Women Community Honours Stakeholders At Gala Night

The Women Community in Africa (WCA), a coalition of civil society groups that addresses social issues, especially those that affect women and children in communities, has given Awards of Appreciation to individuals and organisations who have supported its humanitarian initiatives as partners and sponsors at its 2024 gala night in Abuja.

The event was part of activities for this year’s WCA summit held on Thursday at the NAF Conference Centre, with the theme “Cyber Safety: Empowering Families in the Digital Age”.

The summit was focused on seeking a collaborative approach between educators, parents and leaders to ensure that Nigerian children are well protected from internet violence and other vices.

Some of the recipients of the Appreciation Awards included traditional rulers, volunteers, CSOs and corporate bodies, including the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), among others.

Prof Hauwa Ibrahim, international human rights lawyer and President of the Peace Institute, who won the European Parliament ‘s Sakharov prize in 2005, was also honoured with the award.

Others included Global President of WCA, Dr Adetoun Dally, and Mr Ademola Kasumum, Chairman Board of Trustees of Beyond Mentors Community Care Initiative (BMCCI).

The chairperson of the summit organising committee, Dr Maimoona Salim, said the award was in demonstration of appreciation to the recipients for their unwavering support and commitment to the ideas and visions of WCA.

“We need to appreciate those who have been working with us and toiling on this journey through these years, to say thank them for the contributions and everything that they have done to make this a success.

“All the stakeholders recognized were there to assist us to make this a success.

“It is now another year for us as coalition and whatever sponsorship and support that we receive, we are now going to scale our programs down to the communities via our coordinators and our coalition,” she stated.

Highpoint of the event was the launching of two significant projects by WCA, aimed at empowering families and children.

The first was the book, ‘Simplified Safety Laws for Families’, a masterpiece that breaks down Nigeria’s cybersafety laws into simple, easily digestible content, making it accessible to even young children.

The book authored by Barrister Jade Olise, General Secretary of WCA, is designed to help families, especially children, understand how to navigate the internet safely while adhering to the nation’s cyber laws. It reflects WCA’s commitment to ensuring that families are well-informed about the dangers of the digital space and how to protect themselves online.

Also launched at the event was was Nigeria’s first financial literacy board game designed for children.

It was created by Beyond Mentors Community Care Initiative (BMCCI) and presented by Azeez Fiyinfoluwa, founder of Swyft.

The innovative board game introduces young African children to the concepts of saving, investment, and how to building financial resilience. Through fun and interactive play, the game teaches children essential financial skills, helping them develop good money management habits from an early age, through adulthood.