Declaring the program open, the Executive Director of SWAYA, Stella Amanie appreciated the management of the school for the opportunity to create awareness on human right among the students, thanked Development and Peace, Canada for supporting the program and expressed her Genevieve Talbot, a former staff of Development and Peace who was in Nigeria on holidays for finding time to attend the program. Speaking further, Mrs. Stella said the students are fortunate to receive sensitization on human rights education, an opportunity she did not have as a student. She shared her experience as a young girls growing up and doubled as a student and also carrying out hawking business at the same time. She emphasized on the need for the students to take the human right education that would be presented by the Executive Director of Advocacy Centre serious and talked about how age is not a barrier to knowing about human right. As an event that took place in a girls’ school, she encouraged the girl child to be bold, fearless and confident in standing and fighting for their rights in society.
At the end of Stella Amanie’s speech, Genevieve Talbot was asked to say Hello to the students. She started by asking a question “Why we care about human right?” and a student responded that “It is an entitlement to know our right”.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, Comrade Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface said the program is organized in partnership with Society for Women and Youths Affairs (SWAYA) with funding support from Development and Peace, Canada. Mr. Fyneface further stated that “the project being implemented for which we are here is titled “Youths Training on conflict resolution and alternative livelihood through modular refineries for environmental sustainability in the Niger Delta” adding that the training today would be replicated in Rivers State for youths involved in artisanal refining. Mr. Fyneface who is also the facilitator of platform for the coordination of Niger Delta Ex-artisanal Refiners with a view of preparing them to benefit from the modular refineries promised by the Federal Government as well as other alternative livelihood sources for environmental sustainability in the Niger Delta told the participants in his speech that the objective of the training is to “make youths involved in acts of artisanal refining that causes environmental pollution to have alternative means of livelihoods through renewable energy and modular refineries and to prepare the youths for the modular refinery proposed by the federal government through the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo during his tour of the Niger Delta region in 2017”. He urged the youths to “stop acts of artisanal refining that contributes to the environmental pollution in the Niger Delta”