ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2021
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In 2021, over 25,000 young leaders on 2,000+ campuses across 153 nations applied to join the Class of 2021. 136 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows. The Class of 2021 is bold, innovative, and inclusive.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT EMMANUEL OBANIJESU OLALEKAN, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2021.
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology | Ogbomosho, Nigeria | Advancing SDG 3 & UNAI 1
" Leaders are made. I firmly believe this Millennial Fellowship is an opportunity to build me into a better leader and make my objectives easily achieved.
No one is an island. Connecting with Millennium Fellows from all over will help widen my scope as there will be diffusion of knowledge and ideas - we all do not see things the same way, which makes every individual unique! "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Sex Education for Adolescents
Adolescents in many cultures in Nigeria do not have access to information on sexual matters due to the cultural belief and the taboo attached to it. To promote knowledge of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), the Sex Education to Adolescents (SEA) project was designed to educate and empower secondary school students with age-appropriate information. This project will support young people and give them empowerment by improving their analytical, communication and other life skills for health and well-being about sexuality, human rights, values, healthy and respectful relationships, cultural and social norms, gender equality, non-discrimination, sexual behaviour, violence and gender-based violence, consent, sexual abuse and harmful practices. The use of innovative methods to put the message across, such as comics, infographics have been found effective and will be used. Five (5) schools will be involved, with a hundred (100) participants in each secondary school.
According to UNICEF 2017, 44% of young girls are married before their 18th birthday and 18% are married before the age of 15. Furthermore, Nigeria has the largest number of child brides in the world. Also, Nigeria has the highest absolute number of cases of Female Genital Mutilation in the world with 65% prevalence in the southwestern part of the country. Hence, the project aims at reducing the rate of occurrence of early child marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation in southwestern Nigeria by creating awareness, educating members of the community, empowering females in the community and involving the male folks in the campaign. It aims at reaching out to adolescents, both males and females, their parents and significant others, and educating them on the effects of early child marriage on the mother, child and society at large, importance of female education and empowerment, consequences of female genital mutilation, reproductive rights and advocating for the girl child. Involving males in the campaign is due to the essential roles they play in decision making and their impacts on the increasing menace.
About the Millennium Fellow
Emmanuel Obanijesu Olalekan is an undergraduate student of Biochemistry at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. He is a member of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) student hub on his campus with a keen interest in SDG 3 - Ensuring healthy lives and wellbeing.
He is passionate about the progress and wellbeing of everyone around him, especially youths which makes him share beneficial information and opportunities that can change their lives.
Emmanuel seeks to make an impact that creates wholesome youths who can face challenges, lead healthy lives and lead effectively in leadership roles.
