Just back from an inspiring visit for my first time to beautiful Lagos, Nigeria. Together with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UNICEF Nigeria and Generation Unlimited, we had the opportunity to monitor progress and interact with the adolescent girls benefiting from the Girls Education Skills Partnership (#GESP), a public-private-youth partnership which aims to empower adolescent girls with skills and opportunities in Nigeria, Bangladesh and India. The youth skills and employment challenge remains one of the biggest development challenges of our time. By overcoming the barriers to digital learning, skills, and connectivity for adolescent girls, we will embark on a virtuous cycle of growth and transformation.
It was amazing to see how girl-centred approaches to digital learning and market-relevant skills over the past year through #Passport to Earning and the #Learning Passport are making a real difference in the lives of these adolescent girls where they are pursuing their dreams for a brighter future. In collaboration with Sightsavers, we are embarking on a new frontier of programming for girls with disabilities who are for the first time ever being exposed to career and livelihood opportunities. Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, the leading higher education institution in Africa has set up a dynamic #All-Girls' Tech Hub which is also reaching out to adolescent girls in the urban informal sector where they are integrating digital skills in their learning to earning journey and delivering on-the-job training in traditionally male-dominated industries such as mobile and web applications development. I'm excited to see how TechnoServe will promote women-led entrepreneurship and business development building on their experiences across Africa and world-wide. Through the vibrant public-private-youth partnership platform of #GenU9JA, we are working to build sustainable and scalable models that can be replicated across Nigeria as well as promote cross-learning with Bangladesh, India and world-wide.
Despite whatever challenges these girls have experienced in life, they smiled widely with light in their eyes as a result of being able to access this new knowledge, skills, and network of female-led peers and mentors. Finally, a big thank you to UNICEF Nigeria and #GenU9JA for the excellent organization of the mission and for being pioneers in advancing equality of opportunity and choice for all girls and young women.
#EveryGirlEverywhere
#SkillsRightNow
Celine Lafoucriere Phoebe Hill Jutaro Sakamoto Yasmine Abu Seedo Babagana Yahaya Aminu Bharat K Kundra Ochuko E. E. Rownak Khan Verónica Lee Anna Burlyaeva Gopal Mitra Lauren Rumble Ruth Graham-Goulder
