The Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association (MWFAAN) has announced a call for applications for the 2021 Beyond School Community Challenge of MWFAAN for Secondary School Students in Nigeria.
In a press release by its president, Adepeju Jaiyeoba, the MWFAAN said the initiative would empower students aged 13 to 18 to provide solutions to problems around them by creating community development projects.
In its 5th edition, the BSCC is sponsored by the U.S. Mission Nigeria.
It provides “a platform for outstanding secondary school Guided by mentors and their schools, the students identify the challenge, proffer a viable entrepreneurial concept to address the challenge,” the statement read in part.
Annually, top finalists including 3 students and a teacher/mentor per team emerge from the several applications received.
They are invited to pitch and exhibit their entrepreneurial ideas in the challenge.
Ideas to be pitched for this year are expected to be within the framework of Social Insecurity (Kidnappings, Banditry, Terrorism); Food Insecurity (Occasioned by incessant farmers and herders clashes and climate change); Youth & Skills Development (Skill gap and unemployment in a youth dominated nation) and Access to quality Education (Occasioned by social insecurity and Covid-19 pandemic).
“Each team of students will be required to think innovatively and submit realistic idea(s) that can solve some of Nigeria’s current challenges within the threshold of the grant funding,” the president said.
The #BSCChallenge2021 will be virtual for participating schools, according to its organisers.
Ms Jaiyeoba said that cash grant prize of N1.5M will be shared amongst the winners.
Within this are the top 3 Winning Project Grant getting N400 thousand, N350 thousand and N250 thousand respectively.
Also, 30 Students would share N300 thousand at N10 thousand each.
The best Teacher Award is worth N100k while the other 2 teachers would win N50 thousand each amongst other benefits.
Interested participants are to fill the e-forms on the MWFAAN website at https://mwfaan.org/bscc-application/.
Thereafter they should look forward to coordinated live interview sessions upon shortlistement for the challenge to ascertain the authenticity of their application.
Application closes at 11:59 p.m on September 20th, 2021.
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