Tolulope Ibukunoluwa
Street Project Foundation, an NGO, has designed a creative solution to alleviate the youth unemployment crisis in Nigeria. With the support of VOICE, they have commenced preparations for the third edition of their Creative Youth Boot Camp themed Art for Social Transformation. This has necessitated a call for Employer Partners in the creative arts and corporate sectors in Abuja, to collaborate with them to build the capacity of gifted young creatives aged 16 – 25 years old, in the bid to prepare them for the world of work.
Rita Ezenwa-Okoro, Founder and Lead Visionary of Street Project Foundation stated: “Our model for youth development explores the power of Play and Performance in Facilitating the Process of Cognitive Learning and Mental Growth for young people. We use a model called the Youth Engagement Cycle, which consists of Discovery, Training, Internship, Mentorship and Showcase.”
She says what makes the initiative unique is how performance is used to build soft skills such as critical thinking, public speaking, time management, project management, team work and communication. She also stated that the Creative Youth Boot Camp serves as a safe space for youth to build their confidence and social consciousness. At the end of the six weeks boot camp, participants are placed on internships and matched with mentors.
Mrs. Ezenwa-Okoro, said the foundation was established because of the need to see young people pursue their passion for what they love. Giving an example of her five siblings who all studied courses in the university that was contrary to what they had a talent for, and struggled to get jobs after graduating, she resolved to follow a different path. She followed her passion and went on to study creative arts in the university and unlike her siblings, got a job right away as a copywriter in an advertising agency. A decade later, she now owns her consultancy and established the Street Project Foundation to create development and youth employment using creative arts as a tool.
She said: “We waste time in Nigeria. We waste human resources, we waste materials resources and I dare say that we waste our young talents.” She reiterated that in Nigeria, it is difficult finding child stars that are truly making it and generating a large enough income that commands world attention. To her, youths in the developed countries thrive because they are not pressured by their society and their parents to fit into a box but are allowed to express themselves and follow their passions and innate gifts. All of which enable them to thrive.
Mrs. Ezenwa-Okoro acknowledges that creative art as a tool can facilitate youth employment and enterprise development. She stated that entry-level jobs require soft skills and those who are hiring these youths are looking out for the character of work, all of which creative arts help facilitate. She said: “When you are teaching drama you are teaching young people diction and communication. When you are teaching dance you are teaching stance, for public speaking, it is non-verbal communication; in the area of improvisation you are building their critical thinking skills, team building, project management, and teamwork.”
Mr. Ezenwa Okoro the consultant and programmes director of Street Project Foundation stated that the Creative Boot Camp one of the projects under the Street Project foundation started in 2016 with a second edition in 2017: “Both editions were a success as 200 young people from low-income backgrounds were trained. 80% of these young people were placed on an internship, while 50% of them were able to start their businesses and have secured full-time jobs.”
He went on to state that the Creative Boot Camp projects that held in Lagos, got sponsorship and a grant from the United State government, through the US consulate in Lagos. The project also was done in partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment.
Mr. Ezenwa Okoro urged employers interested in accepting interns through the Creative Youth Boot Camp programme to attend the Street Project Foundation’s Employer Partnership Forum scheduled for Friday, November 8, 2019.
Ezenwa Okoro added: “To register visit www.streetproject.org.ng/employerforum/. The goal of the foundation is to ensure that all 100 participants split into four cohorts of 25 each, will be placed on internships especially 30 gifted youths living with physical disabilities. It is noteworthy to state that this initiative ran in 2016 and 2017 in Lagos State, with a total of two hundred young people upskilled, 80% placed on internships and 50% securing full time jobs and starting their own businesses shortly after participating in the programme. For more details visit www.streetproject.org.ng or follow us on facebook and Instagram @streetprojectfoundation and twitter @streetproject1.”
Street Project Foundation is a social enterprise that facilitates opportunities for youth employment and enterprise development using creative arts as a tool. In more than a decade of its existence over 1,500 youths have benefitted from its programmes and in the next three years, their agenda is to scale up activities through the inclusion of young people living with disabilities and capacity building focused on young women and girls.
