By

CHUDE JIDEONWO

A presentation at the School of Media & Communication, Pan African University on:

“Youth Synergy”

THIS IS MY LIFE:

My life’s work over the years has always been centredon three things:

Connector: Linking people, especially young peoplewith opportunities.

Capacity Builder: Building capacity for mygeneration in enterprise and governance

Change Agent: Using media as a (limitless) tool for positive change and upward growth.

THE POWER OF THE MEDIA:

Our three organisations (Y!, Red Media and The Futureproject) Believe in and are extremely passionate aboutthe capacity of the media to transform societies andpeople.

In brief:

Y! is media content.

Red Media is media and communication.

The Future Project is media for development

RUBBIN’ MINDS

Rubbin’ Minds was created to meet a very important need in terms Of then national conversation.

Before Rubbin’ Minds, there was no existing national show which Gave voice to the concerns and aspirations of young people in areas outside of entertainment.

Our flagship TV program which shows on Channels TV every Sunday by 3pm.

It has become the leading television platform where young people discuss and debate the economy, polity, politics, and other topical issues.

Y! MAGAZINE

The best way to hide something from a black man isto put it in a book.” – Lewis Michaux (Proprietor of theAfrican National Memorial Bookstore).

“If I can get a black person to read, I can change theirlife.” – Black Nationalist’s exhortation.

Y! was born to dispel the perception that Nigerians,Especially young people don’t read if it isn’tthe usual fare of entertainment, sports and fashion.

Y! uses the media to provoke thought, inspire actionand stimulate growth.

Y! stubbornly insists on presenting issue-based features and spotlighting a new breed of young Nigerians you wouldn’t normally find in Nigerian magazines.

YOUNG AND NIGERIAN (Y&N):

Y&N is our weekly feature on the SundayGuardian.

We interview & profile young people outsideentertainment and fashion in amainstream/traditional paper.

Of course, We don’t have a problem with young people expressing their talents in fashion, entertainment or sports, but we insisting of filling that huge content gap – and a Undeserved Intellectual market.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (EIE):- Founded by The Future Project but handed over to an independent board.

A coalition of individuals and youth-led organisations

committed to instituting a culture of good governance and

public accountability in Nigeria

We latch on the power of the media to channel the collective

Angst of our generation and sustain a movement for change

THE FUTURE AWARDS

• The Future Awards was birthed out of a belief inthe power of strong positive images in a societylike Nigeria.

• These images serve as models to inspire hopeand arouse in young Nigerians, a belief inthemselves.

• We strongly believe that true change for Nigeriagoes beyond just digging boreholes ordistributing tricycles.

• To create real change, you must change theminds of the people; you must make them havefaith that everything they can imagine ispossible in this country.

THE FUTURE ENTERPRISESUPPORT SCHEME

Nigeria doesn’t just have an unemployment issue, it has an

unemployability issue.

Many young people lack the necessary skills and knowledge base

needed to pursue their passions and purpose in life.

We organise trainings in photography, entrepreneurship, writing etc.

We also organise master classes in special fields.

GRANDUANTS OF THE FUTURE AWARDS SUPPORT SCHEME-

PHOTOGRAPHY WORK SHOP

YNAIJA.COMIDEAS.OPINION.ISSUES.CULTURE.COLUMNS

This is our online newspaper.

The one stop shop for issues,opinions andanalysis.

What are young people thinking-and talking-about right now? YNaija is your map.

THE FUTURE AWARDSSYMPOSIUM

A history-making forum for young Nigerians across sectors to tackle pressing leadership questions and chart a practical course for how we intend to do better than those before us through interaction with present leaders at the highest echelon of business and governance.

JOURNALISM

My work as a journalist has followed a pattern that many might call developmentJournalism.

Examples-

Spotlight on trans-Atlantic human trafficking forMania magazine; celebrating the giant strides ofNigerian musicians in the UK Guardian.

It’s about telling the stories that make impact – I haveAlways been convinced that the media needs to be an Active (not passive) tool to transform people and societies.

RED MEDIA

• Red media is a practical demonstration of howfar the media can go as a drive of… just anything!The possibilities are endless!.

• Ranging from the dreams of young people(Nigerian idol), the launch of exciting technology(Google +), the aspiration of a voting nation(Reclaim Naija.net), the lifestyle of a new generation(Blackberry), or a government trying to reach itspeople (Ministry of Finance) – these have been our Clients.

STRAT 2025:

Strat 2025 is the vision we had whenwe started this organisation in 2005.

“By 2025, we’ll raise a set of youngNigerians who are ready and havethe capacity to re-direct our company.”

COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS LIE AT THECENTRE OF OUR WORK, MOST VISIBLY DEMONSTRATED BY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH:

Some partners:

Nigeria Leadership InitiativeSilverbird Group British Council.Kelechi Amadi Studios.Microsoft US government.

• Every time we collaborate we are always thinking

about one thing: developing capacity of young

people in leadership and enterprise.

THE FUTURE (forgive the pun):

There is no finish line. There is nogrand accomplishment. The success isin each milestone, whether big orsmall.No one person will change the worldbut by God!. we are determined tomove it in direction we desire.

Thank you for listening.