Osun, UNESCO-REF partner to promote digital inclusion for women with disabilities

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

The Osun Government has partnered the Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO-REF) to equip women with disabilities with digital skills and improve their access to employment opportunities.

The President of UNESCO-REF, Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan, disclosed this in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the partnership would pilot The VOICE Initiative in Osun, making it the first sub-national government in Nigeria to adopt the professional advancement programme.

According to him, the initiative is designed to prepare women with disabilities for dignified and financially sustainable employment in the digital economy.

Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan said the first phase would target 64 women in Osun, with another cohort expected in the next phase.

He said the programme would address economic exclusion while improving the welfare and educational prospects of beneficiaries’ children.

“This programme is about two generations, through one intervention. When we equip a mother with a disability to earn a dignified income, we protect the schooling of her children.

“Our parents and our out-of-school children are not two separate challenges. They are one story, and The VOICE Initiative addresses both at once.

“Osun State has shown the courage to lead, and in doing so it has become the model for every other State of the Federation,” he said.

He said data verification for the first cohort would commence on Oct. 21, followed by a virtual orientation, a three-week induction and a six-week training programme.

According to him, the first course, AI Innovation and Digital Enterprise, will be delivered online through The Lichfield Academy.

He said the course comprised 78 lessons and was open to women with disabilities aged 18 and above, who held a first degree or its equivalent in any discipline.

He added that applicants would not require prior technology experience to participate.

Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan said the programme was designed to enable every graduate secure remote employment within or outside Nigeria.

He said the initiative aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality, quality education, decent work and reduced inequalities.

He added that it was also consistent with the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.

According to him, UNESCO-REF would fully fund the training through its Educational Financial Facility Scheme, at no cost to the state or Federal Government.

He said the initiative was also expected to generate economic benefits through personal income tax, value-added tax, increased local spending and improved productivity.

Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan said the Osun pilot represented the first phase of a four-year programme scheduled to run from 2026 to 2030.

He said the initiative aimed to reach 120,000 women across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones in 2027, with 20,000 beneficiaries expected from each zone.

He added that the programme would expand to member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2028 and extend to all 54 African countries by 2030.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that The VOICE Initiative, an acronym for Visionary, Outcomes-Driven AI for Inclusion, Capacity for Empowerment, was launched on Oct. 1, to promote the inclusion of women with disabilities in the digital economy. (NAN)

Edited by Tosin Kolade