PRESS RELEASE

 

Nigeria Network of NGOs Launches Yemisi Ransome-Kuti Leadership Awards with N 50,000 cash prize for winner.

 

 The first generic membership body for civil society organizations in Nigeria that facilitates effective advocacy on issues of poverty and other developmental issues.

 

LAGOS, Nigeria, May 27, 2015/- The Nigeria Network of NGOs (www.nnngo.org ) has announced the launch of the Yemisi Ransome-Kuti (YRK) Leadership Awards to honour outstanding Nigerians working in the not-for-profit sector who exemplify the leadership ideals of Ms. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, a civil society activist and founding Executive Director of the Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO). This award is the first for celebrating civil society actors in Nigeria. Participants in the award will compete for N 50,000 cash prize and a one year technology support.

 

Endowed by World Hope Foundation a Nigerian and United States of America based Foundation; the YRK Leadership Award will be presented to an individual whose leadership within the Nigerian 3rd sector space, activities, causes or organizations have improved community life in any part of the Country. The Award also comes with one year of free technology support from TechLooms, our technology partners.

 

‘’We are launching the YRK Leadership Award in order to celebrate Ms Yemisi Ramsome-Kuti for her outstanding record of leadership in the not-for-profit sector and for the country but also to celebrate social entrepreneurs who engage and collaborate as they work to promote sustainable change in their areas of focus, transformational leaders who work across borders to motivate and mobilize those they lead and to significantly raise the profile and impact of the broader civil society sector in Nigeria’’, says NNNGO Executive Director, Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi. ‘’Additionally we are launching our Executive Mentoring and Coaching for Nigerian NGOs a comprehensive approach to equip leaders within the 3rd sector in Nigeria with the right set of skills to manage challenges and opportunities by leveraging expert knowledge and finding new ways of achieving effectiveness’’.

 

Applications for the YRK Awards and Executive Mentoring and Coaching for Nigerian NGOs will open on June 1 and close on June 30^th and 15^th respectively. Civil society organizations from any part of the country are eligible to apply as long as they are members of the Network in good standing.

 

Further details and information on applications can be found at https://nnngo.org/the-yemisi-ransome-kuti-leadership-award/ and https://nnngo.org/executive-mentoring-and-coaching-for-nigerian-ngos/

 

The Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO) is the first generic membership body for civil society organizations in Nigeria that facilitates effective advocacy on issues of poverty and other developmental issues. Established in 1992, NNNGO represents over 1000 organizations ranging from small groups working at the local level, to larger networks working at the national level. www.nnngo.org

Background

The success of the Nigerian NGO sector depends substantially on the quality of its leadership. The communities we serve vary widely and are rapidly changing. In these extraordinary times of constant change, Nigerian NGOs must be able to exercise effective leadership at both the organizational and community level. Not-for-profits in Nigeria must therefore equip themselves with a talent pool of capable leaders who are skilful, creative, forward thinking and efficient.

 

The Nigeria Network of NGO’s Executive Mentoring and Coaching initiative is a comprehensive approach to equip leaders within the 3^rd sector in Nigeria with the right set of skills to manage challenges and opportunities by leveraging expert knowledge and finding new ways of achieving effectiveness. This initiative aims to through mentoring and coaching facilitate exclusive learning opportunities for NGO leaders in order to influence their organizational mission accomplishment, outcomes and operational strategies.

 

Over the course of the year, NNNGO will attach NGOs to carefully selected professionals locally and abroad who will mentor and coach Nigerian NGOs. The initiative will also feature specifically designed leadership learning resources, engagement with thought leaders to develop solutions to organizational and sectoral challenges, and the promotion of peer connectedness.

 

Process

 

Mentees are selected from the NNNGO membership and attached to well sought-out sector leaders who are professionals and brands in their own rights. For a period of 3 months, 10 selected NGOs will undergo direct mentoring and coaching including visits by Mentors to their offices where possible. Workshops and thought leadership seminars will also form a part of the mentoring and coaching process. The first batch of this initiative is expected to start in June and end in August. The 2^nd batch is expected to be from October to December 2015.

 

Criteria

 

Participants in the mentoring and coaching programme will be leaders of small and medium sized NGOs within the membership of the Nigeria Network of NGOs. We will aim, through this initiative to build a pool of NGO leaders who represent the diversity of our sector spanning a range of gender-based, geographic and organizational characteristics. Participants demonstrate that they can exercise leadership in a range of contexts.

 

The selection criteria will encompass the following:

1. Be employed as Senior Executive or Founder of a NNNGO member organization at the time of application
2. Be available to participate in all elements of the program
3. Participant organization must have an established track record of impact and contribution to the community or sector they serve
4. Demonstrate a commitment to advancing personal growth and development
5. Commit to send to NNNGO a monthly report detailing their experience within the programme

 

Selection Process

 

In order to ensure equal opportunity a strict deadline for the submission of applications will be enforced. An online application form will be created and circulated widely amongst the NNNGO membership. Applications will be reviewed by the NNNGO Secretariat with the support of carefully selected sector leaders. Only selected participants will be contacted directly. The selection committee will be lead by NNNGO’s Membership Manager. NNNGO’s Executive Director will not play any role in the selection process.

 

Apply

Click this link to apply:

Report from the African regional workshop on Protecting Civic Space

 

U.S. President Barack Obama hosted 47 African heads of state in Washington, DC on August 4-6, 2014 for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Civil society’s contributions to development and the trend of closing civic space in Africa were among the topics addressed during side events such as the Civil Society Forum. Convening a regional workshop focused on protecting civic space was among the key recommendations coming out of the Forum.

 

Participants in the Forum identified the need to deepen conversations, foster collaboration among key actors and to translate broader principles into actionable strategies for protecting civic space.  To  address  this,  the  co-conveners held  an  African  regional  workshop  on  “Protecting  Civic Space” on November 17-18, 2014 at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

 

The workshop included 48  participants,  including  19  African civil society representatives from 14 countries in East, West, Central and Southern Africa and 9 Africans representing international organizations and donor agencies. One third of workshop participants  are  women.  Participants were chosen based on their knowledge of key issue areas, experience  in  mobilizing civil society, history of  engaging with government actors, influence on other civil society actors within their own  countries  and  the  region,  and  success  in  defending  and/or  expanding  civic  space.

 

Download report here

LIVING IN MY WORLD
As the world celebrates World Autism Day today (April 2), Olaife our Communication’s Officer shares this story.

 

That word sounds bizarre or is it the action now or perhaps the inaction on the part of the sufferer/patient. Seemingly a bit amusing at first observation of the uncharacteristic motions exhibited.Then you tell it to that man on the street and he goes “I beg your pardon” and one can’t help but wonder if the word does exist at all.

 

AUTISM! About 1 percent of the world population has this disorder. Research suggests that employers are missing out on abilitiesthat people with this spectrum have in greater abundance than “neurotypical” workers do – such as, heightened abilities in pattern recognition and logical reasoning, as well as greater attention to details.

 

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the world’s third most common development disorder. Some of the latest studies suggest its sharp rise globally.It can be categorized as a complex neurological disorder with an unknown cause  that involves a person having impaired social interaction, communication and learning difficulties as well as behavioral issues.It is associated with the brain’s development affecting the processing of information, development of skills and regulation of bodily actions and senses.Autism is seen as heritable and a few studies suggest that lack of proper oxygen supply to the fetus’s developing brain may trigger the condition. Symptoms may be seen to surface right during infancy or early childhood and generally establishes itself once a child enters his/her second or third year then becomes much more prominent.

 

Keeping in mind is a key factor of the fact that every autistic person differs from one another and has his/her own idiosyncratic characteristics. In simpler words, an autistic child has a unique condition wherein the senses as well as the development of various skills are not in sync. This disparity may lead to a situation where a child may have rapidly developed cognitive skills while language, social or motor skills may lag behind or vice-versa.  Some maybe excessively sensitive to noise, light or smell whereas some may find social interaction or communication quite challenging.

 

Research also reveals that the disorder may be more pronounced in others some of which are: display of indifference, little or no eye contact, communication difficulties like delayed speech and social aloofness,Inappropriate laughing or giggling,sensitivity to sounds, textures, smells,engages in repetitive behavior,repeated clapping, ticking, rocking, skin picking, self-poking etc. unusual attachments to certain objects and finding it most difficult to accept change.

 

Ordinarily parenting an autistic child is a challenging task. Identifying symptoms at the earliest may help to some extent. Lack of gestural or verbal activity in newborns should be taken into observation. If an infant shows no signs of babbling or gesturing by a year or finds it difficult to form words or phrases by the age of two, parents should consult a pediatrician immediately.Since there is no medical cure for autism; this makes the condition a lifetime ailment and exerts a lot of mental and emotional courage, optimism, patience and of course, acceptance from the parents.

 

An expert explained that autism should be addressed and managed differently for different children. “Some children may exhibit highly aggressive behavior; hence they need to be handled differently as compared to others. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) should also be followed wherein every child has an individualized educational programme which would teach variety of skills including social,communication,academic,occupational and self-help.The expert also suggested psychological, behavioral, speech and language therapy.

 

It has however been observed that specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of autism especially here in Nigeria is significantly absent but be that as it may some schools are now located in focal areas to address this issue in ensuring that they eventually live normal and independent lives becoming useful to themselves and the society after being able to clear the hurdle of possible unemployment and discrimination

Culled from Punch Newspaper: http://www.punchng.com/opinion/next-president-and-post-2015-development-agenda/

 

FOR nearly 15 years, Nigerians watched their government at the federal, state and local government levels as it makes efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Set in 2000, the MDGs are globally accepted development frameworks aimed at achieving eight important goals, the first of which is the reduction of poverty by half by 2015.

Poll: Majority of Civil Society Organizations have Confidence in Professor Jega

(NNNGO)- A new NNNGO poll shows many civil society organizations still have confidence in Professor Attahiru Jega’s leadership to deliver a free and fair election come March and April 2015?. These results come as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the general elections few days to the initially announced date of 14^th and 28^th February 2015.

 

The poll, conducted February 9-24, 2015, found 73% of the respondents still have confidence in the leadership of Professor Jega to conduct free and fair elections following the postponement of elections; only 27% had no confidence in his leadership. 58% of respondents to the survey responded as an organization while another 42% responded in their individual capacity.

 

According to NNNGO’s Executive Director, Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi, ‘’it is important to gauge civil society’s confidence in INEC and its leadership as we go through a defining moment in our democratic experience as a Nation’’. The poll has served to feel the pulse of civil society organizations across the country in form of a straw poll.

 

The poll was conducted by the NNNGO research team online. Respondents where asked to answer ‘’yes’’ or ‘’no’’ to this question: ‘’Given the recent election postponement by INEC, do you have confidence in INEC under Professor Attahiru Jega’s leadership to deliver a free and fair election come March and April 2015?’’

 

Outcomes of this poll clearly shows us the direction the wind of confidence in INEC and its leadership is blowing amongst civil society organizations in Nigeria concluded Oyebisi.

Dear Colleague,

Given the recent election postponement by INEC, the Nigeria Network of NGOs is gauging the confidence of civil society in INEC to conduct a free and fair election through a straw poll.

Please visit to tell us your opinion.

Poll closes 5pm on 13^th February 2015.

Regards,

The Governance Network, Nigeria Network of NGOs

The Nigeria Network of NGOs with the support of the European Union and ACTED within the framework of the project to support Networks in West and Central Africa is producing a directory of NGOs in Nigeria which is to be published in print and online and distributed widely amongst all development stakeholders.

 

This is a unique opportunity to get your organization listed. Please visit to complete the NGO directory form. Deadline for completing the online form is now 27th February 2015 by 5pm.

 

Please circulate widely amongst your contacts.

The Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) Project under the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHUCCP) is  implementing a comprehensive Social and Behavior Change Malaria project in Nigeria that will combine interpersonal/community mobilization  (IPC/CM) activities with mass media and health facility-based activities. This Request for Applications (RFA) is for  the interpersonal/community mobilization component of the project.

Read more here