The Fashioned and Made for Excellence (FAME) Foundation recently hosted its maiden edition of the Ibadan Head Girl Conference in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
The event, which was held at the American Corner, Ibadan, was themed ‘Invest in Girls; Impact the Future’.
According to the foundation, the programme was a mind-shifting mentorship initiative to educate and empower over 50 head girls with the resources and knowledge they need to succeed as aspiring leaders in their current roles and become better leaders.
The foundation stressed that the programme underscored how investing in today’s young girls can harness the potential of girls to lead and become global changemakers who start from their local communities.
Raphael Stephen, Founder and Executive Director of the foundation, stated that FAME recognises everything rises and falls on leadership and that the foundation is committed to developing 1,000,000 leaders across Nigerian secondary schools by 2030.
“We believe that the Head Girl Conference is a strategic part of that journey. Together, we have equipped over 20,000 girls with leadership values and skills in over half a decade in nearly 200 secondary schools across Nigeria,” Stephen said.
Ore Adeyemo, the Executive Director, Partnership and Growth, Starks Associate, stated that Starks recognises the importance of impactful and diverse leadership throughout Africa.
Adeyemo added that cultivating strong leadership skills at a young age is essential for creating a better Africa and that partnering with The FAME Foundation allows them to support and empower young girls who have already shown leadership potential as head girls.
“By providing them with the necessary tools, resources, and mentorship, we aim to enable them to become effective leaders within their schools and communities,” Adeyemo said.
The conference featured corporate and academic leaders, among others, who shared their leadership insights and experiences. The speakers inspired the girls to break barriers and dare to aspire to greater heights in their leadership roles.
Some of the guests and speakers included the Principal Partner Funmi Roberts & Co., Funmi Roberts; Regional Operations Director of Airtel Nigeria, Tolu Adeniyi; Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose; Director of Kea Group, Kemi Irinoye.
Bimbo Kolade, the Federal Commissioner representing Oyo State at the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commissioner, served as the chairperson of the conference.
The conference also covered several activities including talk sessions, breakout sessions, impromptu debates, and conversations.
Cash prizes, sponsored by Stark Associate and Hermes Advisory, were given to the winning head girl participants. The winners were Temiloluwa Adebayo (N25,000), Blessing Sebiola (N15,000) and Princess Afolabi (N10,000).
The foundation announced that this year, the Ibadan Head Boy Conference will be held and that over 1,000 newly selected prefects across secondary schools in Ibadan will be equipped with leadership and management skills through the FAME Lead Project, which has impacted 2,074 aspiring leaders directly and 16,680 aspiring leaders indirectly.
READ ALSO: Again, national grid collapses second time in 2024
and then