RISE celebrates United Nations’ INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY MASTERCLASS 2009 With DR. MRS. OBY EZEKWESILI {Vice President of the World Bank}

RISE, Nigeria’s leading Youth Interaction Centre has in the last three years hosted one of the most successful Youth forums in the Country with 2009 being the hallmark of our accomplishments so far. This year, the impact of the DARE TO BE DIFFERENT NATIONAL INTERACTIVE YOUTH FORUM in 8 Nigerian States has rekindled a new sense of hope in our Nigerian Youths.












On 22nd August, RISE will hold a Master Class with Dr. Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, Vp of the World Bank to get young professional Nigerians to discuss and map out strategies for survival, at this time even as we celebrate the UN International Youth day, World Over on August 12th. This will be her 2nd Visit to Nigeria since her appointment into that prestigious office.
In the face of the current global recession and the turbulence in the Nigerian Financial Sector, young business owners are closing shop, thousands of young professionals are being laid off from banks, corporations and multinationals, many more are faced with a terrible option to “market” their private assets to acquire huge unrealistic deposits for banks or earn leaner salaries than what they currently are placed on or join their compatriots in the jobless fold. In the face of these undesirable situations and choices, there are still several young people making a difference to make our Country, our own Nigeria, stated Miss Toyosi Akerele, team leader of RISE in her Press Statement. Young People are working hard, pacing and catching up with innovation, more, making history and doing our Nation Proud. We are not pleased but we are not giving up; we have to be encouraged. The Power situation is crippling businesses that are forced to spend 50% of profit on diesel or petrol to keep work going or they relocate to their Villages, our graduates don’t have jobs and ASUU isn’t willing to budge until FG is responsive to their aspirations; the result is that more young people are motionless and we are not even allowed to speak nor soar. The Question is though we are trying but how will our generation keep up and match our contemporaries in other African Countries since Ghana can keep the Lights on and we can’t? Must our generation read with candles and kerosene lanterns when students in South Africa are the real X generation? This explains the reason behind the organization’s packaging of the program.
For the sake of our Nigerian Audience bearing in mind, our collective burden and challenges as young people, the theme will be “Sustainability, our challenge, our future: Key Lessons for Business”. In the Course of the Program and under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, the young professionals will break into groups to begin a discussion process that will ensure SUSTAINABILITY in diverse areas. It is expected that these young professionals will remain a team, holding one another accountable and keep working together after the Session.
The event will commence at 11am and end at 4pm and the Gathering will comprise of 100 young professionals who already manage Processes and Projects and will therefore find the knowledge and interaction at this forum useful for prolonged development. Participants should look forward to valuable learning experiences. This Year, the Event is sponsored by MTN, UBA and Sahara Group with generous support from M2, Business Day and Encomium.