Misstechy: Harnessing AI’s Promises Require Empowering Young People as Creators, Innovators

Dike Onwuamaeze

As the world marked a decade of World Youth Skills Day, Ms. Ayeni Oluwatobi Dorcas, better known as Misstechy, has declared that for Africa and the world to harness AI’s promise, young people must be empowered not just as consumers but as creators and innovators.

Misstechy made this declaration at the UNESCO-UNEVOC’s global forum, which marked the 10th anniversary of World Youth Skills Day with the theme: “Youth Empowerment through AI and Digital Skills.”

The event brought together education leaders, policymakers, and youth advocates from across the world.

In the midst of it all, Misstechy brought the conversation home to what truly matters: real people, real challenges, and real opportunities.

Widely celebrated as Africa’s foremost youth tech storyteller and a tireless champion for digital inclusion, Misstechy shared her personal experiences on two panels.

The first, “AI in TVET – A Tool for Empowerment or a Threat to Human Potential?” explored the unsettling rise of AI-generated content.

Her advice was clear and practical: critical thinking and rigorous fact-checking must become second nature in this era of blurred realities.

Misstechy reminded the audience of a simple truth that “AI might help bring ideas to life, but it can never replace the human soul behind true creativity.

“It is here to support us, not to take our place. The vision and spark will always come from us.”

Misstechy’s grounded insights stood out in her second session, which was “Policy and Practice – Skills Demand, Trends, and Institutional Readiness” that featured a powerhouse lineup including UNESCO’s Borhene Chakroun, Germany’s Heike Kuhn, WorldSkills International’s Ray English, Cereq France’s Matteo Sgarzi, and Back Market’s Amandine Durr.

She spoke not just as an observer but as someone who lives at the heart of Africa’s digital awakening, sharing stories of young Nigerians who are navigating, learning, and creating against all odds.

Reflecting on her own journey with AI and digital skills, Misstechy recalled how she once struggled to create her first AI-generated video. “It was frustrating at first. But learning by doing changed everything,” she said.

She said that her growth was not achieved in isolation as joining online communities kept her motivated through the messy middle, proving once again that collaboration fuels progress.

She also spoke about Gen Z’s approach to learning, saying that gone are the days of long, jargon-heavy lectures.

She said that today’s young people thrive on bite-sized, focused content they can apply immediately.

According to her, platforms like TikTok are not mere entertainment, but classrooms without walls. “When you break down complex topics into small, relatable pieces, learning becomes something young people look forward to rather than avoid,” she said.

Statistics presented at the forum underscored the urgency of her advocacy: only 34 per cent of TVET institutions worldwide have the bandwidth to deploy advanced AI tools, and 78 per cent of educators still feel unprepared to integrate them into teaching.

Yet a youth-led survey found that over 4,000 young people across 128 countries are already experimenting with AI in practical ways. “The gap is not in curiosity; it is in structured, accessible training,” she said.