Schmidt Futures, in collaboration with The Rhodes Trust, will reveal the second batch of 100 Rise Global Winners in 2022. Rise is a program that seeks out promising young people aged 15 to 17 from around the world and encourages a lifetime of service and learning by providing need-based scholarships, mentorship, networking, access to career development opportunities, and the possibility of additional funding.
Five Nigerians were announced as winners of the 100 persons rewarded in 2022, joining a growing Rise community of young leaders throughout the world.
Since its establishment, around 150,000 people from more than 170 countries have joined the Rise group, and 200 champions from 69 countries have been chosen for their promise and devotion to serve.
Asher Segun-Olasanmi, Emmanuela Ilok, Ikenna Charles Nwafor, Mokwe Uche David, and Naomi Ifunanya Marizu Obinwa, the 2022 Nigerian winners, will all attend the Rise Residential Summit in England this year, a global conference that brings together Rise’s network to advance the winners’ commitment to service and learning.
Uche, an environmentalist, organized the first Zero Waste Day in his community, a program that pushed and encouraged residents to go a whole day without damaging the environment.
Emmanuela started a project to assist close the education gap. Her program is called ‘CodEd,’ and it provides teacher training, a student-centered curriculum, and internship possibilities. She created the curriculum after noticing a discrepancy in the quality of computer science instruction in Nigerian public and private schools. Emmanuela has also been chosen as a global leader among her cohort by Rise, and she has been charged with sharing her findings on addressing the education problem through a formal presentation on her program at this year’s residential conference.
Similarly, Ifunanya established a website with blogs and videos from medical professionals discussing why healthcare is vital to Nigerians.
Creating awareness about cybersecurity, according to Ikenna, was a key strategy to confront the growing issue of cyber-attacks in Nigeria following the COVID-19 epidemic. “My Rise project was inspired by the influx of cybercrime cases in Nigeria, which has become a menace in our community,” he stated of his idea. I had the honor of speaking with two folks who shared real-life experiences with me.”
For these young people, however, being a Rise Global Winner is only the beginning of their adventure. In 2023, Ikenna joined forces with partners to form a non-governmental organization with the goal of eradicating extreme poverty in Nigeria through education. Ikenna believes that the Rise Residential Summit will provide him with the opportunity to network with leaders in a number of businesses and professions.
“Beyond the summit, I hope to leverage my Rise network and community to build an impact driven tech start-up,” he says. Although the start-up is still in its beginning stages, Ikenna believes the benefits from the Rise program will provide him opportunities for life to serve others and give him the confidence he needs to continue building his dreams.
Asher, a mental health advocate and scholar, works to promote justice, health, and safety in Nigeria and around the world. She is currently collaborating with her university “to create and provide wellbeing packs for students who may be finding it difficult to cope with homesickness, cultural differences, and adjusting to life in a new environment in general,” she explained. The institution supports her proposal since it will assist future students.
Asher, like Ikenna, anticipates engaging with fellow Rise Winners, particularly those in the Rise African Union’s 2022 cohort, at the 2023 Rise Residential Summit. She also anticipates learning a lot. “I know for a fact that Rise has brought together amazing innovators from all over the world to speak with us on pressing global issues.”
Each of the awardees is thrilled to be a part of the worldwide Rise community. They are eager to inspire the next generation of leaders by inspiring and implementing long-term change in communities all across the world.
