"Open Minds, Young Voices" participants training on Project Management and Communication Skills

With the successful completion of modules 7-9, our second cohort of the “Open Minds, Young Voices” young activists programme is more than halfway through the sessions planned for the year. Their active participation shows their satisfaction with the content of the programme thus far.

The module on project management exceptionally lasted for three instead of two days. The additional day was needed due to the complexity of the project management cycle, which was discussed and applied during the session. After an introduction to basic concepts such as project, project design and project management, the facilitator explained basic project management principles to the participants. Equipped with those principles, various steps in the management of projects were discussed and furthermore applied to projects developed by the participants. Those steps included a stakeholder analysis, the setting of a project goal and objectives as well as the development of a project strategy and a logical framework.

In the following module, the ideology of social democracy was explored by the participants and compared to different political ideologies. The core values of freedom, justice and solidarity were discussed in detail and applied to situations from the Nigerian context. Furthermore, the economic policy and the role of the welfare state in social democracy were elaborated on by the facilitator. Finally, based on the developed understanding of social democracy, participants developed potential solutions to various democratic challenges in Nigeria.

Lastly, in the module on communication skills, the meaning and different types of communication were introduced by the facilitator. The young activists got the chance to practice their presentation, public speaking and photography skills. Moreover, they learnt about the standards for effective written communications, such as press releases, newsletters, open letters and communiqués. Towards the end of the module, the participants practised the skills learnt by recording their own radio and TV interviews.