Upon completion of the East African phase of WE AfriHug 2019, the team converged in Abuja, Nigeria on the 8th of April, 2019, to commence the West African phase of the project. Konstantinos Maragkos and Marilena Maragkou met with Alberta Jonah, EMA Ghana representative and partner for WE AfriHug 2019 – West Africa. The team was warmly welcomed by members of Impact Foundation for Youths Development and representatives from the University of Jos to the land of diversity.
Preparations for the Higher Education Institution (HEI) training session commenced immediately the next day at the University of Jos, where a preparatory meeting was held between the WE AfriHug team and 14 board members of the University of Jos to discuss the purpose of the project. A courtesy call was made to the Vice Chancellor of the University, who received the team warmly and expressed his gratitude and approval for the training to proceed in the University. The Academic and Administrative staff of University of Jos who participated in the ERASMUS+ training on 9th April, 2019, recorded the highest number of participants in that category trained on the WE AfriHug project. One hundred and twenty-seven (127) Academic and Administrative staff were actively involved in the training to equip themselves with knowledge about the ERASMUS+ program and how to apply for the opportunities available and seek for strategic partnerships to collaborate with.
The next two days (10th and 11th April, 2019) were dedicated to students of the University of Jos, to sensitize them on Erasmus+ and build their capacities on how to apply successfully to the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree programs. The training sessions were delivered in an interactive way and students were encouraged to ask questions to clear all doubts. A total of 143 students attended the training sessions and gave positive feedback about its impact.
The team returned to Abuja to execute the second set of trainings for youth workers form different Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) within Abuja. The Impact Foundation for Youths Development, together with the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ICPR) coordinated effectively to provide the necessary logistics and publicity to organize a successful 4-day training seminar for CSOs. The enthusiasm and expectancy of the participants was overwhelming and exciting for the team. Sixty (60) youth workers from 10 different CSOs were trained in the areas of “Applying for Erasmus+ projects”, “Creating strategic partnerships”,” Pitching”, “Crowdfunding”, “Project Management” and “Applying for Erasmus Mundus scholarships”. Participants were given the chance to introduce their organizations to foster partnerships. They were also taken through practical sessions on each of the topics discussed and equipped with links and tips to assist them in applying for winning projects under the Erasmus+. A brief closing ceremony was organized at the end of the 4th day’s session. The Director of IPCR, where the training sessions were held, thanked the WE AfriHug team for imparting the participants with so much knowledge and requested for such events to be multiplied in other parts of the country. Participants were then handed certificates of participation, accompanied by pictures. Finally, the popular creative WE AfriHug video was made by the team together with the participants.