Emitomo Tobi Nimisire is a ONE Champion from Nigeria.
ONE Champions are young changemakers from all across Africa who are committed to furthering ONE’s work and enacting change throughout the continent. To spotlight the capabilities and versatility of our ONE Champions, we spoke with four of them about their unique skills and the positive ways these skills are serving them and their communities.
This World Youth Skills Day, find out what they had to say.
Anne Mugo, Kenya
A graduate of international relations and disaster management, Anne combines her diverse range of skills, which include communication, writing, and leadership, for advocacy, conflict resolution, and to manage partnerships. But she didn’t stop at learning these skills during her academic years; she has continued to harness them over time through various initiatives.
As a result, Anne’s skills and professionalism have placed her atop the employability ladder. These skills are essential to Anne’s work in organizing community, digital, and national actions for social causes that matter to her, including gender equity, health access, transparency, good governance, and inclusion. She improves upon her skills by taking virtual and physical professional classes to develop them further.
Today, she applies those skills in her role as a full-time development practitioner with a community-based organization called Positive Young Women Voices.
Mahamadou BAGAYOKO, Mali
Even before he joined ONE as a Champion in 2019, Mahamadou had committed to furthering ONE’s mission by participating in a variety of activities. He is a blogger and an audiovisual director with a master’s degree in administrative and financial management. After completing his university education in 2015, Mahamadou grew into a social activist who volunteered at organizations and blogged about social causes to create awareness around topical issues.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Mahamadou was forced, alongside many others around the world, to remain indoors to help stop the spread of the virus. It was during this period that he began to learn video editing and graphic design. This added knowledge propelled him towards entrepreneurship; Mahamadou now manages TSCom, an audiovisual production and digital communication agency established in January 2021.
Mahamadou leverages his skills to create visual content that illuminates the struggles and needs of vulnerable populations. In his home country, Mali, he works in the development space to promote reliable information on sexual health for adolescents and young people, and the fight against poverty. And learning never stops for him — Mahamadou upskills as often as he can, by attending workshops and watching video tutorials.
Ibitoye Olukosi, Nigeria
Ibitoye joined ONE as a Champion in May 2022. He uses his words to command attention, be it via writing or public speaking. Ibitoye is also skilled at social media management, leadership, and advocacy. Ibitoye gained most of these skills while he volunteered at nonprofit organizations, and other skills he mastered while on the job.
Today, Ibitoye heads an organization called Transformative Intellectual Dialogue and Education (TIDE), where he is using his skills to call for the betterment of his country, Nigeria, as he continues to improve in leadership and advocacy through consistency and discipline.
Marie Jeanne Ndew Diouf, Senegal
Three years ago, Marie joined a global community of young activists via the ONE Champion program. She is skilled at management and is a communications professional. She continues to further these skills by staying open and active, and by engaging in youth movements. Marie works in a company that is in charge of the management and operation of boreholes in several rural communities in Senegal. It’s in this role that she uses her expertise to manage groups of young people, educating them on how to create change through strong transformational leadership.
Join us today as we celebrate Africa’s over 400 million youths and their affinity for acquiring skills that better their lives, communities, and ultimately the world. Help them continue to do so by adding your name to the People’s CALL TO ACTION on jobs in Africa.
