The Mentoring Assistance for Youths and Entrepreneurs Initiative (MAYEIN) has charged individuals, educators, and organisations with ensuring that technology serves as a tool for inclusion rather than exclusion.
Member of the non-profit organisation made this charge in Ibadan on the occasion of the 2025 International Day of Education with the theme: ‘AI and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation’.
The International Day of Education, instituted by the United Nations (UN) in 2018 and observed every 24th of January, celebrates the role of education in peace and development.
According to the UN, the 2025 theme encourages reflections on the power of education to equip individuals and communities to navigate, understand, and influence technological advancement.
“As computer and AI-driven systems become more sophisticated, the boundaries between human intention and machine-driven action often blur, raising critical questions about how to preserve, redefine, and, ideally, elevate human agency in an age of technological acceleration,” UN added.
The founder of MAYEIN, Edemawan Ossai, noted that since the organisation’s inception in 2012, it has provided education and library services, digital literacy and entrepreneurship training, girls’ empowerment and youth development, teachers’ development and values-based leadership, evaluation and non-profit management, among other services, in Oyo State and other parts of Nigeria.
To buttress the significance of the 2025 International Day of Education theme, the organisation published a post that narrated the story of a young boy, Samad, in Ibadan, who had not seen a computer before until 20018, when he visited its e-library, through which it trains young people and youth in digital and tech skills.
According to the post, today, “Samad is no longer the curious boy with a love for electronics. He has become a trailblazer in his family. As the first child of his household, Samad made history by becoming the first to achieve computer literacy through the MAYEIN Oyo e-Library Project.”
The post further stated, “On this International Day of Education, Samad’s story reminds us that education does not just open door ─ it transforms lives and communities.”
Part of their events to mark the 2025 International Day of Education include the participation of the organisation’s Executive Director, Ewaoluwa Orowale, in a panel session hosted by the Bramble Network, which the organisation described as an opportunity to advance its goals and ensure that technology serves as a tool for inclusion and not exclusion.
Ossai stated that in line with the International Day of Education and because education is at the heart of everything they do, they dedicated this week to highlighting the power of education and the role it plays in shaping lives.
“From Monday to Friday, we will be sharing thought-provoking insights, stories, and practical ways to support education. We will also celebrate the milestones we have achieved together while reaffirming our commitment to making quality education accessible for all,” she added.
Members of the organisation noted that behind every empowered individual is a network of people who believe in the power of education. They urged people, organisations, and governments to be part of the change by taking meaningful actions, no matter how small.
The organisation listed five ways people and organisations can support education in this technological-driven era. According to them, it includes volunteering time, becoming a mentor, advocating for better policies, speaking up for change, donating resources, providing essential materials, partnering with organisations, collaborating to amplify impact, spreading the word, and inspiring others.
MAYEIN’s boss stressed that every action, no matter how small, can create ripples of change, adding, “From helping us establish small and mobile libraries in communities, mentoring a single student to donating resources or advocating for policies, your contribution can transform a child’s future.”
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