Imaginative Futures Working Group (IFWG): supporting regional/national development framework

The concept

The National Visioning Process (Imaginative Futures Working Group) is a pillar of the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund which is a collaborative initiative implemented by LEAP Africa and funded by MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation to strengthen and enable young Nigerians for Youth Leadership, Activism and Social Change through outcome driven policy making and inclusive resourcing that will enable them to shape National Development.

The National Visioning Process (Imaginative Futures Working Group) is a pillar of the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund which is a collaborative initiative implemented by LEAP Africa and funded by MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation to strengthen and enable young Nigerians for Youth Leadership, Activism and Social Change through outcome driven policy making and inclusive resourcing that will enable them to shape National Development.

The goal

The National Visioning Process was particularly aimed at equipping young people to re-imagine, co-create, frame and engage in national and regional policy development to drive evidence-based advocacy. The Imaginative Futures Working Group is set out to mainstream input and voices of young people into the development of Nigeria’s short, medium- and long-term Agenda, National Development Plan and other regional and global goals. It presented a brilliant opportunity for me to support this vision by leveraging my experience to provide helpful contributions to advance the overall goal of the Working Group.

The selected Working Group members put into context the Nigeria National Development Plan (2021 – 2025) and the Imagine Nigeria Report and went ahead to develop a document that will represents the collective aspirations of young people in Nigeria (#TheNigeriaWeWant Report) and for onward mainstreaming into Nigeria Agenda 2050 and other national development plans. As a short-term goal, the report also served as an advocacy document for the 2023 elections leveraging Nigeria’s youth bulge.

Program Description

The regional imaginative futures working group is a collecting of inclusively selected young leaders representing each state in Southeast Nigeria, cutting across different sectors (Public, private and the social sector) but have in common a track record of excellence, civic participation and identify with the youth constituency in the region.  They were vibrant young people with a broad understanding of the challenges faced by young Nigerians with peculiarities of the southeast regions; a nuanced understanding of the socio-political dynamics and complexities of the country, track record of activism, high-level political participation, exercise considerable influence within Nigeria youth Ecosystem, and familiarity with Nigeria’s policy space. The working group boast of members possessing palpable passion to see things through at community, state and national levels through outcome-driven policy development and advocacy for the realization of #TheNigeriaWeWant, where young people are empowered and their interests mainstreamed.

My Contribution

As a development professional, I have come face to face many times with pressing issues and challenges that Nigerian people experience. And that has been my motivation for pursuing a career in the development sector, working with and for young people and playing a significant role in building the Nigeria we want. The IFWG was a great opportunity for me to play a part in developing essential policy framework and white paper towards the realization of #TheNigeriaWeWant policy document and to support the empowerment and prosperity of young people in Nigeria and Africa.

Overall, I am generally excited at the opportunity of playing an important part in charting Nigeria and Africa’s development agenda. The goal of the Imagining Futures Working Group in line with the NYFF vision for the nation is tall and inspiring. With my experience in research, policy and advocacy engagements, I am proud to have made meaningful contributions to support these goals. Of great importance to me also is the opportunity to further hone my skills, connect with other inspiring young professionals, creating opportunity for future collaborations that lead to sustainable impact in our communities.