ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2022
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. Over 31,000 young leaders on 2,400+ campuses across 140+ nations applied to join the Class of 2022. 200+ campuses worldwide (just 8%) were selected to host the 3,000+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT OLUWAYEMISI TAWAKALITU OLAOLUWA, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW AND CAMPUS DIRECTOR FOR THE CLASS OF 2022.
University of Ibadan | Ibadan, Nigeria | Advancing SDG 3 & UNAI 6
" Empathy, community engagement and service, collaboration and creativity, driven by passionate purpose are core parts of my journey. Millennium Fellowship will help me improve and utilize that skills to make impact. The skills I gain and improve as part of the Millennium Fellowship will make my social impact in the area of youth mental health more sustainable and aligned with the SDGs and UNAI principles. I am excited to grow and increase my competence by learning and being innovative. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: A Better Mind for A Better Society
The World Health Organization stated that half of all mental health conditions start by age 14 but most cases are undetected and untreated. Depression was also cited as the leading cause of disability in adolescents. All these points to the fact that adolescent mental health is very critical in every society. However, there is culture of shame, stigma, silence, and discrimination associated with mental health. This has perpetuated the increase in the cases of mental health conditions especially amongst adolescents. The consequences of this is that such mental health conditions extend to adulthood, thereby impairing physical and mental health and hindering the ability to live productive and fulfilling lives as adults. Such adults end up not contributing to the growth of the society and engaging in behaviors that increases the decadence in the society.
Therefore, I embarked on this project, A Better Mind For A Better Society, with the aim of reducing the prevalence and death from suicide and depression in Oyo State, Nigeria. The project towards teenagers between the ages of 13 - 18 who are currently in the secondary school. These students will be enlightened on mental health, detecting signs of mental illness, self-care, positive coping mechanisms, substance abuse and how to manage stress.
The mental health of teenagers is often not disguised and the students often keep silent about their struggles due to the stigma associated with it. The project will address this silence using a two- pronged approach. The stakeholders in the schools which is the place teenagers spend most of their time are educated on the danger of the silence of teenagers and how to help them open up about their struggles. The second part of the project will focus on the students themselves in order to ensure that they understand that they should unashamed about their mental health struggles.
At the end of the projects, the students will be able to live healthy and productive lives and the stakeholders better positioned to help them when the need arises.
About the Millennium Fellow
OLAOLUWA Oluwayemisi Tawakalitu is a penultimate student of the department of Psychology, University of Ibadan. She's a mental health advocate, content writer, and public speaker.
As a content writer, she writes articles on mental health and psychological phenomena. She uses this skill in the publication of over 70 articles as the Editor-in-chief of the Asido Campus Network Publications Team. She currently serves as the National Vice President of the Asido Campus Network and the Vice-President of the Faculty of The Social Sciences, University of Ibadan.
She is a serial volunteer interested in the sustainable development goals ( SDGs) specifically SDG 3 and 4. She's passionate about quality health care and building a sustainable community where everyone is guaranteed a chance at optimum health and wellness. She's interested in research, mental health advocacy, community development and education as a tool for growth.
