Press Statement: The OPEN DOOR SERIES Nigeria @ 60

Nigeria at 60: “The Future Is Now” is designed to leave no one behind in the cause of creating the “Future We Want Now.”

The project will have members of the young generation expressing their visions about the Nigeria they desire to live in through essays and paintings.

This 30-day-long series of activities starting on the 2nd of September through 1st of October, will feature a painting competition, an essay writing competition, an advocacy session and a drama presentation — all on the cyber space using the ZOOM platform.

Topic: Nigeria at 60; The Nigeria Of My future. The journey begins with the participants reflecting on the challenges the nation faces and spotlighting its potentials through the medium of painting on canvas and writing of essays.

On September 7, 2020, entries for essay submissions will open to participants in the 12-18 age bracket for the junior category, and 18 and above in the senior category across Nigeria and the diaspora.

Participants will be required to fill an online registration form and submit their written essays. Word count for the junior category is 750-800 word and 1200-1500 for the senior category.

Adjudication will be done to produce winners and runners-up along with 54 other finalists to make the 60 awardees to tally with commemoration of Nigeria @ 60.

Submission of entries for the painting competition opens on September 7 and will run for two weeks.

Each geo-political zone of Nigeria will be represented by a team of 10 members with each team comprising of one team lead and nine team members. Members of each team will be indigenes of states in that geo-political zone. Giving us 60 shortlisted finalists, 6 different paintings that will be merged as unity painting to be unveiled on the 1st of October.

A Grand finale will hold on 1st October,2020 to wrap up the 30-day series of activities. This event will feature the first presentation of the play “Brittle-ing Diamond,” written by Prof Ahmed Yerima, as directed by Niji Akanni and performed by the youth-focused Crown Troupe of Africa under the leadership of Segun Adefila.

This program is an open-door series concept in collaboration with The Vision of The Child overseeing the painting segment of the program. Other stakeholders contacted includes Ministry of Information and Office of the secretary to The Government of the Federation, among others.

Open door series is an initiative of Zmirage Multimedia Limited and the organisers of the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange.