IYD 2024: Orelope-Adefulire Reaffirms Commitment To Empowering Youth With Digital Skills

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, has reaffirmed her office’s commitment to empowering Nigerian youth with digital skills as a key driver of the 2030 Agenda.

Princess Orelope-Adefulire made this known in a statement released by her Special Assistant on Media, Desmond Utomwen, to mark the 2024 International Youth Day, themed “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development.”

She highlighted that the 2024 IYD theme underscores the crucial role of digital technology in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since 2016, her office, in collaboration with various partners, has sponsored numerous initiatives aimed at equipping youth with essential digital skills.

“In 2016, we partnered with Google, through its vendor in Nigeria, MindTheGap, to implement a digital training program that empowered 400,000 youth across Nigeria. Our goal was to equip young people with skills that would benefit both themselves and society,” she stated.

Princess Orelope-Adefulire also mentioned her office’s involvement in other initiatives, such as the establishment of skill acquisition centres equipped to deliver digital skills training to youth across the country. She assured continued support and exploration of initiatives that empower youth with digital skills, expressing openness to new ideas on leveraging digital technology to advance the 2030 Agenda.

The Presidential Adviser further reaffirmed the commitment of OSSAP-SDGs to the plan of creating millions of digital jobs within the first two years of the current administration, as outlined in the Renewed Hope Agenda. She also encouraged Nigerian youth to embrace various digital empowerment initiatives introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, including the Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE) programme, which aims to create millions of IT and technical jobs, and the Three Million Technical Talents scheme.

International Youth Day is observed globally on August 12 to draw attention to youth-related issues and to engage governments and other stakeholders in addressing these challenges.