Age
17
Country of Residence
Nigeria
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
The idea behind NextGen Network came from observing some of the challenges affecting our communities, including poor sanitation, limited civic and political awareness, health-related misinformation and drug abuse among young people. I began to realise that many of these problems cannot be addressed through awareness alone; people also need opportunities to participate in finding solutions. My “aha” moment was recognising that young people should not have to wait until they become adults to contribute to their communities. We have ideas, energy and the ability to influence positive change, but we need the right knowledge, guidance and platform. That inspired me to bring together a small team of three to establish NextGen Network. We believe that by educating young people, encouraging responsible participation and organising practical community activities, we can start making a difference, even with a small team. Our vision is to grow from a small initiative into a network of young people who take responsibility for building cleaner, healthier and more informed communities.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
As a developing initiative, NextGen Network currently has four founding members: Bright, Daniel, Blessing and James. We are working together to build the project and create opportunities for more young people to participate in improving their communities. We plan to encourage others to join by using social media, personal outreach, community discussions and connections with schools and youth groups. We want to make young people understand that community development is not only the responsibility of government or adults; everyone has a role to play. Through awareness sessions and peer-to-peer discussions, we will educate participants about sanitation, civic and political awareness, health education and drug abuse prevention. We will also encourage them to share their experiences, identify challenges in their neighbourhoods and suggest practical solutions.Our goal is to make participation welcoming and meaningful by giving volunteers opportunities to contribute ideas, help organise activities and take part in community improvement projects.We have not yet conducted a formal public engagement programme, so our initial participation is limited to our four founding members. As we launch, we aim to engage at least 15–20 young people, listen to their ideas and encourage them to become active contributors to NextGen Network. We hope that participants will also invite their friend
How many people are on your team?
4
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
NextGen Network is currently at an early stage of development, with a founding team of three members. Although we have not yet carried out large-scale activities or recorded measurable community outcomes, we have established a clear vision and plan for addressing challenges affecting our communities. Our first goal is to engage at least 15–20 young people in Lagos through educational discussions and awareness activities. We aim to introduce practical lessons on sanitation, civic and political awareness, health education and drug abuse prevention. In our initial three months, we hope to organise at least two awareness sessions, engage young people in identifying a community challenge and carry out at least one practical community activity with appropriate adult guidance. We will measure our progress through the number of young people reached, participation in activities, feedback received and evidence of completed community projects. We also hope to see participants develop greater awareness, make informed decisions and become more willing to contribute to solving local problems. Our long-term impact will be a growing network of informed and responsible young people who take initiative and work together to build cleaner, healthier and more active communities.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
NextGen Network is a youth-led initiative in Lagos, Nigeria, created to build cleaner, healthier and more informed communities. Our goal is to educate and empower young people on sanitation, civic and political awareness, health education and drug abuse prevention. We aim to encourage young people to take responsibility, understand the issues affecting their communities and work together to develop practical solutions that create positive social change.
Project title
NextGen Network
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Many communities face challenges such as poor sanitation, limited civic and political awareness, health misinformation and drug abuse among young people. These issues affect public health, community development and the ability of people to make informed decisions about their lives and society. In many cases, young people are not given enough opportunities to learn about these issues, express their ideas or participate in developing solutions. As a result, important community problems may continue without meaningful youth involvement. This problem matters to us because young people are part of the communities affected by these challenges, and we believe they should also be part of the solution. Through NextGen Network, we want to promote awareness, encourage responsible citizenship, support healthier choices and inspire young people to take practical steps towards improving their communities. We believe that positive change begins when people understand the problems around them and are given the opportunity and guidance to act.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next three months, our priority is to move NextGen Network from the planning stage into practical community action. We will begin by strengthening our four-member team, assigning responsibilities and developing a simple activity plan for our four focus areas: sanitation, civic and political awareness, health education and drug abuse prevention. In the first month, we plan to introduce NextGen Network to young people in our community, connect with potential volunteers and identify the community challenges they consider most important. We will also seek guidance from community leaders and qualified professionals who can support our activities. In the second month, we aim to organise our first awareness and learning sessions, encouraging young people to share ideas, ask questions and discuss possible solutions. We will seek support from health professionals for health-related and drug prevention education,In the third month, we plan to organise our first practical community activity based on the needs identified by participants. This could include a sanitation awareness campaign or another suitable community improvement activity. Throughout this period, we will document our activities, collect feedback and measure participation to understand our progress. Our long-term goal is to build,partnerships, attract more young volunteers and gradually expand NextGen Network
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Many existing community programmes focus on addressing one issue at a time or sharing information without creating enough opportunities for young people to participate in finding solutions. NextGen Network takes a more connected and participatory approach by bringing sanitation, civic and political awareness, health education and drug abuse prevention together under one youth-led initiative. Our innovation is not that these issues have never been addressed before, but that we want to connect them through a single platform where young people can learn, exchange ideas, identify challenges in their communities and take practical action. We are also adopting a peer-to-peer approach, allowing young people to educate, encourage and learn from one another rather than depending entirely on traditional awareness campaigns. We plan to use accessible tools such as social media, community discussions and small group activities to reach young people and encourage their involvement. Starting with a small team in Lagos, we intend to develop a model that is affordable, community-focused and adaptable to different neighbourhoods. We will also seek guidance from qualified professionals and community stakeholders to ensure that our activities are responsible and useful. What makes NextGen Network distinctive is our belief that awareness should lead to participation, and participation should lead to practical community improvement. We want young people to move from being observers of community problems to becoming active contributors to solutions.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
NextGen Network addresses these challenges through youth education, community engagement and practical action. We plan to organise awareness sessions, group discussions and small community activities that help young people understand the issues affecting their surroundings and how they can contribute to solving them. Our work will focus on four key areas: promoting proper sanitation and environmental responsibility; educating young people about civic rights, responsibilities and peaceful political participation; sharing reliable health information with support from qualified professionals; and promoting drug abuse prevention through education and informed decision-making. We will encourage young people to identify problems in their communities, discuss possible solutions and participate in suitable activities such as sanitation awareness campaigns, civic education discussions and health and drug prevention programmes. Starting with our small team in Lagos, we intend to work with community members, schools, volunteers and relevant professionals to organise our activities responsibly. We will document participation, feedback and progress to understand what works and improve our approach. Our solution is to turn awareness into action by giving young people the knowledge, guidance and opportunity to become active contributors to cleaner, healthier and better-informed communities.
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
NextGen Network currently has four founding members: Bright, Daniel, Blessing and James. We work together with a shared commitment to building cleaner, healthier and better-informed communities. Bright serves as the Founder and Project Lead, helping to coordinate the initiative, guide planning and ensure that our activities remain aligned with our goals. Daniel serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator, focusing on connecting with young people, encouraging participation and
