AsharamiSpeaks: Stimulating Conservations, Collaborations for Sustainable Development

Peter Uzoho

It was an emotive gathering that gave a resounding voice to the cause of girl-child empowerment. The thoughts expressed were passionate; the discussions in depth. The speakers were distinguished media, entrepreneurship and film experts. The event was the maiden edition of #AsaharamiSpeaks, a Sahara Group thought leadership platform created to stimulate collaborative action towards global sustainable development.

The panel discussion event featured appearances by A-list screen actors and public figures including, Rita Dominic, Ramsey Nouah, Dakore Akande, Jadesola Osiberu, Bodunrin Sasore and Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji. They were joined by young filmmaker and girl education advocate Zuriel Oduwole and award-winning broadcasting journalist and CNN Africa producer Stephanie Busari. The panelists deliberated on: ‘Enhancing girl-child empowerment through the medium of film’.

The audience had some of the beneficiaries of Sahara Group's 'Grooming Film Extrapreneurs' project which saw Zuriel coordinate filmmaking classes for 90 young ladies in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire - in line with the leading African energy conglomerate's passion for empowering and transforming lives.

Some of the most pressing issues brought to the fore included the paradigm shift in gender dynamics with one live tweet commenting that “women don’t submit anymore”. The twitter assertion was roundly debunked with equal doses of seriousness and humour. Social entrepreneur Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji riposted “Men must not feel emasculated by the presence of a strong woman. The power of a woman shouldn’t make you feel any less adequate as a man.”

Another subject which livened the conversation was, the current climate of gender equity illustrated by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements occurring across the Atlantic. The movement has caused tectonic shifts not only in terms of gender dynamics but also in terms of the power play that exists in established institutions like Hollywood and the British Houses of Parliament.

Ramsey Nouah’s opinion on the subject indicated the need for boys all over the world to treat girls with respect. “It is so important to train our boys from an early age to respect the girls and women in their lives. How we raise our children really does set the tone for future gender dynamics. “