When our founder, Jennifer Uchendu and Kenechukwu Edeche, co-founder of Nurlux (pictured above) began discussions on the possibilities of having a sustainability-themed party/games night on social media, a lot of people thought they were joking.
Well, on the 2nd of July, 2016, over 60 young people gathered in a nature-themed location in Lagos State to discuss sustainability, play games and network with like minds.
Our party kicked off at about 4:30pm with the screening of the Thirty Million Movie, the movie displayed the major impacts of Climate Change in Bangladesh and how vulnerable the effects left the children and the women especially. Our guests watched closely with rapt attention wanting to hear and see every bit of the movie. Once we were done, we had a little chat about the movie. One participant lamented on how a lot of Africans still see Climate Change as a farce and how we are ironically the most vulnerable to the impacts, another person said, Nigeria barely pays attention to geographers and so we are not very equipped to handle some of the short-term disasters that Climate Change could bring. Remarkably, another young man thought most steps in climate actions were not realistic for the common Nigerian, for example, every Nigerian wants a car because our transport systems are a nightmare.
As soon as the chat ended, we decided to have our focus groups on six (6) very critical sustainability issues facing the country but the house voted for a mini presented from each of our speakers.
Olumide Idowu, Climate Wednesday co-founder, took the house on Climate Action for Nigerian Youths where he spoke about the absence of a planet B or a plan B and why we as youths need to join and kick off campaigns that promote climate change awareness in our own little ways, he also spoke about watching NTA News for local news about happenings in Nigeria, Olumide’s passion was evident in his speech and everyone was inspired to do something.
Emmanuel Taiwo, a researcher and business sustainability consultant took us on Understanding and Championing Business Sustainability for Young Professionals in Nigeria, spoke on what business sustainability really means and how small actions like less paper usage, recycling and switching off light bulbs. He also made everyone make a commitment to promote sustainability in their companies and businesses.
Chinasa Ude, a One champion and sociopreneur took us on Child Marriage and Women Empowerment in Nigeria, How long till we get it right? She urged everyone to speak out when they see women or children abused in the society.
Adesoji Adeyemi-Adejolu, made a presentation on the Beauty of Waste and Opportunities for Nigerian Youths, in his words, what we call waste can be re-used and recycled to make other products and that recycling was very key to achieve a pollution free Nigeria.
Jennifer Uchendu, our founder carried the house on a journey with the 17 SDGs and what young people can do to achieve each and every one of the goals, She explained that social media is an excellent key for awareness and that our lives should reflect sustainability through kindness and respect for one another and a determination to live responsibly for people and the planet.
Akintayo Ololade, a zoologist working with the Wild About Africa Initiative brought an interesting dimension to the discourse, as he spoke on wildlife and biodiversity awareness for true sustainability, he explained to us so many animals are at risk of extinction and that illegal trading of animals come from a place of ignorance, he also said that so many diseases have come to the world from unnecessary killing of animals.
Finally, the Deputy Secretary General of the Lagos Model United Nations, Pearle Nwaezeigwe spoke on their upcoming conference and why Nigerian students must get involved.
Next, we listened to environmental focused music from ID Blaze and Ns Ben, and then the rest of the evening was spent networking, taking pictures and playing games !
Our Location
Quiet Pools Inn is located at 2a Richard Adejumo Close, Off Odegbami close, Boet Estate, (by ABC Bustop AT Aba Johnson ), Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja within the compound is a beautiful garden, perfect communal space and affordable and boutiques rooms for lodging as well, the location gave a classic touch to our event and we were so grateful that a place like that even existed! You can look them up on Instagram and also email: quietpoolsinn@gmail.com to book a space for your events and/or lodging.
Our Sponsors
All our sponsors contributed greatly to make this event a success, even with very short notice.We specially thank Best Man Games, who supplied us with Monopoly and Card Games, being a United Nations Global Compact member, this organization values sustainability and was very excited to support us, they literally brought the “party spirit” into to our event, because without the games, we would have done nothing different from business as usual.
The management of Quiet Pools Inn also have our continued gratitude for supporting this event and taking it as their own project, we are pleased that such a well meaning and nature conscious organization exists and are ever ready to support.
Other notable sponsors are Melting Moments Nigeria, Wilson Juice, Laroux Energy drink and Drink Water Foundation who supported with the movie screening and refreshments. We also thank individuals who supported us in this project.
Our next Susty party would hold in Abuja, Yes!! It would be bigger and even more interesting, for sponsorship details, kindly reach us on info@sustyvibes.com or call 08096578765.
Watch this short clip on our Susty Party here
View more pictures of the event below: