Vision of The Child… Promoting creative thinking among children

We Are Interested In The Future Of Our Kids, Says Diamond Bank Boss
People assume that creativity is an inborn talent that their kids either do or do not have; just as all children are not equally intelligent, all children are not equally creative. However, creativity is more skill than inborn talent, something parents can help their kids develop.

In Nigeria, primary goals are usually directed at keeping children healthy and safe, teaching cognitive skills such as shape and color recognition, encouraging prosocial behavior, and introducing basic literacy and numeration skills. With all the time that needs to be devoted to these areas, there is less opportunity to think about the importance of nurturing children’s creative abilities. And yet, creative power increases a young child’s desire to learn and supports intellectual development.

Many researchers believe we have fundamentally changed the experience of childhood in such a way that impairs creative development. Toy and entertainment companies feed kids an endless stream of prefab characters, images, props and plotlines that allow children to put their imaginations to rest.

So, six years ago, when Foluke Michael initiated Vision of The Child (VoTC) project, the vision was identify talents through their yearly programmes and initiatives. The idea is to use the platform to nurture, train and equip VoTC participants for leadership skills, as well as enable them to network, develop various projects for nation building.

“One of the key elements of Vision of the Child is to hear the voices of the young and equip them to lead change. The core strength is drawn from the ability of VoTC participants to think creatively, analyse problems, and proffer solutions through different medium such as paintings, literary arts, music, dance. This shows that Nigeria child, if given opportunity and right platform, will be position to lead change in the future,” Michael said.

Fortunately, the initiative found in Diamond Bank a strong partner in the quest to paint a bright future for the Nigeria child, through the creative industry. As the sponsor, the Bank has helped in reaching out to over four thousand students from over two thousand schools across Lagos State, helping them to showcase their talents on a big platform.

This year’s show, which was organised as part of Lagos @ 50 celebration, featured only winners of the VoTC, between 2012 and 2016; they were invited in February to participate in the special edition.

The scope of their project was to search through the State for any feature that best illustrates the Festival motto: Enhance The Heritage; Advance The Future. Their choices were based on information technology, architectural (building or landscaping), street decor, Transportation, Motor Park, Leisure Park, public or private institutions, public facilities, government policies, performances, innovations, educational models, films, campaigns, market, factory and others.

Participants wrote individual essay or poem of their choice, provided an exposition on the choice, even where such idea was non-material. They also presented their individual creative ideas before live audience at the grand finale through the medium of painting, literary arts, music, dance and photography.

But prior to the Saturday live presentations, they had gone through various stages, which included a three-day workshop and training conducted by selected professionals and experts in the various identified disciplines and subjects, to guide them on their project choices.

In the literary category, Princess Marinay emerged winner; Ifunanya Obinwa and Nwaoke Ifeoma tied in second position, while Rebecca Sylvester won the third position. As expected, the painting category was very competitive, as each contestant put his/her best foot forward; three contestants emerged as winners of the second position in the category.

In the special skill category, Titiloye Tobi came second in her Environment and Innovation painting, while Nwaokorie Oluchukwu won the first position in Architecture and Design.

“Diamond Bank believe in child development, and they constantly support innovation and creativity; which is an added advantage to VoTC. We also identify with the bank’s brand to build a greater VoTC,” Michael said.

Speaking at this year’s event, which had dignitaries such as Professor Abass representing the Lagos State Governor, Professor Wole Soyinka, Jahman Anikulapo, the Managing Director of Diamond Bank Uzoma Dozie reiterated the banks commitment to the development of the youth, especially in the arts. He underscored the importance of preparing the young ones for the future, adding that this can be achieved by having a vision and painting the future through deliberate effort in the area of one’s passion.

“Diamond Bank believes in the future of our children and is helping to invest in it. It is a privilege to partner with VOTC since 2012. Our heritage is important to us and we need to go back and enhance it. Thousands of students have been trained so far and we are happy with their progress that we see. ” Dozie said.

He continued: “To really imagine the future, you have to pain it. That’s one thing we have not been doing in Nigeria; how do we want Nigeria to be in twenty years? We start to paint it now.”