Author: Toju Ogbe

Ifeoma Nnamani has emerged overall winner of the Peace Write Now writing contest organised by the Embassy of Ireland on the theme ‘Fostering Sustainable Peace and Dialogue in Nigeria’.

The winners include Ifeoma Nnamani (in first place), Damilola Adeniran (second), Stephen Angbulu (third), Ehi’zogie Emmanuel (fourth), and Samsudeen Quadri (fifth).

Officially titled Peace Write Now, the core objective of the competition was to serve as a platform for the youth to discuss roles they can play in fostering sustainable peace in Nigeria, while drawing lessons from the Northern Ireland peace process, an agreement that was ratified both in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The contest, which got a total of seven hundred entries from across Nigeria, afforded youths between 18 and 30 years of age an opportunity to share innovative ideas on ways to resolve conflict and insecurity in various parts of the country.

During the awards ceremony that was hosted by Ambassador Sean Hoy in his residence in Abuja, he congratulated all entrants, particularly the top five candidates for sharing their ideas and taking the time to engage with other young people.

The first-place winner received a cash prize of €500 (cash grant for books), second €250 (cash grant for books), third €100 (cash grant for books), fourth a book on peace building signed by the Ambassador and a certificate of appreciation, and fifth a certificate of appreciation.

There were musical performances and spoken word poetry that revolved around the theme of the event. The interactive session, which gave participants the opportunity to voice their opinions as well as highlight the need for young people to work together in order to turn their ideas into actionable steps.

In the coming weeks and months, the Embassy of Ireland plans to build on the success of the programme by increasing the level of engagement with the youth across all six geopolitical zones of Nigeria based on lessons learned from the writing contest.

A selection of essays will also be published in a book and authors will receive a copy each.

Kambinachi Kanu, a ten year old primary school pupil has emerged global winner in the 9-12 year-old category of Ericsson’s Girls Who Innovate Competition under the theme; the Future of Education.

Ericsson through its ninth annual participation in the ‘Girls in ICT Day’ across the Middle East and Africa hosted the second edition of the annual contest, which has seen Kambinachi Kanu emerging winner.

The Girls Who Innovate Competition according to Ericsson, aims to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, especially Goals four and five – Quality Education and Gender Equality respectively.

Ericsson received many entries from young innovators aged 9 to 18, who competed to win job shadow days, an Ericsson blog feature and a 1,000 EUR star prize. Their entries showcased different ideas on how technology could shape the future of education globally. From the Middle East and Africa, two other entries from the United Arab Emirates (13-15 category) and Ghana (16-18 category) made it to the finals and emerged regional winners but Kambinachi Kanu made it all the way and became the global winner in her category.

Kambinachi’s winning idea is the donation of fairly used tablets to children in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Nigeria, thus ensuring the continuation of their education in a safe environment. Classroom learning will then be limited to days when security is assured and continuous communication with tutors will take place via an e-learning platform.

Girish Johar, Head, Human Resources within Ericsson Middle East and Africa said:

“Ericsson remains committed to advancing and promoting technology innovations in the Middle East and Africa.

On a global scale, we’re also working towards ensuring that girls interested in pursuing a career in ICT are empowered to overcome discrimination, stereotypes and other gender norms the society might throw at them.

This is because we believe that the more diverse and inclusive we are, the more innovative and visionary we will be as a company, and building the next generation of ICT leaders is just one step in that direction.”

Ericsson has a worldwide mandate for its workforce to be made up of at least 30 percent women by the year 2020.

Kenneth Okpomo has emerged overall winner of the Daisy Alliance 2018 Student Scholarship/Essay Contest receiving a cash prize of $300.

This year’s essay contest themed “The North Korean Nuclear Conundrum: Is a Peaceful Resolution Possible?”, was aimed at analysing the rising conflict tensions in the Korean Peninsula as well as exploring peaceful strategies and solutions. The contest open to undergraduate and graduate students from any country who are currently enrolled in a college or university had a cash prize reward of $200 and $100 to the second and third winners respectively.

In the words of Kenneth Okpomo:

“This contest, in my candid opinion, required  a good grasp of global affairs and extraordinary analytical skills to win.

I appreciate Daisy Alliance for the opportunity and particularly, Dr. Gregory Hall, Executive Director of Daisy Alliance and Associate Professor at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. 

I also encourage other Nigerian students to similarly strive for literary excellence.”

According to Dr. Gregory Hall in the award letter:

Dear Mr. Okpomo, congratulations!

On behalf of my colleagues at Daisy Alliance, I am pleased to inform you that we have reviewed your submission to our essay contest and have granted it distinction.

You will be receiving in short order a $300 award.

We found your paper to be well organised, and thoughtfully written. You did a fine job addressing the various aspects of this complex problem.”

The Daisy Alliance is a nonpartisan grassroots peace organisation seeking global security through nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament, and the elimination of all Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) – nuclear, chemical, and biological.