The Global Shapers Community, non-profit, private, and public service sectors, has pledged commitment to new models of active citizenship for nation building at the SHAPE Africa held recently in Lagos.
The Global Shapers Community, Lagos Hub, led by Curator, Ayobami Bamisaiye and Vice Curator, Fatimah Bamisedun hosted SHAPE AFRICA, a first-of-its-kind post-COVID hybrid discourse in an immersive experience to drive dialogue to address issues in Africa.
The Hub, initially founded by Osayi Alile, CEO ACT Foundation, celebrated 10 years of impact in Lagos state by a series of local impact projects and the SHAPE event which was held over the course of 2 day.
Under the theme “Building Communities for Growth”, the two-day event saw in attendance members of the Global Shapers community in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Calabar Hubs and African Hubs. The young and inspiring individuals sought to encourage youth participation in community development and growth, as the pathway to building lasting change, while exploring the rich and multi-cultural history of Lagos City.
Giving a welcome address, Abdullahi Alim, World Economic Forum Regional Manager, Global Shapers Community (Africa & Middle East), commended the Lagos Hub members and curatorship on being the most sort after hub and planning the community’s first hybrid SHAPE event, with Nationals in attendance and the rest of the global community.
Exploring a practical approach to building systems that drive local communities within the continent forward, Keynote Speaker and Executive Director, Fate Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi said, “A clear and simple solution to sustainable growth would be to approach building systems ofthis nature from an ecosystem model.”
“To create diversified opportunities for the hundreds of millions living and working in Africa, backs up the adage that says, “it takes a village to raise a child and support the parent of the child.” When we take an ecosystem approach to building communities for growth, we can rest assured of a better future for all”, she said.
The Curator of the Global Shapers Community, Lagos Hub, Ayobami Bamisaiye, who thanked everyone for the active role played in ensuring the success of the event, also specially recognized Nigeria’s leading bus-sharing service company, Shuttlers for the huge role played in entrepreneurial development and support of the Global Shapers Community.
“Echoing the words of WEF Regional Manager, GSC was born out of a crisis. This means that a crisis not only helps us rethink our current way of living but it also creates unique opportunities for us to shape the future that we truly desire.
“Like we’ve always said, Shape Africa has been developed for shapers by shapers and we want to take this opportunity to appreciate every shaper for being a part of it. We consider it a huge privilege to be hosting the first-of-its-kind post-pandemic hybrid SHAPE event and we hope this serves as a blueprint for future SHAPE events around the world,” she added.
