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Youth Leadership
Development Programme

The Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF) seeks grant applications from qualified individuals and organizations for the Youth Leadership Development Fund. The grant aims to strengthen, support and promote youth ecosystem building in the country. The grants will be awarded to individuals and organizations working in line with the thematic areas of interest.

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Young Hearts, Hands and Voices for Social Change

Nigerian youths are pressed for action and eager to lead and create change. However, there are questions about whether they have all the knowledge and skills required to succeed in such positions. Do they have the right models to follow? Do they fully understand what it means to lead themselves first and then others? To bridge this gap, LEAP Africa designed the Youth Leadership Development Programme to equip undergraduates in tertiary institutions with the skills, knowledge and resources needed to play active roles in nation-building, community development and policy advocacy.
Participants of the YLDP go through self-paced courses developed on the programme’s three pillars: leadership, active citizenship and community/sustainable development group mentorship sessions with expert social innovators and change makers who will guide them as they implement impactful change projects, inter-school debates on national issues, funded community change projects, and virtual learning sessions to develop their mindsets and equip them to be the change agents the country needs. The Youth Leadership Development Programme will help young people become contributing members of society and empower young people to actively engage in addressing issues of national concern while fostering peer-to-peer learning and community building.

Programme Pathways

The Youth Leadership Development Programme will take on two pathways this year; the Sustainability pathway and the Advocacy pathway.
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Sustainability: Hearts and Hands for Change

Participants in the sustainability pathway consist of teams of 5-10 people from the same tertiary institution who will carry out community change projects focused on the NYFF’s current thematic areas. In this track, participants are equipped with knowledge to engage community actors, raise funds and carry out projects that bring about sustainable change in their communities. 

Teams that sign up for the Sustainability Track are eligible for up to ₦350,000 in grants to carry out their chosen change projects. 

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The Youth Leadership Debate Competition is about giving confidence to the voices of the youth, leveraging their voices as an effective tool to bring about a transformed Nigeria.

The Youth Leadership Debate Competition aims to provide capacity building to select young people across tertiary institutions and support them to critically evaluate information, advocate from a point of knowledge, and collectively shape their vision for Nigeria, hence equipping them to be active citizens.

The competition is open to teams of 3 students each from tertiary institutions across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. The inter-varsity competition features online campaigns and campus tours publicised by the theme – #TheNigeriaWeWant.

Competing teams stand a chance to win up to ₦2,500,000 and other prizes.

Finalists on the Youth Leadership Debates will be required to utilise a percentage of their prize money to carry out advocacy-based community change projects.

Programme Components

Virtual Training on our Learning Management System (LMS)

Participants are onboarded onto the LMS to gain access to the modules. The modules are developed under the three pillars of the Youth Leadership Programme; Leadership, Active Citizenship, and Sustainable/Community Development. Participants have 5 weeks to complete the modules.

Virtual Community of Practice

Participants are incorporated into a virtual community of practice, an online community where learning materials, programme updates, and other opportunities for development are exchanged. Collaboration and information exchange are promoted here.

Change Project Pitching Sessions, Mentorship and Implementation

The participants will be encouraged to form teams of 3-5 persons who will pitch their proposals for community change projects that tackle social issues. 100 successful teams will be selected to receive funding/subgrants and will also be paired with mentors to further aid their development and influence the excellent implementation of their projects.

Leadership Debates

Participants who choose to take part in the debates will also be asked to form teams and submit video entries for the debate competition. The competition will take place in 5 rounds which are: Elimination round 1&2, quarter finals, semi-finals and finals. To further prepare them for the competition, participants will be taught policy accelerator courses by expert professionals, and the goal of this is to build their debating skills and boost their knowledge of civic participation.

Youth Leadership Conference

The Youth Leadership Programme will conclude with a physical Debate National Finale and Awards Ceremony. This will be an opportunity to reward participants/teams and institutions for their work over the course of five months.

YLDP Testimonials

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YLDP Thematic Areas

  • Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Human Capital Development
  • Sustainable Development And Infrastructure
  • Facilitating Good Governance
  • Resolving Fundamental National Questions, Such As Patriotism, Unity, Peace, Integrity, Etc.

Success Stories

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Improving The Health and Wellbeing of Rural Women

A group of students in Kano State, Nigeria developed an initiative that addressed the overall health and wellbeing of women in rural communities in Kano state.

They did this by education and sensitizing the women on appropriate health practices for themselves and their families.

They also taught them how to grow vegetables in their backyard to improve their standard of living, increase the sustainability of household finances and propagate sustainable development goals 1 (No poverty), 2 (zero hunger) , 3 (Good health and well being) and 17 (partnership for the goals).

This project trained 215 women in total.

Team Agrofix
2021/2022 YLP Change Project Team

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Promoting Youth Enthusiasm and Participation in the Forthcoming Elections

Team Register 9JA, a team of 5 people in Benin city, Edo state, Nigeria took part in a project that aimed to promote youth enthusiasm and participation in the forthcoming elections by ensuring that over 100 youths register for their PVCs online, go for their biometrics and capturing.

The team took part in online campaigns and physical rallies and were able to reach over 1200 young people and educate them on the importance of registering for their PVCs and voting in the elections.

Team Register 9JA
2021/2022 YLP Change Project Team

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Mind Shift: From Cyber Crimes to Digital Skills

Team I-Inspire in Edo State, Nigeria, as the name implies, designed a project aimed to educate young secondary school students on the dangers of cyber crimes on society and on them as individuals while empowering them with hands-on skills required to thrive in the digital world.

The team aimed to enlighten the students on the disadvantages of cyber crimes as well as the implications of this.

They also taught them about the vast array of digital skills available and the career choices available to explore. They inspired the students by sharing personal stories with them on the need to be tech savvy in the world today, and finally, they empowered some selected students by carrying out basic digital skills training with them.

The team partnered with EDOJOBS which is a digital skills development agency in Edo State and at the end of the project, 700 students were sensitized across 3 schools and 80 students were trained.

Team I-Inspire
2021/2022 YLP Change Project Team

Leap Africa Debating for Change

Debating for Change: From Novice to Advocacy Champion!

In his interview, Igbinosa Samuel Etinosa, a participant in the advocacy track, expressed how the debate proved to be a transformative experience for him. It’s important to note that he did not possess any official prior debate experience. He conveyed that the programme equipped him with the necessary skills and knowledge, empowering him to engage actively as a responsible citizen within his community. For this debater, the journey was a dynamic blend of personal interests and challenges, contributing to his overall growth and preparedness for civic participation.

Highlights of his experience included successfully qualifying for the debate, advancing to the quarter-finals, and the opportunity to travel for the competition. He also highlighted the chance to network and connect with like-minded individuals passionate about driving positive social change. The coaching sessions and the accelerator courses were a significant highlight of the programme for him. He found these sessions instrumental and beneficial in enhancing his debate performance. Samuel’s experience was marked by personal growth, skill development, and the excitement of participating in a challenging debate that inspired the debater to excel. Furthermore, he shared that he intends to carry on with his new advocacy skills within his community and feels confident in bringing social change.
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SpongeBob and Pals: Saving Ilorin from Plastic Pollution

Ifeoluwa Dada, leading the Eco Champions team at the University of Ilorin, successfully executed their project to combat plastic pollution on campus. Their innovative approach involved installing two character-themed recycling bins strategically positioned to encourage students to dispose of plastic bottles responsibly, ultimately mitigating plastic pollution in nearby water bodies and pathways within the campus.

Notable figures, including the Dean of Student Affairs, the Director of Works, and the Student Union President of the institution, attended the inauguration of these Character Bins. The project team described their experience on this project as positive, engaging, and full of challenges. They expressed their gratitude to LEAP Africa for initiating such a programme for young individuals, as it shed light on various community issues and inspired them to drive positive change to address these challenges. Their project benefitted a substantial number of students, reaching up to 5,000 individuals within the university. Regarding sustainability, a direct plan was established in collaboration with school authorities to ensure the periodic maintenance of the recycling bins. .

Our Impact

YLDP 2021 - 2023 at a Glance
Partners
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Geo-Political Zones in Nigeria
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Tertiary Institutions
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Participants Enrolled
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Male
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Female
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Persons Living with Disabilities
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Indirect beneficiaries through change projects
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Teams supported to carry out change projects
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Modules on Leadership, Active Citizenship & Sustainable Development
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Teams on the Advocacy Track Trained
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Mentors and Coaches Engaged
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Debate Finales in Collaboration with The Platform Nigeria
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YLDP Gallery

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Our Partners

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Sustainability Track Courses

  • Proposal & Report Writing
  • Project Management
  • Stakeholder Engagement

Track Components

  • Project Proposal Pitches
  • Specialized COursework
  • Mentorship
  • Field Work
  • Virtual Hub

Competition Prizes

  • First Prize - N2,500,000 + other benefits
  • Second Prize - N1,500,000 + other benefits
  • Third Prize - N1,000,000 + other benefits

Advocacy Track Courses

  • Public Speaking
  • Building Debating Skills
  • Critical Thinking

Advocacy Track Courses

  • Public Speaking
  • Building Debating Skills
  • Critical Thinking

Competition Qualification Rounds

  • Phase 1: Entries
  • Phase 2: Campus Elimination
  • Phase 3: Virtual Eliminations
  • Phase 4: Quarter finals/Regional Campus Roadshows
  • Phase 5: Semi-finals
  • Phase 6: The National Finale