ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2024
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 52,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2024 on 6,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 280+ campuses worldwide (just 5%) were selected to host the 4,000+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT AYOMIDE EMMANUEL AKINWALE, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2024.
University of Ibadan | Ibadan, Nigeria | Advancing SDG 10 & UNAI 8
" As a Millennium Fellow, I am excited to join a global community of changemakers who share a commitment to driving positive impact. The work I do is fueled by a belief in the power of collective action to address the world's most pressing developmental challenges. Furthermore, I aim to make my mark in contributing to Africa's developmental trajectory and seeing it arise to one of the best economies in the world. This stems from addressing root causes such as policy designs on climate change, industrialization, and strengthening developmental organizations to develop resilience in contributing towards economic growth.
To achieve this, there are key attributes that must be demonstrated such as Adaptability, Resilience, Courage, Innovation, Diplomacy and Endurance.
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Millennium Fellowship Project: The EquiPeace Initiative
The Equi-Peace Initiative operates on a simple but heavy truth that Africa’s economic engines cannot roar if our social fabric is frayed by bias. We set out to prove that discrimination isn't just a social ill but a threat to economic development.
Through intensive community dialogues and over 45 hours of "unlearning" sessions, we engaged 210 participants across diverse urban hubs. Our data revealed a startling cycle that 83% of respondents admitted their prejudices were not born of personal experience, but were inherited through family narratives. We facilitated difficult, face-to-face conversations between groups who rarely speak.
The shift was tangible. In our follow-up, 78% of participants reported a newfound ease in cross-ethnic business and social collaborations, noting a direct increase in their daily output. By replacing status-based gatekeeping with a focus on merit, we are clearing the structural debris that holds back industrial growth. We are building a society where progress is determined by what you can do, not where you come from.
About the Millennium Fellow
Ayomide a Political Science graduate from the University of Ibadan is the founder of MOSAIC (Multidisciplinary Organization for Sustainable Alliances and International Cooperation) and has built a community spanning five countries across three continents to foster real cooperation. He views Africa’s industrialization as critical for economic development. Ayomide’s interest in International Political Economy, Diplomacy and climate policy focuses on dismantling the structural barriers that stall African growth. By blending diplomacy with a deep understanding of development, he seeks to negotiate better terms for the continent’s emerging industries, determined to see an Africa that finally produces as much as it consumes.
