X3M Ideas @ 10, deepens literacy, donates reading hub

As part of activities to commemorate its 10th anniversary, one of Nigeria’s creative agencies, X3M Ideas, recently donated a reading hub to students of Ilupeju Secondary School, Lagos, to deepen literacy.

For a decade, the agency has impacted through its X3M Ideas’ Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. In the past decade, the agency has consistently delivered impactful social intervention projects that include, renovation of classrooms, office blocks, sick bays, libraries and donating computers, UPS devices, air conditioners, Internet modems with unlimited data to public schools in Lagos.

But according to the Chief Executive Officer of the X3M Ideas, Mr. Steve Babaeko, the 10th anniversary CSR project focused on deepening reading culture in public schools, through donation of reading hubs, for strategic reasons.

While speaking at the unveiling, Babaeko reiterated his commitment to changing the reading culture among young people in Lagos.

He said, “X3M Ideas will not waver in our effort to support Nigerian children, especially those in the public school system within our locality. We will consistently deliver impactful social intervention projects to the benefit of the students. This reading hub is modern, convenient and equipped with a library to make books accessible in order to groom these youths with ideas that can reshape the world.”

Earlier, the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo, had stated that the community-centred CSR initiative by the creative agency would help students redirect their time and resources better towards improving education outcomes in the state.

“In this era of social media, school children are easily distracted. But this reading hub will make it easier for them to renegotiate their time for studies and leisure in order to become knowledgeable youth and ultimately future leaders,” stated Adefisayo, who was represented by Grace Akinfoyewa, director, Lagos State Ministry of Education.

This was also the position of the principal, Ilupeju Secondary School, Ayobami Masheyi, who expressed his gratitude for the act of goodwill, and urged the students to take advantage of the new facility to improve their reading culture.

“We are always so grateful to X3M Ideas for their contributions to the benefit of our students’ year on year. This year, we’re especially grateful for the contribution to building the knowledge economy by donating a reading hub to our school, for our students. A good reader makes a good leader,” Masheyi stated

Since 2012, when X3M Ideas, commemorated its first anniversary with renovating and handing over a well-equipped block of five classrooms at Opebi Junior High School, the agency has continued to build on the achievement.

In 2019, the agency handed over a renovated Block 4 Building, housing the new state-of-the-art library facility, counseling centre and the sick bay of Agidingbi Junior Grammar school Ikeja, as the year’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) project.

The donations are largely seen to complement the efforts of the government and especially, the Lagos State government, led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in its combat of various challenges facing secondary school education.

Looking back these past years and activities in the marketing communications industry, it’s easy to conclude that history is being re-written for the better by the agency. Beyond bringing Nigeria into global reckoning, X3M Ideas and a few other agencies are also giving foreign creative firms a run for their money.

Since it was established a decade ago, X3M Ideas has remained a leading creative powerhouse with a lot to show for it.

In 2021, X3M Ideas didn’t only grow stronger, but won new clients as well as ticking all the right boxes. The agency also consolidated its reputation as the emerging creative powerhouse on the African continent with the quality of pan-African campaigns it executed in partnership with DStv and the MultiChoice Africa Group, becoming the first agency outside South Africa to pull-off such a feat.

Also in 2021, X3M Ideas became the agency that put Nigeria on the global map by winning several international awards, notable among was the Gold it won at the Luum awards in Geneva Switzerland for work done for Mentally Aware Nigeria.

Luum awards is a global festival dedicated to creativity, exclusively rewarding messages that seek to awaken a social, civic or environmental consciousness to make the world a better place.

The agency won the award for its work on Suicide Notes, a campaign created to help people with mental health issues. The campaign was executed for the Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI), a youth-focused mental health organisation, which is championing the fight against stigmatisation and creating an environment that makes it possible for people to seek care for their mental health without fear of discrimination.