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Dare to Inspire, a leading not-for-profit organization focused on empowering  young (Muslim), women in Nigeria held another successful mentoring session where leading business women shared practical ideas on how the youth can actively engage in meaningful ways to transform the society.

The event which was held via Live Webinar had in attendance very accomplished personalities such as the former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu and a renowned Lecturer at the University of Maryland and Founder SHE-EO, Tope Fajingbesi Balogun amongst many others.

The theme of the 4th edition “Transforming Societies through Active Youth Engagement” highlighted the need for young Muslim women to develop a new mindset on social responsibility and build useful skillset that will enable them participate effectively in national decision making. Like other previous editions, the event was also packed with lots of motivational and inspirational moments for the young women.

In her keynote speech, the former deputy Governor Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu highlighted the importance of mentorship for young women whom she opined are still marginalized from participating actively in our society. She also emphasized that young women should be given access to quality education to make youth engagement possible. She thanked the Convener of DTI, Bunmi Ghiazat Adebimpe for mentoring young women and choosing to focus on youth development through coaching.

Other speakers at the event include Dr Samiah Oyekan-Ahmed who spoke on the topic “Social Impact versus Social Noise: Making Real Contribution in the Society”. She spoke passionately about how social media can be used as a means to make impact in the society whilst also getting rewarded by Allah. According to her, “Social Media is the easiest way to get thoughts out and it is important to teach our youths to re-examine how they want to use their platforms. We should always think of how we can make use of social media in a positive way”.

The second speaker, Miriam Elegbede who is the Founder, Development Den based in Saudi Arabia delivered the topic “Build Human Capital, Build the Nation – Harnessing the Resources for Developing Essential Skills”. In her motivating speech, she explained that each individual has essential capital of cognitive, socio-emotional and technical skills which they can harness to excel in whatever endeavor they might find themselves.

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Tope Fajingbesi Balogun, the USA-based lecturer who addressed the topic: “Individual social responsibility – How to leverage networking and volunteerism for maximum impact”, spoke about the importance of service as key to success which cannot be over-emphasized. Service, according to her is giving your best in all you do and it should not be about what you stand to gain but the value you can add. In her words, service is what one benefits from in the long run because “If you serve for immediate reward, that reward would only last for a short time”.

As an annual knowledge-exchange and mentorship event between present and emerging leaders, the Convener of Dare To Inspire, Bunmi Ghiazat Adebimpe in her speech stated that the theme was carefully chosen to highlight the importance of youth-led engagement in Nation building and also how the Nigerian youth can begin to actively participate in the renaissance of our Nation by equipping themselves with the right skills and channeling the latent energy within to transform our societies”.

The closing remarks was given by Sherifat Akinwonmi, Head IT for GSK Nigeria, West & Central Africa who urged participants to imbibe the key learnings from the speakers some of whom shared their experiences to buttress their points. Finally, she thanked everyone for their contribution in making the event a success.

DTI 4.0 was organised in partnership with Laroche Foundation, VPcube Studios, The Accubin, Impreme Studios, Fesoda Integrated Services, Superheads International Limited, The MPower Circle, Mustaeina TV, Bedouin, Four 23 Photography, Rubbin Minds, The Umm Fariha Network, Wakeel Associates, HalTV, KYBevents, DeenTalks Nigeria and ARABEL Exclusive Islamic Materials Ltd. Official media partners include YNaija, Expoze Nigeria, Penzaarville Africa and Dotts Media House. The official hashtag is #DTI2020.

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