The Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, is set to host the first National Summit on Child Rights in Nigeria.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi approved the event, which was initiated under the administration of Prof. Charles Okechukwu Esimone.
The Planning Committee for the event is headed by a Child Rights Crusader and Communication Expert, Dr Obiorah Edogor, as Chairman.
The university also appointed an advisory team headed by Prof. Joseph I. Ikechebelu, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) with the Deans of Faculties of Education, Law and Social Sciences as members.
The University Management mandated the Child Rights Committee to plan as well as ensure the success of the event through mobilizing relevant individuals and groups that have the interest of children as the focus of their services or works.
Hence, the University has been reaching out to media organisations, legislators, human rights activists, religious groups, pro-child governmental and non-governmental organisations to participate in the event, which is the first of its kind in the country.
Top national and state legislators have been invited to the summit.
Invitation has also been extended to all commissioners for women affairs across the thirty-six (36) states of the federation, considering the role of their ministries in championing the welfare of children and women.
Furthermore, the Vice-Chancellor, a scholar with passionate interest in child rights law, is determined to bring legal luminaries from across the nation to participate in the event that will add to the giant strides of Nnamdi Azikiwe University in promoting child rights scholarship and advocacy.
The hosting of the summit is another milestone of the university towards the protection of children in Nigeria.
It should be recalled that in 2022, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Senate, in furtherance of this objective, introduced courses related to child rights in the faculties of Education, Law, Social Sciences, and the General Studies Unit of the institution.
With the introduction of Child Rights Reporting as a full-fledged course in the General Studies Unit, the institution became the first Nigerian university to achieve such a feat.
As a result of that, the world’s foremost child rights advocate, UNICEF, acknowledged the effort of the university Senate and urged other Nigerian universities to emulate Nnamdi Azikiwe University in mapping out plans for scholars to join in providing better ways to ensure the welfare of children.
The National Summit with the theme “‘Taking Sustainable Positive Actions for the Nigerian Child in the Information Age,” will be a two-day event, slated for September 26 to 27, 2024, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Auditorium, Awka.
It is a hybrid event that is expected to be attended by all child rights stakeholders in Nigeria and beyond.
Thus, all relevant governmental and non-governmental organisations are expected to participate in the summit, where there will be critical multidimensional brainstorming on matters concerning children as well as young people across different spheres of life.
This summit is the first national pro-child event in Nigeria since the enactment of the Child Rights Act (2003).
The summit will, among other things, feature inauguration of the child’s rights club, a keynote address, paper presentations, panel discussions, and a communiqué.
Also, there will be a summit workshop for journalists and other media professionals on the first day of the summit.
The participants will use the opportunity of the workshop to draft a general template that will be a document to guide child rights reporting in Nigeria.
In other words, the workshop will aim to build a consensus among professionals and other stakeholders on how to report children in the Nigerian media, including new media platforms.
E-Signed:
Obiorah Edogor, PhD, SACCE
Chairman, National Summit on Child Rights Committee, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.
August 8, 2024.
