Connectnigeria Articles

Ahead of its historic Telethon, the United Nations has endorsed Generational Voices (GenVoices), the project-driven platform to harness the offline and online energy of young Nigerians for practical efforts towards nation building. The Telethon will be hosted on Saturday, 18 January 2014 and broadcast on Channels Television to over 10 million Nigerians from 10am-1pm, where GenVoices will lay out its charter for this generation of Nigerians who are ready to lead and serve. Through the GenVoices Telethon, young people will convene offline and online within and outside Nigeria to collectively pledge to participate in building the Nigeria we all desire and deserve.

UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor on the Post-2015 Development Planning, Amina Mohammed, expressed her excitement about the movement in a goodwill message sent from the United Nations in New York. “I received with considerable excitement the news that a large group of young Nigerians under the movement called GenVoices have come together to inspire hope in the Nigerian dream and nurture a new breed of young leaders in Nigeria,” she said. “I’d like to congratulate Generation Voices for organising this important event, as well as your ongoing efforts to promote youth political engagement in Nigeria,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, the UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth.

GenVoices has the potential to have a positive and defining impact on the rest of Africa. It is a growing global movement of 18-40 year olds supported by a dynamic group of older mentors & contributors. It was conceived as a means to convert the online and offline energy of young Nigerians into practical efforts towards national development. It is clear that without positive participation in governance and policy, this generation will be availed little opportunity to make widespread and definitive impact – so we focus on birthing innovation, fostering dialogue, encouraging acts of service and driving change.

GenVoices is on a mission to raise, support, fund and inspire projects, platforms and individuals to deliver social, technological, economic and political (S.T.E.P) solutions to our country’s problems. With a humble sense of responsibility and maturity, the group is committed to guarding the hopes of young Nigerians as the nation is built.

Kola Oyeneyin, Convener of GenVoices, said in response: “We are delighted to receive this landmark endorsement as we get ready to make a generational statement. The United Nations is a symbol of much of the progress societies have made over the past few decades, and we look forward to working hand in hand with them and other institutions across the world as we build our country.”