IPC Launches Publication on Grassroots Development for Community Leaders

IPC Launches Publication on Grassroots Development for Community Leaders

The International Press Centre has presented a publication of all its training activities to enhance grassroots development in different parts of Lagos to a gathering of community leaders and media professionals. It is a collation of its training of grassroots duty bearers in different parts of Lagos, specifically in three local governments to create visibility

The International Press Centre has presented a publication of all its training activities to enhance grassroots development in different parts of Lagos to a gathering of community leaders and media professionals. It is a collation of its training of grassroots duty bearers in different parts of Lagos, specifically in three local governments to create visibility on their advocacy and enhance their performance.

Under the programme, the IPC trained grassroots leaders on media engagements in advocacy for community development and media inclusion in Alimosho, Ikorodu and Mainland local governments. Details of their engagement and important conclusions were compiled into a comprehensive publication for accessibility to wider publics.

The presentation programme was part of the European Union Agents for Citizens Driven Transformation (EU-ACT) projects funded by British Council and implemented by IPC across the mentioned local governments. The event took place on Thursday, in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, Mr Lanre Arogundade, the IPC Executive Director, said the essence of the publication is to bring the concerned local governments together with the media for visibility. He added that meeting different stakeholders on community development will increase the value of advocacy in different localities.

“Essential why we are here today is to present the reports on the project on Media Driven Advocacy and Community Engagement for Development of Lagos communities that we have put together but what we are to do is to bring communities in Ikorodu, Mainland and Alimosho together with the media to see how we can solve our problems.

“And I am happy that from the result that we got from last week, we are achieving some results. But we can do more and we can do better. And that is why we are not just here to hear the report, we are also here to hear from people who have seen it from different areas. So that we can have value-added knowledge of what we can do better”, Mr Arogundade said.

Presenting the reports for publication, Mr Francis Abayomi highlighted projects executed by the three local
governments. He also expressed his satisfaction with the accomplishments recorded by the participants.

Explaining the process the IPC deployed to get viable results on the project, Mr Abayomi further stated that the programme was about the right-based approach that started from mapping the appropriate local governments to capacity training before concluding on advocacy visits for dividends of democracy.

He added that the selected leaders were trained on how to engage the public officeholders in their diverse constituencies. He noted that liaising with public officeholders is what allows them to prioritise their community projects.

Speaking on the publication, Mr Abayomi described the reports as all-encompassing documentation of all the activities and the results achieved from the engagement with the community stakeholders. He also recounted the success of the project across the three local governments.

“The programme is a right-based approach; that is you have your right to demand your dividend from the politicians. Whenever we vote, our rights to vote do not end at the polling unit, we need to go on and make our demands, the same way we voted for them.

“You see, these people are busy, so whether you like it or not, they have a lot on their table. So we need to go to them and let them know our needs. Some of them have a scale of preference, so if you don’t meet them, they won’t prioritise you.

“This publication captures projects that are ongoing and projects facilitated as a result of our engagements. For instance, in Lagos Mainland, it was part of our engagement that led to the building of 20 boreholes spread across the wards by the local government chairperson. In the two local governments, our engagement led to the rehabilitation of schools.

Addressing the participants on the imperative of building a community collaborative framework with media for grassroots development, Barrister Kunle Sanyanolu, the editorial page editor of The Guardian newspaper, noted that the communities need to understand what the media does to benefit them.

He noted that having a good relationship with the media will further put their communities in the spotlight and create awareness for the public about the activities of community development in their environment. He further recommended that all stakeholders in a community should be conversant with media operations. He also urged them to always use social media to pass their message to the public

“My recommendation is that everybody that calls himself a community leader must be aware, you must make awareness of your duties to help the media explain in summary your duties.

“Secondly, you must be prepared to share information with the established media that are out there. Also, there are social media platforms and everybody is connected there and we can share information. So let’s share our information about our community activities, ” Barrister Sanyaolu concluded.

Similarly, Ms Ugonma Cokey, Deputy Director of Training, Voice of Nigeria Ikoyi charged the participants to deploy different techniques to pass their messages across to the public. She noted that the media is respected for escalating matters for the government’s attention.

She also urged the community stakeholders to get the media practitioners involved in their community development and expansion. By doing so, she concluded that their labours will not be in futility.

“There are some things some communities have done that some communities do not know about, and the only people that get it out are the media because the media is everywhere whether social media, radio stations, TV stations and print reporters are everywhere.

The truth is if you want anything done, it is the media that will add all the flavour to get it done and heard by the public. It is best to have good relationships with them because no media person is useless. So if you need development in your area and you leave out the journalists, it is like vain labour. So it is the media that will help you in the escalation of what is happening in your society.

Mr Wale Adeoye, the executive director of Journalists for Democracy Rights, in his address, noted some vices that threaten freedom in society. He pointed at cultism, some militant groups, and community tyrants as the main violators of human rights in the communities.

He also noted that politicians and public officeholders also suppress the rights of citizens, due to their relevance in society. He, however, stated that the media is the only entity that can serve as a watchdog to human rights violations in the community, hence, there is need for them.

He advised the community leaders to form a coalition on social media and other media platforms to disseminate information about their society.
. Organised by the International Press Centre (IPC), to create visibility on the advocacy and performance of the selected three local governments in the state.

Having trained the grassroots leaders on media engagements in advocacy for community development and media inclusion in Alimosho, Ikorodu and mainland locals government, the IPC compiled their activities throughout the year into a comprehensive publication for accessibility.

The presentation programme was part of the European Union Agents for Citizens Driven Transformation (EU-ACT) projects funded by British Council and implemented by IPC across the mentioned local governments on Thursday, in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, Mr Lanre Arogundade, the IPC Executive Director, said the essence of the publication is to bring the concerned local governments together with the media for visibility. He added that meeting different stakeholders on community development will increase the value of advocacy in different localities.

” Essential why we are here today is to present the reports on the project on Media Driven Advocacy and Community Engagement for Development of Lagos communities that we have put together but what we are to do is to bring communities in Ikorodu, Mainland and Alimosho together with the media to see how we can solve our problems.

“And I am happy that from the result that we got from last week, we are achieving some results. But we can do more and we can do better. And that is why we are not just here to hear the report, we are also here to hear from people who have seen it from different areas. So that we can have value-added knowledge of what we can do better”, Mr Arogundade said.

Presenting the reports for publication, Mr Francis Abayomi highlighted projects executed by the three local
governments. He also expressed his satisfaction with the accomplishments recorded by the participants.

Explaining the process the IPC deployed to get viable results on the project, Mr Abayomi further stated that the programme was about the right-based approach that started from mapping the appropriate local governments to capacity training before concluding on advocacy visits for dividends of democracy.

He added that the selected leaders were trained on how to engage the public officeholders in their diverse constituencies. He noted that liaising with public officeholders is what allows them to prioritise their community projects.

Speaking on the publication, Mr Abayomi described the reports as all-encompassing documentation of all the activities and the results achieved from the engagement with the community stakeholders. He also recounted the success of the project across the three local governments.

“The programme is a right-based approach; that is you have your right to demand your dividend from the politicians. Whenever we vote, our rights to vote do not end at the polling unit, we need to go on and make our demands, the same way we voted for them.

“You see, these people are busy, so whether you like it or not, they have a lot on their table. So we need to go to them and let them know our needs. Some of them have a scale of preference, so if you don’t meet them, they won’t prioritise you.

“This publication captures projects that are ongoing and projects facilitated as a result of our engagements. For instance, in Lagos Mainland, it was part of our engagement that led to the building of 20 boreholes spread across the wards by the local government chairperson. In the two local governments, our engagement led to the rehabilitation of schools.

Addressing the participants on the imperative of building a community collaborative framework with media for grassroots development, Barrister Kunle Sanyanolu, the editorial page editor of The Guardian newspaper, noted that the communities need to understand what the media does to benefit them.

He noted that having a good relationship with the media will further put their communities in the spotlight and create awareness for the public about the activities of community development in their environment. He further recommended that all stakeholders in a community should be conversant with media operations. He also urged them to always use social media to pass their message to the public

“My recommendation is that everybody that calls himself a community leader must be aware, you must make awareness of your duties to help the media explain in summary your duties.

“Secondly, you must be prepared to share information with the established media that are out there. Also, there are social media platforms and everybody is connected there and we can share information. So let’s share our information about our community activities, ” Barrister Sanyaolu concluded.

Similarly, Ms Ugonma Cokey, Deputy Director of Training, Voice of Nigeria Ikoyi charged the participants to deploy different techniques to pass their messages across to the public. She noted that the media is respected for escalating matters for the government’s attention.

She also urged the community stakeholders to get the media practitioners involved in their community development and expansion. By doing so, she concluded that their labours will not be in futility.

“There are some things some communities have done that some communities do not know about, and the only people that get it out are the media because the media is everywhere whether social media, radio stations, TV stations and print reporters are everywhere.

The truth is if you want anything done, it is the media that will add all the flavour to get it done and heard by the public. It is best to have good relationships with them because no media person is useless. So if you need development in your area and you leave out the journalists, it is like vain labour. So it is the media that will help you in the escalation of what is happening in your society.

Mr Wale Adeoye, the executive director of Journalists for Democracy Rights, in his address, noted some vices that threaten freedom in society. He pointed at cultism, some militant groups, and community tyrants as the main violators of human rights in the communities.

He also noted that politicians and public officeholders also suppress the rights of citizens, due to their relevance in society. He, however, stated that the media is the only entity that can serve as a watchdog to human rights violations in the community, hence, there is need for them.

He advised the community leaders to form a coalition on social media and other media platforms to disseminate information about their society.

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