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Nigerian Makes Top 10 For $.1m Global Student Prize
Nigerian student, Oluwadamilola Akintewe has been named a top 10 finalist for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2021.
It is a new $100,000 award to be given to one exceptional student that has made a real impact on learning, the lives of their peers and on society beyond.
Akintewe, a 22-year-old student at Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo, Nigeria, was selected from over 3,500 nominations and applications from 94 countries around the world.
The Varkey Foundation launched the Chegg.org Global Student Prize earlier this year, a sister award to its $1million Global Teacher Prize, to create a powerful new platform that shines a light on the efforts of extraordinary students everywhere who, together, are reshaping our world for the better.
The prize is open to all students who are at least 16 years old and enrolled in an academic institution or training and skills programme.
Part time students as well as students enrolled in online courses are also eligible for the prize.
Chegg.org has partnered with the Varkey Foundation to create the new Global Student Prize.
The CEO and President of Chegg, Dan Rosensweig, said: “While many stakeholders are busy debating, these students are busy doing. Congratulations to all the finalists of the Global Student Prize. They truly are the change makers our world needs.”
The Head of Chegg.org, Lila Thomas, said: “Oluwadamilola and all our finalists represent the courageous and hardworking students all over the world that are fighting for their future. “Despite the challenges of Covid, this generation of students have shown the kind of resilience and creativity that give us all hope as we confront the towering challenges ahead.
“The Global Student Prize has been launched to shine a light on their stories and listen to their voices. After all, it is their dreams and their talents that will light the path to a better tomorrow.”
Akintewe was inspired by her humble background to always be committed to improving the lives and empowerment chances of girls and women in Nigeria.
She launched LetGirlsLead to provide mentorship and support for secondary school girls in Ondo, her home state.
Working with youth organizations, they teach girls entrepreneurial, financial and digital skills, so that they may become self-sufficient, and she set up a scholarship list to help them apply for places at universities and gain further qualifications.
She also launched Project Rebirth, which uses entrepreneurial action to deliver financial equality and inclusion for low income and rural women in Ondo.
They take business development and financial literacy classes and learn sustainable and eco-friendly fashion design.
The 140 women who have been impacted by the project also get loans to buy sewing machines and launch their own businesses.
Using her growing confidence and connections, she messaged an Instagram model who she noticed supports social impact projects in the global south, pitched Project Rebirth to her and secured a $2,000 grant to deliver the training project to young women participating and directly benefiting.
In 2020, her team secured a $3,000 grant from Ford to expand implementation to women in agriculture and food production while combating global scarcity and hunger.
As a former victim of gender-based violence, Oluwadamilola has herself dealt with mental health issues and trauma, and is promoting a wider social change through gender advocacy.
Reacting to the alarming rate of sexual violence in Nigeria during the pandemic lockdown, with social distancing the new normal, she leveraged social media to raise awareness, founding the Forbidden Topics Facebook platform, now with over 1,100 followers, to amplify female voices against social injustices and break the silence.
Volunteering with many global organizations, Oluwadamilola also secured a $2,000 Wishwall Foundation grant to provide internally displaced girls in Northern Nigeria with free digital skills in coding with python, JavaScript, graphics design and digital marketing as income generation to further improve their lives.
Oluwadamilola has won a string of awards, praise and recognition for her work and achievements, including 30 under 30 Changemaker 2021 from Opportunity Desk Impact Challenge as well as the Inaugural winner of the Samantha Singh Memorial Award 2021 from the ONE Campaign and the 2021 Peter Drucker Global Challenge for Leadership.
The Founder of the Varkey Foundation, Sunny Varkey, said: “Congratulations to Oluwadamilola for reaching the final 10. Her story clearly highlights the importance of education in tackling the great challenges ahead – from climate change to growing inequality to global pandemics. It is only by prioritizing education that we can safeguard all our tomorrows. Education is the key to facing the future with confidence.”
The other top 10 finalists for the Global Student Prize 2021 are Amisa Rashid from Kenya, Elliott Lancaster from the UK, Jeremiah Thoronka from Sierra Leone, Kehkashan Basu from Canada, Lamya Butt from the UAE, Matine Khalighi from the US, Mirko Cazzato from Italy, Ana Julia Monteiro de Carvalho from Brazil, and Seema Kumari from India.
Applications and nominations for this year’s Global Student Prize opened on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, and closed on Sunday, May 16, 2021.
Students who applied for the Global Student Prize are being assessed on their academic achievement, impact on their peers, how they make a difference in their community and beyond, how they overcome the odds to achieve, how they demonstrate creativity and innovation, and how they operate as global citizens.
The winner will be chosen from the top 10 finalists by the Global Student Prize Academy, made up of prominent individuals.
If students were nominated, the person nominating them was asked to write a brief description online explaining why.
The student being nominated was then sent an email letting them know they had been nominated and inviting them to apply for the prize.
Applicants were able to apply in English, Mandarin, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
The winner will be announced on November 10 via a virtual ceremony taking place at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.
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Rivers NIPR Gets New Executive

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Rivers State Chapter, has inaugurated a new Executive Council to pilot the affairs of the institute for the next two years.
The new Executive Council was elected during the maiden edition of the Rivers Public Relations Week and Annual General meeting held last Friday, in Port Harcourt.
The re-election marked a historic moment as members of the chapter converged to chart a new course for professional excellence, ethical standards, and the advancement of public relations practice in the State.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the institute, Ayodeji Emmanuel Afelumo, at the weekend.
The Registrar and Secretary to the NIPR Governing Council, Chief Uzoma Onyegbadue, who swore in the officers charged them to redouble their efforts in upholding professional integrity and excellence in public relations practices.
The officers re-elected for the second term include Rev. Francis Asuk as chairman, Dr. Parry Saroh Benson (Vice Chairman), Mr. Felix Tamuno (Secretary), Alhaja Ayo Odungweru (Treasurer), and Edna Alete as Financial Secretary.
Those with fresh tenure are Dr. Helen Chimezie who was elected as the Assistant Secretary, Mr. Ayodeji Emmanuel Afelumo (Public Relations Officer), and Mrs. Ngowari Oba as Welfare Officer, following the tenure expiration of the former officers.
In his acceptance remarks, Rev. Asuk expressed gratitude to members for their confidence and pledged to uphold the ideals of the institute, promote professional development, and foster partnerships that would further enhance the visibility of public relations in Rivers State and beyond.
The Rivers Public Relations Week is the first of its kind organised by a State chapter of the institute and it provided a platform for practitioners, scholars, and stakeholders to engage in knowledge-sharing, networking, and discussions on the evolving role of public relations in governance, business, and society.
The statement added that the Rivers State Chapter of the NIPR looks forward to a new era of purposeful leadership, innovation, and impact under the stewardship of its newly inaugurated executive council.
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Falana Gives Ken Saro-Wiwa, Others Clean Bill Of Health …As Activist Decries Marginalisation Of Ogoni People p6 lead

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana(SAN) has apparently exonerated the slain writer and environmental rights activist, Mr Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight Ogoni kinsmen of the murder charge which led to their execution by hanging by the Gen Sani Abacha military junta on November 10, 1995.
This is even as a human rights activist, Evangelist Caroline Nagbo, has decried the spate of marginalisation against Ogoni people in Nigeria and Rivers State, saying, in spite of the struggles, sacrifices and contributions of the Ogoni people, they have continued to be marginalised, particularly in politics.
Falana, who bared his mind in a keynote address during the 30th Anniversary of the Ken Saro-Wiwa Memorial Lecture at Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt on Friday, said the Ogoni nine never committed the crime for which they were hanged by the Federal Government.
On her part, Nagbo noted in a goodwill message at the event that despite the Ogoni people’s contributions, struggles and sacrifices, they continue to face exclusion and intimidation.
She decried a situation where people who hated Ken Saro-Wiwa during his lifetime, equally hate Ogoni people, because they consider them as very intelligent, stressing that instead of giving them political power, stooges are rather favoured.
According to her, Ogoni people must continue to speak out and agitate for their rights.
Nagbo further noted that the name of Ken Saro-Wiwa always evokes environment, minority and politics, emphasising that the legacies of the late environmental rights activist have continued to inspire and motivate the Ogoni people, and highlighted the significance of his birthday, which coincides with the Ogoni struggle for self-determination, environmental justice, and human rights.
She said the Federal Government’s treatment of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s memory and the Ogoni people is a reflection of the country’s flawed political system, and criticised politicians for their absence at events commemorating Ken Saro-Wiwa’s birthday and even illegal execution, attributing it to the marginalisation and intimidation faced by the Ogoni people.
“If you identify with Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni struggle, you are the enemy of the state, and that is marginalisation and intimidation,” she said.
Nagbo further lamented that despite the Ogoni people’s contributions to the country’s struggle for democracy, they are yet to be adequately rewarded.
“Politically, up till now, an Ogoni individual has never been a Governor, and they are not ready to give it to us, even in the next 30 years.The same thing they did to Ken Saro-Wiwa is the same thing they are doing to the Ogoni sons and daughters. They are manipulating it,” she said.
Nagbo praised the consistency of fiery human rights lawyer, Femi Falana(SAN), in championing the cause of the Ogoni people, saying, even Ken Saro-Wiwa was known for his consistency.
The keynote speaker, Mr Femi Falana actually chronicled the circumstances surrounding the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his kinsmen on November 10, 1995, saying, they never committed the offence for which they were executed, and,therefore, deserve not only the recent pardon granted to them by the Federal Government but also exoneration and apology from the government.
Falana accused the state and Shell of masterminding the murder of four Ogoni sons, with the intent of roping in Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other Ogoni activists, saying, the execution of the Ogoni activists was premeditated.
According to him, when it was clear that the then Abacha military junta had already made up its mind to kill Ken Saro-Wiwa and others, the legal team defending them had no option than to withdraw from the trial in order not to give it legitimacy.
The human rights lawyer said the Ogoni people must be united today more than ever before to fight for their rights, stressing that the move for resumption of oil production in Ogoniland can only be justified when the ongoing cleanup of Ogoniland has attained an appreciable level.
He also applauded the siting of the Federal University of Environment and Technology in Ogoniland, but insisted that the university must employ Ogoni people to justify its establishment.
Falana said the time has come for the people of the Niger Delta region to demand accountability from the political class at all levels of governance in the region, saying, they are constitutionally empowered to find out how the 13 percent derivation funds and other funds are utilised.
According to him, the three percent fund stipulated and specified in the Petroleum Industry Act(PIA) is supposed to go directly to oil and gas bearing communities in the Niger Delta.
He also sympathised with Umuechem people for what befell them during the military regime, and decried a situation where oil companies failed in providing social amenities to the people, in spite of benefiting from the oil and gas deposits in their land.
He promised to set up a think tank of lawyers to advocate and ensure that oil and gas host communities in the country, particularly in the Niger Delta are provided social amenities.
Also, human rights and environment campaigner and one of the organisers of the event, Mr Celestine Akpobari thanked Femi Falana, Dr Nimo Bassey and other dignitaries and participants for gracing the event, which he described as the celebration of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s legacies.
He said the rush for the resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland does not make any economic sense, and likened it to mopping the floor while the taps are open.
At the event, the panel of discussants consisted of Prof KialeeNyiayana of the University of Port Harcourt; Prof Lucky Akaruese of the University of Port Harcourt; Eze(Prof) Christian Akani of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education; and Leader of Ogoni People’s Assembly, Rev Probel Williams, while the moderator was Dr EmemOkon.
The discussants gave a good account of themselves, as they did not only dissect the keynote address presented by Femi Falana, giving more insights into it, but also did justice to the questions posed to them by the moderator, bordering on Ken Saro-Wiwa and his legacies, among other issues.
By: Donatus
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