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 ALEX-MOZIE IVY CHIMELUM, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2022.
Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nnewi Campus | Nnewi, Nigeria | Advancing SDG 5 & UNAI 2
" I am excited to be a Millennium Fellow because with this opportunity, I'll be able to connect with students of like minds and be challenged in my advocacy work. The skills I learn from this Fellowship will critical in expanding my impact in advocacy. I am passionate in my advocacy because of my belief in gender equality and the impact it has on the society; I believe that through this Fellowship I will be better capable to take up more responsibility as it pertains to advocacy. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: The Unbound Woman Initiative (TUWI)
Liberation is defined as the freedom from limits on thoughts or behaviour and the act of gaining equal rights and full socio-economic opportunities for a particular group; this is the premise on which The Unbound Woman Initiative (TUWI) was founded.
The Unbound Woman Initiative (TUWI) is a project founded by two students of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University College of Health Sciences, Nigeria and its aim is to meet the need for a more holistic, communal and nuanced approach/perspective to feminist discourse and women's liberation. One which is tailored towards addressing the peculiar gendered struggles and limitations of young Nigerian women and is very deliberate about the struggles that are often dismissed and considered mundane.
Nigerian women are conditioned from a very young age to express themselves only within the confines of what appeals to the Nigerian patriarchal society. Through a constant reinforcement of this harmful belief system everywhere—at home, school, religious gatherings and the workplace—women internalise it and tether their lives to it. Unlearning this level of indoctrination and conditioning is difficult and often many women succumb to it due to a lack of community support and the right knowledge to cause a mindset shift and a thorough reorientation.
At TUWI, we intend to reach young Nigerian women and girls aged 13-25 and not only bridge this knowledge gap but hold the hands of those who want to begin and sustain their journey to finding themselves and becoming Unbound. By leveraging various online platforms, our goal is to address the gendered struggles of the whole woman—social, political, financial, mental, sexual and otherwise by:
1. Creating a safe space for interactive sessions for women to discuss their struggles, recognise their biases and interrogate their choices.
2. Forming a feminist community and support group for young women and girls to meet like-minds, have fun, be there for each other and have a sense of belonging.
3. Hosting sensitization campaigns on harmful, discriminative and misogynistic practices in Nigeria such as rape culture, female genital mutilation, sexual and gender-based violence, slut shaming, body shaming etc.
4. Teaching young women to build self-awareness, and confidence and to unlearn shame about their mental health, bodies and sexuality.
5. Writing articles and leading dialogue on topics that will deconstruct gender roles and inspire women to aspire and aim for more.
About the Millennium Fellow
Ivy Alex-Mozie is an advocacy-driven medical student at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Anambra, Nigeria. She was born and bred in Port-harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria. All her life, Ivy has questioned the impact of the negative conditioning of patriarchy on women. She has been involved in different forms of advocacy that support the liberation of women and she has contributed to conversations that aim at creating a mindshift in women in order to enable them unlearn such conditioning and liberate themselves.
