United Nations Nigeria/DoTheDream YDI International Youth Day 2021

REPORT OF 2020 DOTHEDREAM INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY EVENT

THEME:  Youth Engagement for Global Action 

OVERVIEW:

The International Youth Day was celebrated across the world and Dothe Dream Youth Development Initiative (DTD) hosted an online summit on the 12^th/ 13^th August 2020 to commemorate the global event. The online event was hosted via Zoom and Facebook and the turnout was very encouraging.

The event was attended by many youths from Nigeria,and the panel of guest speakers was made up of some of the top professional from around the world.The guest speakers joined from Finland, South Africa, United States, United Kingdom and Nigeria. 

OUTCOME OF THE 2 DAY EVENT

1. The Founder & Executive Director of DTD, Adebusuyi Olutayo Olumadewa set the scene for the event by welcoming the guest speakers and the youths. 
2. The President of the DTD, Oluwatoyin Aromire, inspired the participants to be the best in all they do. He encouraged World leaders to pay attention to young people all over the world to help them ascend to greater heights. Oluwatoyin admonished the Youths to try to understand that success never happens in 2hrs as we see in Hollywood movies. He encouraged the Youths to focus on long term planning for success and, to have a solution-only mentality, instead of spending too much time focusing on the challenge. Finally, he encouraged the youths by telling asking them to understand that there is always a reward for hard work.
3. The President of World Team Now, based in California, Suzanne Maxx, inspired the youth to make a difference by starting with themselves. She shared an inspiring story on how she wrote a letter about issues affecting the Ocean to the then President of the United States –Gerald Ford, at the age of 10 years. She concluded with saying that Time, Energy, Action, and Money are the new diamond. The statement engendered an inward reflection from the youths and other participants at the summit.
4. The Chief Executive Officer of Havilah Concept, based in Houston, Texas, YemiSholotan, delivered a message on Volunteering. She began her speech by saying that “Youths form the majority of citizens in most countries around the world. Yemi advised the Youths to leverage volunteering to facilitate positive change, progression, and a way to achieve their dreams. This message inspired a lot of the attendees and generated many questions from the youths. YemiSholotan further expanded on volunteering, the different types of volunteering, the do and don’ts of volunteering, and how to generate the needed momentum for growth.
5. The Tutor General of Education, from the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs. OludaraOkelola, delivered a presentation on the Importance of Formal and Informal Education in attaining global height. She emphasized that Schooling and Education are two different things. Mrs. Okelola went to explain that schooling creates the impression and interests for formal and informal learning while Education is the enlightenment of Mind. She also said that this was the reason why The State Government places a high value on combining both forms of learning a way to enable the youths to become more aware while contributing to the development of Lagos State as a Smart City.
6. The Counsellor/Chief Specialist, Sustainable Development, and the 2030 Agenda, from the Strategy Department of the Prime Minister’s Office, in Finland, Sami Pirkkala, shared Finland’s approached to attaining the SDGs to inspire the youths in taken action. He shared Finland’s experiences from the Education sector and its alignment with the SDGs 4th goal. Sami explained that Finland provides free education to all her citizens from the Primary school level to the University level. He said that Finland has a high standard of education compared to other parts of the world.  The proportion of people aged 25 to 64 who have completed Primary to Secondary is 80%, and the percentage of those who have attained vocational education is 80%.Adult Education is also at a high level. In aligning with the SDGs 5th Goal, Finland also taking steps to improve gender equality. The country is ranked top 5 in the European Institute for Gender equality, a global index of the World Economic Forum. In aligning with the SDGs 8th goal on Youth Unemployment, Finland has reduced its unemployment from 15% to 12%. The country adopted a policy in 2013 to measures the employment index, called the Youth Employment Guarantee.  The policy aims to ensure that young people under age 25 and graduate under the age of 30 are guaranteed Jobs.  He concluded by sharing the story of his career and the journey that led him to achieve such greatness. The story is worthy of emulation by the youth.
7. The Chair of the Finnish Agenda2030 Youth Group, Ms. Sofia Savonen, concluded the session on Finland and SGD goals by sharing how her organization functions to add their part in the growth of her country.  She echoed the DTD president’s word that “Motivational words are no longer enough to spur the youths into action. She went on to say that it is time for our Leaders to back their words with action. When the youths’ concerns are brought to decision-makers, they need to work in partnership with the youths to create a practical and implementable solution. 
8. The Co-founder of Workload.ng and a great mentee of DTD, Nelson Izah, shared his journey on adding value at Workload.ng by creating a solution to issues in the marketplace. He encouraged the youths to always look for ways to find answers to problems around them, and by so doing, they will be able to create a sustainable and rewarding career for themselves.
9. The CEO of Bridge Missions International, based in Chicago, OlumideAjiginni, delivered a message on relationships. He defined relationship as the ship that takes you to your destiny. Olumide encouraged the youths to nurture relationships because it is the diamond mine. He talked about four types of relationships

1. • The first one is having a relationship with God, the source of everything.
   • The second one is having a relationship with yourself. Olumide said we should learn to go on a date with our spirit, soul, and body. 
   • The third one is having a relationship with people. He said we could not go anywhere without people.
   • The fourth is having a relationship with our environment; this is any place we find ourselves.

1. The ICT and Administration Manager at Drakenstein Municipality, Paarl, Western Cape, Dewit Coetsee, delivered a message on Leveraging on ICT for Global Action. The message resonated with the other guest speakers, and it created a lot of buzz with all the attendees. Dewit started his message with how the adoption technology in the last three months was equal to the adoption of technology in the last ten years. He ended his presentation by highlighting the trends to look out for in the adoption of technological:

1. • – Geographical information systems
   • – Artificial intelligence
   • – Robotics
   • – Business / Process automation / Digitization 
   • – Augmented reality
   • – Data analysis and decision support
   • – Inter-connected systems

1. The Founder of Kohath Group, Teni Eleoramo, delivered a message on the road ahead. Teni talked about the fourth Industrial Revolution and how Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Healthcare are the new diamond. He went on to say that The Amazons and Googles of the next decades, are the companies that can chart a cause for themselves within Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Robotics because there is an increased consumption of data and intelligence.
2. The Managing Director at Allteks Limited in the UK, Don Iro, said that we are not victims of where we find ourselves because we capable of designing where we want to go. He encouraged the youths to find a way to create more opportunities by becoming exceptional performers. He urged the youths to build synergistic relationships to share and leverage the strengths of others and vice-versa.
3. Marian Ogundairo, a Digital Transformation Consultant and Business Coach, delivered a message on Public Speaking. She said it was natural to be nervous when you are just starting up as a public speaker. Marian urged the youths to know their audience before presenting and to practice their message to have an impactful delivery. She went on to say that there is a formula for everything, even in Public Speaking. She encouraged the youths to be bold enough to add humor to their speech because it helps the audience relax. 
4. Idris Paulina and Nelson Izah also delivered inspiring messages on the impact of DTD. They talked about how DTD inspired them in the last decade to become more confident and bolder enough to put themselves out and strive to achieve greatness.
5. Oluwatoyin Aromire Gave the vote of thanks, showed a deep appreciation to  Adebusuyi Olutayo Olumadewa for his unflinching and relentless efforts and then formally closed the event.