On Friday, October 22, Nigeria Youth SDGs organised a virtual conversation sharing key lessons from young women who attended the Global Youth Summer Boot camp sponsored by International Labour Organisation, ILO.
The theme ‘Digital Generation, Our Generation’ was discussed by three young women leading the digital space; Elizabeth Ita, Blessing Ashi, and Tracy Uzoigwe. The three panellists shared the experiences they gained at the summer camp and how they use technology to improve the needs, rights of girls, and create decent works for young people.
The virtual conversation was moderated by Rianat A. Wahab. She introduced Goodness Ogeyi Odey who gave a welcome address note on behalf of the network. She welcomed the viewers and explained the benefit of the discussion and how it’s beneficial to not only youth but organisations, individuals and society, in general, to understand and prioritise digitalisation and support women and girls in harnessing their potentials in the digital economy.
Tracy Uzoigwe had a conversation on the topic ‘Building a Digital Footprint.’ She explained about integrating technology into our everyday lives. She discussed how everyone needs technology to do so many things.
According to her ” As a young person, we need to have a mindset shift in being digitally literate. You need to sign up on platforms that offer courses relevant to your area or career. You need to upgrade and build digital skills. ”
Tracy also talked about building a Positive Digital Footprint. According to her, a positive footprint is needed to be a good digital citizen because it’s from our footprints that people draw references to in future.
Elizabeth Ita discussed the topic ‘Becoming a Digital Citizen.’ She described a digital citizen as a person who has the knowledge and skills to responsibly, and effectively use technology to communicate with others.
According to her “There is good and bad citizenship. Good citizenship is the ability to connect with people, empathise, practice digital literacy, practise digital wellness, create lasting relationships using digital tools, while bad citizenship involves cyberbullying, spreading false information and so on.”
Elizabeth also spoke about Digital Inclusion; “For young people to be digitally inclusive and get the opportunity the internet provides, they need to have a range of skills that will help them in interacting with digital technology. These skills include problem-solving, transacting, communication, creating and managing information for them to fit in 21st-century work vacancies. They can achieve all these by taking online courses on digital skills that align with their career.”
Blessing Ashi spoke about Closing the digital divide. She explained some factors that bridge the digital divide. In bridging the digital divide, everybody has a role to play; the government, individuals, parents. She emphasised introducing young people to digital skills early as it helps them to decide on the kind of career they intend to build.
The event came to a wrap with final thoughts from the three finalists. Tracy Uzoigwe advised the youths to go digital by upskilling themselves and staying relevant. Elizabeth Ita also added that digital skills are in demand and youths need to learn digital skills to keep up with these work demands. In Blessing Ashi’s final words, “As young people proceed on their digital journey, they need to share their success stories to motivate others.”
Written by Rianat Abosede and Goodness Odey