The Visiola Foundation, a nonprofit organisxation that was established in January 2014, today celebrated its tenth anniversary in the company of over 200 physical guests and 50 online guests. The celebratory event featured a Keynote Address by Her Excellency, Ms. Elsie Attafuah, Resident Representative for Nigeria of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), a Goodwill Message from Ms. Cecilia Akintomide, Senior Adviser to the Group CEO of Ecobank Transnational and Former Vice President and Secretary General at the African Development Bank, Goodwill Messages from Ms. Ivie Imasogie, Lead Consultant at Zynergy Consulting and former Group HR Director at Sahara Group and Dr. Rabia Sa’id, Bayero University Kano, as well as a charge from Ms. Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director of Afrilabs.
Founded by Dr. and Mrs. Debisi and Lade Araba, the organization runs After-School STEM Clubs for girls in Government Secondary Schools, Coding Boot Camps for young women from across Africa, and residential STEM camps for teenage girls. It has directly impacted over 12,200 girls from 12 African countries since 2014.
Speaking at the event, the Co-Founder and President, Mrs. Lade Araba stated, “Our vision is to see African countries thriving with a strong pipeline of innovative, results-driven female STEM leaders with integrity and long-term vision. We are working to build a gender inclusive pipeline of STEM professionals and to increase the percentage of women studying these technical degrees and working in these fields from 20% to at least 50%.”
Ms. Elsie Attafuah, UNDP Resident Representative for Nigeria, agreed that “African girls have an important role to play in national and regional development. Data from Standard & Poors (S&P) Global shows that “if women’s employment and earnings were equal to men’s, countries could see a 20% increase in GDP per capita and a 14% increase in wealth.” This is why, UNDP is a champion for girls’ and women’s empowerment.”
Ms. Cecilia Akintomide challenged the students present to view themselves as catalysts for a better Nigeria and an advanced Africa. She expressed her delight in seeing their creative robotics projects, including an elevator, a crane, and washing machine, as well as the mobile apps they developed to improve healthcare delivery and education. “You are the future of our great nation and our hope rests in you. I therefore charge you to run and soar high, leveraging all the knowledge and technical skills that you have gained through the Visiola Foundation’s programs and become STEM leaders for good. The sky is your limit!”
Ms. Ivie Imasogie shared her heartwarming message of encouragement to the students. “You have a unique opportunity to excel in life that many others wish they had.”
Ms. Anna Ekeledo recalled that she was the Visiola Foundation’s inaugural STEM Camp Manager in 2015 and was very proud to see the significant progress made by the Visiola and the students it has built.
About the Visiola Foundation
The Visiola Foundation, a 2016 Google© RISE Award winner, is a not-for-profit organization that invests in African girls and young women through education, training, and mentoring in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The Foundation was created to help address the low numbers of skilled STEM professionals in Africa, and especially the low number of women studying STEM courses in African universities and subsequently pursuing STEM careers, while directly addressing the high rates of unemployment, especially among the youth.
To learn more: www.visiolafoundation.org
For Media inquiries: admin@visiolafoundation.org
The post The Visiola Foundations celebrates 10 years of life-transforming impact appeared first on Guardian Nigeria News.
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