Get Guardian on GoogleThirty young women drawn from the 30 local government areas of Osun State have undergone advocacy training aimed at strengthening their participation in community development and public decision-making.
The participants completed a three-day residential training organised by VARSH Foundation under its Osun Young Women’s Advocacy Fellowship (OYWAF), supported by the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund, at the Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
The training, held from November 10 to 13, 2026, equipped the fellows with practical skills to identify challenges in their communities, investigate their root causes and engage relevant stakeholders to drive change.
The programme focused on community problem analysis, stakeholder mapping, ethical evidence gathering, persuasive communication, digital advocacy and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Participants were also trained on how to engage traditional, religious and government institutions in their respective communities.
The fellowship, according to VARSH Foundation, was designed to address the low representation of women in public decision-making in Nigeria by building a network of young female advocates across all local government areas of Osun State.
Sessions were facilitated by academics and practitioners, led by the founder of VARSH Foundation, Salvation Grace Aworanti, while Prof. Opeyemi Oyewunmi Ekundayo opened the programme with a session on feminism and the history of women’s organising in Nigeria.
A journalist, Gbenga Oloniniran, facilitated the session on communications and digital campaigns. Other facilitators included Kinfeosi Babatimehin, Lukman Adeoti, Omolola Pedro, Joy Larry and Hassanat Adebowale.
Speaking at the training, the Executive Director of VARSH Foundation, Hassanat Adebowale, said the initiative was intended to equip young women with the skills and confidence to influence decisions affecting their communities.
“Osun State has never lacked brilliant young women. What they have lacked is a seat at the table where decisions about their lives are made. In three days, we watched 30 of them learn to trace a problem to its roots, gather evidence, and ask the right person for the right change.
“For the next 90 days, they will do exactly that across different local government areas, and we will be behind them every step of the way,” she said.
One of the fellows, Ilesanmi Ayomide Praises, who served as coordinator of the participants, expressed appreciation to VARSH Foundation and the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund for the initiative.
Speaking on behalf of the fellows, she said the training had provided them with the knowledge and opportunity to build a network of young women committed to advocacy.
“We came in as 30 strangers from 30 local governments, and we are leaving as one network of advocates.
“From the welcome we received to the quality of every single session, we were treated as leaders, and we learnt more in three days than many of us expected to learn in a year. We are grateful to VARSH Foundation and the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund for investing in young women like us, and we are going back to our communities ready to work,” she said.
VARSH Foundation said the training marked the first phase of the fellowship, with each participant developing a 90-day advocacy plan to guide activities in her respective local government area.
It added that, over the next three months, the fellows would engage community leaders and local authorities on issues they had identified, including access to services and the inclusion of young women in decision-making.
The foundation said findings and outcomes from the advocacy activities would be compiled into a consolidated report for submission to the Osun State Ministry of Women Affairs.
The Osun Young Women’s Advocacy Fellowship is supported by the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund, an initiative focused on investing in young Nigerians shaping the future of the country.
