From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The National Innovation Challenge on Young Voices for a Sustainable Future for some selected secondary students in Nigeria has produced a winner, with Eco-Life Company taking first place among a group of nine student teams that presented ideas to address the local impacts of climate change, during the second edition of the competition.
The Eco-Life was chosen for its innovative products, including a device named Filtron, which is fixed on drainages to stop wastes and plastics from blocking them, as well as making a fishing net from plastics.
The company will have the honour of representing Nigeria at the Virtual Global Exchange Programme, an international platform that will facilitate collaboration and idea exchange among peers from around the world to address climate change solutions around the world.
The training and challenge was created by Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), in partnership with BASF, and was geared towards empowering young people and students aged 15 to 20 years with a view to providing innovative, sustainable solutions to combat climate-related problems in their communities.
Organisers of the challenge cited the competition as an opportunity to showcase the students’ efforts in tackling climate issues using the lessons offered by the training.
The training, which was held in Lagos recently, was supported by Junior Achievement Worldwide (JAWW), aimed at empowering under-represented young people and students aged 15 to 20 years by amplifying their voices towards addressing the local impacts of climate change and inspiring innovative solutions to combat climate-related issues within their communities.
The organisers of the training noted that the National Innovation Challenge serves as a platform for showcasing the efforts of JAN students who had been exposed to the transformative climate change and transition lessons offered by JAWW.
The Executive Director of JAN, Foluso Gbadamosi, said their partnership with JAWW and BASF has empowered young generations, fostering ingenious solutions to pressing climate challenges within their communities.
“With passion and purpose, these remarkable student teams have showcased their brilliance and also ignited a beacon of hope for a more sustainable tomorrow,” Gbadamosi added.
The Country Cluster Head for BASF West Africa, Jean-Marc Ricca, stressed that they are proud of the crop of change-makers the training has inspired and the innovations they were able to produce.
“It was truly inspiring to see young students demonstrate a reasonable understanding of the challenges in their immediate communities and offer sustainable designs to solve these challenges,” Ricca said.
Onuka Juliet Osonwa, a team member of Eco-Life Company and student of Government Secondary School, Elekehia, Rivers State, thanked JAN and BASF for the opportunity to attend the training and to showcase their work.
“We are happy we won the competition. We urge schools that would enter the National Innovation Challenge competition next year to work passionately for the environment,” Osonwa said.
BASF’s representatives at the event included: Dr. Akintayo Adisa, Senior Projects Sustainability Manager, West Africa; Babatunde Aribido, Communications and Advocacy Manager, West Africa; Boluwatito Aiyepola, Circular Economy Specialist, West Africa; and Muhammadulfatiu Adepeju, Digital Communications and Marketing Analyst, West Africa.
JAN’s representatives at the event included: Lucy Bolaji, Senior Human Resources and Administrative Manager; Olaolu Akogun, Programmes Manager; Oluwatobi Ogunlesi, Manager of Marketing and Communications; and Fumbi Akinmusuti, Deputy Manager of Business and Development.