Working as a “Youth Compact Champion” Representative.

Article by Pearl Odigwe.

(5 mins read).

I got the opportunity to work as a Youth Compact Champion representative for almost 2 years, and it was quite an experience. For more information about the program under the Restless Development umbrella, please visit: https://www.youthcompact.org/compact-champions Meeting the international team, collaborating and working on tasks together through shared skills remotely was a new undertaking for me, but somehow it all worked out due to sufficient support and having set assigned tasks both as a team and individually.

Some of my engagements in this programme encompassed some of the following:

• Participation in the program put me in a position to amplify the efforts of youths and grassroot organizations in humanitarian sectors globally.
• I was part of the Taskforce team responsible for contributing to the research done by WRC/UNHCR on a CoP study for refugee youth and youth in displaced contexts.
• I participated in a research session with UNMGCY representatives that ensured more global youth engagement levels especially for minorities and vulnerable people.
• I was involved in a Mentorship program as a mentee and later on with more experience, as a Mentor to enable two-way sessions that helped in the development of young people who were working as humanitarians in their communities.
• A Youth Panelist for the Interagency Webinar: RCCE Sub-Working Group for Refugees, IDPs, Migrants and Host Communities Particularly Vulnerable to the Pandemic.
• Contributor to activities surrounding the roll-out of the IASC guidelines by spreading awareness via webinars and implementing an individual project about this in Nigeria and online.

As stated above, for my final project as a Youth Compact Champion, I got to raise awareness about the IASC guidelines (Working with and for young people in Humanitarian and Protracted Crisis). For more information about the importance of this document please visit: https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/events/iasc-guidelines-working-and-young-people-humanitarian-and-protracted-crises

With a total of 12 participants, we had representatives from Network of Civil Society Organization Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labor (NACTAL), Conflict Resolution and Migration Awareness Initiative (CRAMAI), The NOR Foundation, Caring Hands, Building Bridges for Youth Initiative and Migrants Lives Matter.

I also got to implement another activity to commemorate “World Humanitarian Day” and as a result, I was acquainted with an initiative to help young children go to school and get an education for free. It was kickstarted by Mrs Carole Shalom who is passionate about children and she set up a small school – Christ City Mission School (CCMS) to help the poor kids living in the slums of Lugbe. I was able to do a short video tour/interview during my time there and make some contributions towards their cause. Link to the full video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s1-FEnU-L6BcRJrN0a1gZgb75JbWKh2i/view?usp=sharing

Please visit their website and support them in any way you can through your contributions http://christcityng.org/. In addition, I was also able to get 2 banners for CRAMAI for visibility’s sake and in consideration for their activities surrounding migration in the Kuje area.

I am incredibly grateful for this experience as a Youth Compact Champion representative to exhibit key competences, network, and find some amazing organizations doing great work I could collaborate with. Of course, being able to add this work experience to my continuous effort as a youth activist and humanitarian is a plus.