Nigeria Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Legal Engagement (SCALE) project in collaboration with USAID, ACIOE and Palladium, has trained some youths on ‘Advocacy MarketPlace’.
The graduation ceremony for the participants was held in Abuja on Thursday.
The objective of the SCALE Activity was to support CSOs and BMOs across all of USAID/Nigeria’s programmatic sectors with a basket of managerial, business strengthening, and advocacy capacity-building interventions aimed at advancing Nigerian CSO sustainability combined with targeted grants to advance mutually agreed upon priorities.
The activity is designed to enhance local civil society organizations’ ability to be positive and responsible change agents in Nigeria.
Speaking to the graduands, the Managing Partner of ACIOE, Ekenem Isichei, said that the training was very impactful and and he’s happy that it was going to promote a strong and sustainable advocacy.
In his words: “we are proud to be a part of this journey for advocacy and we want to be an implementing partner to make sure you develop the right skill to take up this journey
“In everything we do, we want to make sure that we develop and promote a strong and sustainable advocate at marketplace
“I would like to commend your work, commitment and advocate for policy.”
On her part, Deputy Chief of Party, USAID SCALE project, implemented by Palladium, Bose Eitokpah, said: “This is an important outcome for us. It is an outcome of our efforts an commitment to produce quality experts in our bid to increase and expand service providers in the advocacy marketplace
“As you know, advocacy is about making positive change, changes in society and influencing policies
“We are convinced that to ensure effectiveness in advocacy engagement and outcomes, we need experts who know how advocacy works and that is what this program is all about.”
The graduands also voiced out their opinions about what they have achieved during the training.
A graduand, Ibrahim Samaila, said: “I learnt about data analysis and how to collect data for effective implementation for advocacy.”
Another graduand, Olaniyi Temitope, said: “what I learnt was that when developing an advocacy plan, you have to be conscious of your cultural context. You cannot just create a particular plan and make it work in your area.”
Finally, Advocacy and engagement advisor for the SCALE project, Ilya Yohannah, said: “The program is a vital step towards building a stronger and more informed advocacy community capable of tackling challenges of our time
“I look forward to seeing more of your work and how you can utilize your skill.”