The Future School Seminar - 13 May, 2010

1:16 AM Edit This 74 Comments »
In a comfortably airy hall, a hundred bright and energetic students from several secondary schools were eagerly anticipating. The atmosphere was colourful and electrifying; at the annual school seminar series organised by The Future Nigeria Project aimed at inspiring and motivating young people in secondary schools using role models who are past winners of the The Future Awards.

This edition was hosted by Laureates College in Aviation Estate, Mafoluku and featured students from Christabel College , Ewututu Senior Grammar School and Rosabel School . The stage was set with a welcome song by five female students from the host school.

Adebola Williams (Operations Director: RedSTRAT/The Future Project) gave a quick introduction to the students. He spoke on the importance of timeliness and of networking. The students immediately took action and started mixing up and making friends amongst themselves.

The Future Awards 2010 winner of the Business Owner of the Year category - Debola Lewis, was the speaker at the event. Linda Ikeji ewis gave a captivating narration of his personal success story. After getting a degree in Geography from the University of Ibadan , he was quick to realize that he needed to do the thing he truly enjoyed. He noted that he had to undergo a period of tutelage, an opportunity which he maximized by learning fast and working very hard. He averred that he had to learn to be submissive before he could be successful. In his words “you must put yourself under authority, to be in authority”.

His story obviously struck a chord with all the students present because they had lots of comments to contribute and questions to ask. The questions were interestingly profound. They ranged from clarifications on the details of the story to posers on vital business strategies.

The applause at the end of his talk was thunderous and showed the depth of appreciation the students felt towards the seminar. The students were not to be outdone though. They delivered a string of poetic and dramatic recitations. Chibuikem, a Basic 8 student delivered a rousing poem called ‘The Title of my Studies’. Kabirat recited John Keats’ ‘Ode to Autumn’ followed by a re-enactment of Scene IV of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ by Uchechi.

A thank you speech from a member of staff from Laureates College marked the end of an inspiring programme. But what kind of event ends without the National Anthem and the “I Represent Nigeria” creed? Not this one!

TFP’s Young Writers Network begins internships

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The Young Writers Network Creative Classes, presented by The Future Project (TFP), has moved to the next stage of its first session, with the students now interning at various media houses across the country.

“The past weeks have been amazing,” said Chude Jideonwo, Creative Director of TFP, which is also the organiser of The Future Awards. “The spread of students has been impressive – young people working in the creative industries, financial sector, oil and gas, those who are sticking with the arts, all coming together in an intellectually charged environment to improve their talent: it has been very refreshing. The lecturers are also a pool of the very best in the business, and, most remarkably, they are doing this pro bono - all committed to helping the next generation of writers.”  

The project, with the theme ‘So you think you can write?’, lasts a period of three months – April to June. The first month is for lectures, the second month for internships and then the final month of lectures.

Facilitators for the session include Jeremy Weate (Publisher, Cassava Republic), Toni Kan (Author, Night of the Creaking Beds), Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo-Adimora (Former HOD, English Department, UNILAG), Nkiru Asika (Director, Storm 360), Tolu Ogunlesi (CNN Africa Journalist Awards Winner), Olu Jacob (Standards Editor, NEXT), Tunde Aladese (Script Editor, Tinsel on Mnet), and Muhtar Bakare (Publisher, Farafina). There will also be two special interactive sessions handled by award winning novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the chairman of The Guardian’s Editorial Board, Dr. Reuben Abati. 

Topics the students have dealt with in the past month include ‘How do you know you are a writer? ‘Making your editor happy’, and ‘Practical ways to improve your talent/skill’.

The internship period begins on Tuesday May 4 and ends Monday May 31. The companies where the students will intern are a wide range of writing interests including newspaper houses, business and lifestyle magazines, TV and movie production houses, PR/Advertising outfits, theatre companies, online magazines and publishing companies.

“We are glad to be able to break this new ground,” Jideonwo said. “To go beyond just the writing workshops, to get them to work in a range of media houses and other organisations fitting their interests – applying what they have learnt and seeing processes work. The students are very excited about this, and we are very grateful that we could get the leading organisations in the nation’s creative industries to partner with us to make that happen.”

The partner organizations for the internships are: NEXT Newspapers, True Love West Africa, TW, The Independent, The Quadrant Company, Brand Believers, 141 Worldwide, RedSTRAT, Farafina, Made, Takaii, Encomium, Hi Magazine, Business Eye, FAB, Soundcity Blast, Jus’ Kiddin, bellanaija.com, 360nobs.com, thenetng.com, Storm 360, Nigezie, Theatre@Terra, Emem Isong Productions and Amaka Igwe Productions.    

The three-month Creative Classes are part of The Future Project’s year-round trainings for young people in different sectors, all in its mission to practically empower and equip young Nigerians, with an eye on building capacity for entrepreneurship.

Other trainings under the programme include The Future Enterprise Support Scheme (TF-ESS), which first session ended in March, as well as the upcoming Screen (TV & Movies) trainings and the Social Enterprise trainings.
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