From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs), Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, has reaffirmed her office’s commitment to empowering Nigerian youth with digital skills as a key driver of the 2030 Agenda.
International Youth Day is observed globally on 12 August to draw attention to youth-related issues and engage governments and other stakeholders in addressing these challenges.
In a statement released to mark International Youth Day 2024, themed “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development,” she highlighted the crucial role of digital technology in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She explained that since 2016, her office has collaborated with various partners to sponsor numerous initiatives aimed at equipping youth with essential digital skills.
These efforts include:
* Partnering with Google, through its vendor in Nigeria, MindTheGap, to implement a digital training programme that empowered 400,000 youth across Nigeria.
* Establishing skill acquisition centres equipped to deliver digital skills training to youth across the country.
Orelope-Adefulire assured continued support for and exploration of initiatives that empower youth with digital skills, expressing openness to new ideas on leveraging digital technology to advance the 2030 Agenda.
She reaffirmed the OSSAP-SDGs’ commitment to creating millions of digital jobs within the first two years of the current administration, as outlined in the Renewed Hope Agenda.
She encouraged Nigerian youth to embrace various digital empowerment initiatives introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, including the Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE) programme and the Three Million Technical Talents scheme.