Our Media Mentoring Initiative Project took it to the next level with our book giving event at the Lagos State University School of Communication on Tuesday November 1st, 2011. Yours truly was the MC of the event and it was great fun for me reuniting with my favorite students, many of them have already started great works with the video production skill we shared with them. Find below the press release:
"Achieving professional productivity and self dependence after graduation became the main focus of the day as the Media Mentoring Initiative held its much anticipated Book Presentation event for graduating students of Mass Communication at the Lagos State University, Adebola Adegunwa School of Communication.
Presided over by The Visioner of the mentoring project, Funke-Treasure Durodola (Mrs.) and Professor of Communication Lai Oso who set the tone for an inspiring afternoon with his welcome address, and with tens of the mentored students, faculty lecturers and invited guests in attendance, the event went full gear with a PowerPoint presentation by Mrs. Durodola in which she shared her vision and took guests through the journey of the mentoring project since inception in June 2010.
The initiative has between June 2010 and January 2011 held three (3) intensive training workshops and trained 23 final year students of the university on ‘News and Feature Reporting for Radio and TV’, ‘Programme Production and Story Telling Skills for TV’ with the final one on ‘Effective Internet Skills for Budding Journalists’ held at the Public Affairs Section of the US consulate in Lagos.
The event reached a crescendo with an inspirational speech titled ‘Media Careers and Entrepreneurship – Moving on after graduation’ delivered by invited motivational speaker and Media Marketing Consultant, Charles Onwubiko. The MD/CEO Beacon Media Network and former Group Marketing Manager Silverbird Cinemas Africa also displayed his generosity by offering cash gift to one of the mentees that graduated with First Class honours.
30 copies of the inspirational book ‘Models and Mentors’ written by Uju Onyechere were donated by Chief Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, Publisher and Editor of Success Digest. Also given out were copies of Okechukwu Ofili’s ‘How Stupidity Saved My Life’ donated by Dafe Ivwurie, a media consultant and also one of the lead facilitators of the 2nd workshop who seized the opportunity of the event to fulfill his promise made in September 2010 to the mentees.
At the end of the book presentation, the students who were all full of gratitude and kind words for Mrs. Durodola and other facilitators also showed appreciation by presenting her with a plaque on behalf of the Broadcast and Communication Technology Students Association (BACTSA) of the institution “in recognition of her excellence in media mentoring for budding journalist”. In her thank you speech, she challenged the students to see the opportunity she has given them as a challenge to achieve greater things than she has done in the profession as that will be the greatest gift they can give to her.
The biggest winners on the day however are current students of the LASU School of Communication that will now enjoy such training programmes like the MMI in their final year to be funded by the school. This was Professor Lai Oso’s declaration having been inspired by Funke-Treasure’s dynamism and the impact the MMI has made in the life of his students, many of whom are already making their skills count professionally even before proceeding on their compulsory National Youth Service Corp.
Funke-Treasure promises to move on with her vision to develop the skills and employability of young people in the tertiary institutions aspiring to work in the broadcast media and to nurture a new breed of aware, confident and informed media firebrands in the country.
Signed
Keni Akintoye
Business Development/Communication
Debb and Isaac Media Ltd"
