for Inclusive and Sustainable Development, attracting a large audience and a wide variety of actors. Through The Spindle, Partos connects, inspires and accelerates innovators for social change with the aim to boost innovation, leading to more effective and sustainable solutions for the poor.
The Politeracy Project - Interview with Integriti and YWC
When young, passionate people are given access to digital tools and skills, they are empowered and enabled to become positive change agents, social advocates and vibrant partakers in active citizenship which in turn, contributes to a more progressive society. The political literacy project dubbed ‘Politeracy’ project is an initiative of Integriti Technologies partnering with Yes We Can Youth Leadership Initiative (YWC) which recognizes the digital gap between rural and urban youths and aims to bridge this technological divide by promoting digital skills in tandem with political literacy and participation among youth across ten rural communities in Enugu state.
In this interview, the Voice Linking and Learning Facilitator, Cognito & NINE, chatted with the “Politeracy” project implementing organizations, Integriti Technologies and Yes We Can Youth Leadership Initiative about their activities working with youths in 10 rural and semi-urban communities in Enugu State. The interview sought to explore how far they had gone in answering their learning questions, and the importance of things like community gatekeepers and liaison officers in achieving their project goal. The conversation also highlighted the excitement of the youths who were benefiting from this Voice-funded project and how marveled they were to know that their communities were remembered and selected for the project.
During the interview, Integriti/YWC team consisting of Uchenna Ani and John Anukwu, talked about the important role liaison officers play by acting as middlemen between the community leaders and the rightsholders (targeted youths). These liaison officers are members of the various communities who are selected from a pool of community volunteers nominated for the position. The selected volunteers are screened through a series of interviews, and then engaged for the project. Integriti/YWC also highlighted the importance of community gatekeepers towards achieving their learning goals.
Soro-soke Launches in Enugu and Ebonyi State
Imo, Abia, Anambra, and now Enugu and Ebonyi states. Sorosoke Bootcamp has been successfully launched in the 5 SouthEastern States with the aim to end police brutality and human rights violations in this region.
The project is implemented through the following actionable steps:
- Build a formidable network of 95 youth advocates (one from each of the 95 local government areas in the South-East) committed to monitoring and tracking the implementation and compliance of new police regulations in their communities. The project will train and equip these young people with the skills and tools to monitor and report their findings.
- Track reported and unreported cases of unjust detainment and rights abuses and work with support groups to engage the appropriate police authorities to ensure that justice is delivered.
- Provide support resources that youths can reach out to for help when confronted by the police.
- Provide effective reporting systems to report brutalities and rights violations.
- Educate Nigerian youths on their rights before the police – so they know when their rights are abused and how to legally and safely engage the police to avert conflict when confronted or placed under arrest.
Congratulations to the Enugu and Ebonyi State Anchors for tapping into this vision and joining hands with us to end police brutality and human rights violations.
Together, we can put a stop to police brutality in our nation.
Project Focus Of The #SpeakUpStandOutNG Activists
It's been an incredible seven months since the front-line activists on the Speak Up, Stand Out Program (The SUSO Program) took the risk of speaking up and standing out! We share with you more information about the "whys" and the goals of each activist's project in our June newsletter.
The SUSO Program equips young people with media and information knowledge, as well as grassroots mobilization skills, to participate meaningfully in their communities' socio-political development by maximizing digital platforms for social mobilization, amplifying youth voices, developing people-led campaigns on issues affecting youth, and influencing policies affecting youth. It is an opportunity for youth to bring their skills and capacities to the table and work with the government, private stakeholders, and Nigerians to effect meaningful change.
This EndSARS Matter - An Interview with YouthHubAfrica
Almost two years after the nationwide EndSARS protest, which sparked off as a result of police brutality against Nigerian citizens, Cognito and Nine, Voice Linking and Learning facilitator, engaged in a very enlightening conversation with YouthHubAfrica on their project, ‘You Matter In this Matter’, a Voice-funded effort focused on reducing police brutality in Nigeria.
The ’You Matter In This Matter’ project, led by youths and targeting mostly young people, focuses on getting justice for the victims of the EndSARS protest that took place in October 2020. It emphasizes that young people are relevant and should be supported and heard in their demand for an end to police brutality and better governance.
The project, which commenced in September 2021, is implemented in four States: Ebonyi, Oyo, Ebonyi and FCT and aims to expand civic spaces in the aforementioned states and the FCT which will lead to heightened tracking of the government’s EndSARS promises by citizens, and a reduction in human rights violations.
YouthHubAfrica is a renowned youth advocacy and policy-oriented organization for Africa, that works with young people as change makers and advocates toward positive and sustainable change in their community.
At the start of the project, the organization proffered these solutions:
- Ensuring that the democratic demands of the EndSARS movement are sustained
- Mobilizing actions that will track human rights violations and police brutality in Nigeria
- Engaging the youths in a more efficient and organized way in demanding change and a better government.
- Creating a reliable means to ensure that reporting of human rights violations is achieved
THANK YOU FOR READING THROUGH
Visit www.voicenaija.org to learn more about voice Nigeria programmes.
Hope you enjoyed these updates. Please do ensure to follow @voiceglobal @oxfam_in_nigeria @wearecognito @infonine and also all the grantees in the Voice program, on social media. If you enjoyed this edition, do share on all your networks and platforms. Let us amplify together!