Foundation trains 30 Osun women in advocacy

Stakeholders during the traing. Photo: VARSH Foundation

Thirty young women from the 30 local government areas of Osun State have completed a three-day training programme on advocacy and community engagement organised by the VARSH Foundation.

The training, held from November 10 to 13, 2026, at the Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, was organised under the Osun Young Women’s Advocacy Fellowship, with support from the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund.

According to a statement released by the foundation on Saturday, the programme was designed to equip participants with skills to identify challenges in their communities, engage relevant authorities and advocate solutions to issues affecting women.

During the training, the participants received instruction on community problem analysis, identifying the root causes of social issues, gathering evidence, mapping stakeholders and communicating advocacy demands.

They also learnt how to use digital tools and artificial intelligence responsibly for advocacy and engage traditional rulers, religious leaders and government institutions.

The sessions were facilitated by academics and practitioners, including the founder of VARSH Foundation, Salvation Grace Aworanti, and Prof. Opeyemi Oyewunmi Ekundayo, who spoke on feminism and the history of women’s organising in Nigeria.

A journalist, Gbenga Oloniniran, facilitated a session on communications and digital campaigns, while other facilitators included Kinfeosi Babatimehin, Lukman Adeoti, Omolola Pedro, Joy Larry and Hassanat Adebowale.

Speaking during the programme, the Executive Director of VARSH Foundation, Hassanat Adebowale, said the fellowship was aimed at addressing the limited participation of young women in public decision-making.

• 2027: Osun APC leaders rally support for Tinubu’s re-election
• Morning recap: Fani-Kayode, South Africa clash, Tinubu aide denies convoy attack, other top stories
• Osun links TB spread to migration, treatment interruption

“Osun State has never lacked brilliant young women. What they have lacked is a seat at the table where decisions about their lives are made. In three days, we watched 30 of them learn to trace a problem to its roots, gather evidence, and ask the right person for the right change. For the next 90 days, they will do exactly that across different local government areas, and we will be behind them every step of the way,” she said.

One of the participants and coordinator of the fellows, Ilesanmi Ayomide Praises, thanked the foundation and the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund for the opportunity, saying the programme had equipped them to work together on issues affecting their communities.

“We came in as 30 strangers from 30 local governments, and we are leaving as one network of advocates. From the welcome we received to the quality of every single session, we were treated as leaders, and we learnt more in three days than many of us expected to learn in a year.

“We are grateful to VARSH Foundation and the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund for investing in young women like us, and we are going back to our communities ready to work,” she said.

The foundation said each participant had developed a 90-day advocacy plan and would implement it in her respective local government area.

It added that the fellows would engage community leaders and local authorities over the next three months on issues ranging from access to public services to the inclusion of young women in decision-making.

The findings and outcomes of the advocacy activities will be compiled into a report for submission to the Osun State Ministry of Women Affairs.

The Nigeria Youth Futures Fund supports initiatives aimed at investing in young Nigerians working to influence the country’s development.