The members of the Board of Trustees
Our esteemed speakers and facilitators
Our participants both on-site and online
Gentlemen of the press
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the Chairman and Board of Trustees of the Rose of Sharon Foundation, it gives me great pleasure to warmly welcome you all to our Youth Empowerment Program for 2022, themed “Self-Actualisation – A Panacea for Youth Survival”.
It has been an awesome journey since 2017 when we had our first edition and today’s program is our 8th outing. Though this event is on-site we are also streaming it live to reach as many youths as possible.
ABOUT YEP
The RoSF Youth Empowerment Program is the Foundation’s flagship career development and capacity-building program for graduates and undergraduates, job seekers, and working-class and self-employed youths. We aim to provide Nigerian Youths with the knowledge and information that will enable them to be successful in their chosen endeavours.
Over the past 5 years, thousands of youths have attended this program.
WHY SHOULD YOUTHS PURSUE SELF ACTUALISATION?
Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist described self-actualisation as the “process of becoming everything you are capable of becoming”. Kim Egel, an American therapist, went further to explain it as the “ability to become the best version of yourself”.
THE PROCESS OF BECOMING
The process of becoming everything you are capable of, and being the best version of yourself, revolves around identifying the specifics of who you are, and what you are wired for, in other to harness innate abilities and reach your full potential. It is about purpose and fulfilment which are the pillars for socioeconomic sustainability and survival.
In other words, the solution for the survival of our youths is for them to strive to be the best that they can be in whatever they choose to engage in, within the exploitation of their specific talents, potentials, and capabilities, according to Maslow.
Nowadays, some of our youths are accused of trying to seek shortcuts to achieve their goals. Some of them are unwilling to take the time to work hard at improving their skills and talents.
Rather, they want to leave school today and own a house, car and other luxuries of life in the shortest possible time. But we all know that Rome was not built in a day and there is always time for everything under the sun.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO AS A YOUTH?
To attain self-actualisation, you need to look inwards to identify your innate abilities and harness them for long-term gain, fulfilment of purpose, relevance, and survival.
SO, WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SELF ACTUALISATION AMONG THE YOUTHS
- They will become empowered and confident.
- Creativity and innovation will abound for the greater economic good.
- Crime and criminal behaviours will reduce.
- There will be poverty reduction.
- Unemployment levels will also reduce tangibly.
- There will be an improvement in the quality of goods and services produced.
- The standard of life and living will be positively impacted.
- And lastly, the economy of the country will increase.
SO, WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN YOUTH ACTUALISATION
For any nation to thrive its government has a vital role to perform. It is the responsibility of the government to provide a conducive atmosphere for their citizens to create, innovate and flourish.
This is because the progress of a nation is a function of the level of resourcefulness of the people.
These functions include but are not limited to:
- Development and implementation of favourable economic policies that will encourage investors and investments in the country.
- Defending and protecting the territory of the nation.
- Maintenance of law and order.
- Provision of good Infrastructure.
- Provision of direct and indirect employment.
- Provision of Social Amenities.
- And the provision of quality education.
Unfortunately, in our part of the world, successive governments have not fully fulfilled their social contract with the people.
However, I do not want our youths to use this as an excuse for not pursuing their goals. You must decide your future for yourself and not allow it to be taken away from you.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO ACTUALISE YOUR DREAMS?
- Get Educated.
- Learn a trade.
- Discover what you are wired for and harness your innate abilities.
- Pursue what you are good at and improve your skills.
- Network with like minds.
- Pursue your dreams and aspirations with vigour.
- Don’t give up when times are tough.
- Stay away from visionless people.
And I pray that God will crown all your efforts with success in Jesus’ name
MEET THE SPEAKERS
To do justice to the topic of the day, we have invited seasoned individuals who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields to share their experiences with you.
They are in the persons of:
Reverend Femi Faseru
He was formerly an IT Consultant in corporations like Glaxowellcome, Bank of Boston, Media surface and GlaxoSmithKline. He is the Resident Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) Maryland, Lagos as well as the National Superintendent of KICC Nigeria.
A powerful and dynamic teacher of the word. His ministry is known in Nigeria via television broadcasts and internationally via conferences. His opinion on pressing issues is regularly sought by various Nigerian mass media.
Mr. Temitope Jegede
Mr Temitope Jegede has over eighteen years of experience in Administration, Huma Resources, Sales, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He is the Managing Director of Tom Associates Training – an innovative training and capacity building company with a vision of developing future leaders.
He has a Master’s degree in International Law & Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and he holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Manpower Economics from the University of Lagos. He also has a Postgraduate Degree in Transformation Leadership from the Institute of National Transformation.
Pastor Bidemi Mark-Mordi
She is the CEO of Verbatim Communications Limited. She is a multi-talented Business Leader, Life Coach, Speaker, Publisher, and author of more than 18 books. She has over 20 years of extensive experience in the areas of Leadership and value-based people development.
I thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to contribute to the survival of our youths and the development of our dear country, Nigeria.
I pray that God will continually bless all your endeavours in Jesus’ name.
To all the on-site and online participants, I urge you to commit to making the most of all you’ll learn this afternoon. This is because it has the potential to change your life for the better.
Once again, I welcome you all to today’s session.
God bless you.
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