By John Ikani
Over 400 young people from across Nigeria and in the diaspora will converge virtually at Naija Policy Hackathon 2023 from From August 11 to 13, 2023, to find solutions to critical development challenges plaguing the country, and to set the policy agenda for the new government administration.
The Naija Policy Hackathon is powered by Policy Shapers, a youth-led civic startup that empowers young people with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to engage with public policy.
Unveiling the agenda for this year’s Naija Policy Hack in a statement made available to newsmen, the Founder of Policy Shapers, Ebenezar Wikina, said “Last year we gathered 200 young people at the maiden edition of Naija Policy Hack, and we’re taking it a step further this year with over 400 applicants at this year’s hackathon.
“We hope that this policy ideation event will provide an opportunity for youth to introspect and collaborate to develop solutions that respond to current development challenges in the country. In the course of this hackathon, we will see young people from Kano or Bauchi working with peers from Enugu, Ondo, and even Canada, the US, and Europe to develop policy ideas.”
The release went on to note that teams of five will compete during the hackathon for a cash prize of up to 400,000 naira with the winning team taking home 200,000 naira.
Ideas will be developed by participants along the following five tracks: the Nigeria Student Loan Program, the Climate Change Act, Tech, AI & the Nigeria Startup Act, Agriculture & Food Security, Taxation & Internal Revenue Generation.
It is worth noting that Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli (MFR), founder of LEAP Africa, Changing Narratives Africa, African Food Changemakers, and co-founder of Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition Ltd and AACE Foods Processing & Distribution Ltd, shall be delivering the keynote address on Saturday, August 12.
Other speakers at the weekend-long event include Oke Epia, founder and Chief Executive at OrderPaper Nigeria, and Dr. Peter Ojo, Founder of Letter to Aso Rock.
The Chief judge for the hackathon is Oluseun Onigbide, Global Director of BudgIT, while Bella Anne Ndubuisi, Dr. Azeezat Yishawu, Hasana Bello Aliyu, and Amara Nwankpa make up the esteemed panel of judges.
In other efforts, Policy Shapers continues to deliver global policy changes through the #ReformIELTS campaign seeking the exemption of Nigerians and other Anglo-Africans from English proficiency tests.
Its petition to the UK Home Office has now been signed by almost 82,000 people and over 32 universities from the US, Canada, and the UK have announced exemptions for Anglo-Africans from IELTS/TOEFL.
The campaign also earned the endorsement of former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria.
Click here to join sessions at Naija Policy Hackathon 2023.
