The Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) has partnered with the Sonic Foundry Global Learning Exchange USA towards developing a new education and training programme for Nigerian youths.
The President, UNESCO REF, Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu, disclosed at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the partnership would give the youths a competitive advantage to acquire high quality education, thereby contributing toward actualisation of UN SDG goal 4.
According to him, the partnership is a training programme in Nigeria for Nigerian youths through ‘The August Project (TAP) Category 2.9’ in accordance with the United Nations goal 17 guidelines.
“This synergy is so important to us because there is no keener revelation of society’s soul than the way in which it treats its youths because discouraging the youth is simultaneously destroying the nation’s prosperity.
“And to achieve our goals, towards encouraging the youths to achieve their goals, the UNESCO REF finds it paramount to work with global relevant stakeholders who share our priority to encourage the intersection of fresh ideas among our youths.
“This they do using practical skill development that would be made available through the SONIC FOUNDRY’ GLOBAL LEARNING EXCAHNGE educational hub across the federation.
“This will no doubt give our youth a competitive advantage to embed high quality education thereby contributing towards actualization of UN SDG goal 4 in Nigeria,” he said.
Ladigbolu also said that the partnership was necessary in order to play a critical role towards a formidable strategic implementation to achieve a level playing ground for the youths to explore and achieve their goals at their own pace.
The Chief Executive Officer of the group, Joe Mozden, said that goal of the programme was to provide quality education, facilitate youth development, invest and promote the development of industry and infrastructure.
Mozden also said that it would help facilitate connections and partnerships that would advance economic growth and innovation.
He said that the programme would help to deliver the best possible learning experience for all students while using their presence to facilitate connections and networks that would provide significant benefits to the local economy and the Nigerian community as a whole.
” Global Learning Exchange™ is not a typical commercial enterprise. The business and financial side needs to be sustainable of course, but the concept grew out of Sonic Foundry’s commitment to leverage our global footprint and our expertise in communication technology, and higher education to help solve large-scale long standing challenges around the world.
“We believe that our objectives are fundamentally aligned with those of The August Project and, more broadly, with UN Sustainable Development Goals to provide quality education.
“We are excited about what our team can bring to the table, which is strong relationships with universities around the world, expertise in video communication technology, and an organisational model that makes good business sense.
“But we are also aware of the fact that we can’t do this alone.So one of our main areas of focus in the early stages of launching Global Learning Exchange has been partnership development.
“We know that in order to accomplish what we are hoping to accomplish on a truly global scale, we need great partners,” he said.
He added that one of the focal points of the partnership was the introduction of scholarships to participants in the TAP.
He, therefore, said that TAP students who apply for a matriculating degree programme through Global Learning Exchange would receive a scholarship that covers 100 per cent of the cost of the first course in the programme.
He said that if they however maintain continuous enrollment in the programme, the scholarship would also cover 100 per cent of the cost of the last course, saying that any any student who registers for TAP in 2023 would be eligible.
In the same vein, the Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM-UNESCO), Mr Lateef Olagunju, said the partnership would go a long way to strategically expose Nigerian youths to the societal dynamics.
Olagunju said it would also encourage them to be active participants in governance as responsible citizens of the country.
” The Read and Earn has established itself as a vibrant multi-stakeholder body to discuss and forge consensus on trends in development, cooperation for our younger generation in Nigeria.
“This initiative has also come at this particularly exciting time, as part of its contributions towards the youth development and empowerment in Nigeria.
” The collaboration between Read and Earn and relevant international bodies will definitely help the nation because the youths are the main instruments for development of any nation and for such a nation and her youth population to be relevant in the comity of nations in future,” he said.(NAN
