KALU IKEAGWU SUPPORTS YOUTH EMPOWERMENT IN LAGOS STATE

The name
Kalu-Ikeagwu is not strange to the ears of most Nigerians who love Nollywood
movies. ‘Kalu Ikeagwu’ , the handsome actor now supports youth empowerment in
Film Making a program called Excellence In Entertainment Workshop (EIE), which
is organized by Stride Media And Entertainments annually. Speaking to the
MD/CEO of Stride Media and Entertainments Mrs Funso-Adebayo ‘Ponmile (OJULOGE),
who is also the MD/CEO of a leading Makeup and Beauty outfit in Lagos
(OjulogeARTS World) she has this to say:

Question: What is
‘Excellence In Entertainment Workshop’?

Answer: EIE
Workshop is an annual workshop to expose the Youths to various money spinning
aspects in the entertainment industry , with the immense support we are getting
from the likes of Kalu-Ikeagwu, Ayo Badmus, Felicia Anderson and other notable
names in the industry,  we hope to be able
to train a minimum of 2000 Lagos Youths in the skills of Film Making.

Question: Why did
you choose Mr. Kalu Ikeagwu to partner with you on this project?

Answer: We just
finished producing a movie recently which shall soon be premiered and Mr. Kalu
is a main actor there. While on set, he talked about the Youths a lot and I saw
that he is very passionate with developing the youths in the entertainment
industry. So I told him about this project and he was quite excited about it
and here we are. Moreso Mr. Kalu is loved by Nigerian youths for his
exceptional acting skills, he is a vibrant youth himself, hence our attraction
to partner with him on EIE. Mr. Ikeagwu is also one of a kind, as he is
extremely ardent about Youth Empowerment in Nigeria. EIE is scheduled to hold
for a day in each of these Lagos State Training centers:

Question: Is this
the first edition?

Answer: No this is
actually the 2nd edition and we plan to do this annually.The first edition held
last year, when we trained youths in Cinematography and editing.

Question: Who are
the supporters of this program and how much support have you got so far?

Answer: EIE
(Excellence In Entertainment) Workshop is supported by Lagos State Government,
Cadbury Nigeria Limited, Ohun Oodua Movies and Entertainments, THE WAY
Foundation Abuja, Bola Akinboade Blog and TREVO and some notable media
companies. We are also looking forward to support from other quarters however.

Questions Who are
the facilitators of this Workshop and what will participants learn from them?

Answer:  Facilitators:

Kalu Ikeagwu: A
well-loved Nigerian Actor with British background. He has various awards to his
credits. He shall be talking on the topic ‘How to groom yourself as an actor
and entertainer’. He shall also be sharing his own life experiences for our
Youths to learn from.

Ayo Badmus: A
trouper Award winning Nigerian Actor with Local and International recognition.
He will be speaking on how ‘The challenges of an upcoming entertainer and how
to overcome them’. Mr. Ayo Badmus shall also be sharing his life experiences in
Nollywood.

Prince Adigun
Adebola: Prince is the MD/CEO of Ohun Oodua Media and Entertainments, with a
strong technical knowledge of tools and equipment in the entertainment
industry. He will take participants through the knowledge of various equipment,
that will be needed for shooting movies, documentaries, musical videos etc. He
will be speaking on the topic ‘Tools and Equipment for the ART’. Participants
will learn to see, touch and know how these equipment are used on location.
Prince Adigun will also share his experiences as an equipment and technical
expert in Nollywood.

Felicia Handerson:
A seasoned entertainer,  she will be
taking participants through the topic ‘Branding and Positive Positioning of
Yourself in the Entertainment Industry’. She also will also be sharing her
experiences in the industry.

Dr. Emmanuel
Adepitan: A public Health consultant, Actor, Song writer, and executive
producer of over 7 years. He will be talking about the topic ‘ Your Health as
an Entertainer’.

Mobolaji Olatunde
Oluwaseun: He is a young vibrant youth with core passion for entertainment. A
graduate of The Film Institute (Jos) Cinematography major. He will be teaching
hands on practical in Cinematography which is tagged ‘The Technology and ART of
Using the camera’.

Yinka Sam-Aina: Mr.
Yinka Sam-Aina is the MD/CEO of Xpression Audio-Visual Limited. He is an expert
Director and video editor, having directed movies like Ewu l’oko Longe, Ode
Ewo, Aiye Adesewa, THE GUIDE etc. He will be talking on the topic ‘Who You are
As a Director’. 

Adetokunbo
Oluyombo: Studied Mass communications at BABCOCK University. A vibrant youth, a
professional Public Speaker and a young successful entertainment business guru
in Nigeria. He shall be speaking on ‘The Role of Youths in Nigerian
Entertainment’ 

Funso-Adebayo
Dorcas : A seasoned movie producer and Scriptwriter. She will be speaking on
the topic ‘From Paper to Screen : Screenplay to Movie Production’. She will be
working with participants and showing them how to write a good script, how they
can become creative to get ideas of new stories and how they can turn their
scripts to Nollywood busters as a Producer. She will also share her experiences
in the movie industry as a scriptwriter and movie producer.                                                         

 Question: When is
this Workshop Coming up?

Answer: EIE is
coming up at the following centers

Center                                                             Date                                        Time

Lagos State Ikeja
Youth Center                     27th September 2014              12pm – 4pm

Lagos State
Akinwunmi Youth Center          11th
October 2014                  10am – 2pm

Lagos State Isheri
Youth Center                    1st
November 2014                 10am – 2pm

Lagos Ipaja Youth
Center                              29th
November 2014              12pm – 4pm   

Question: What is
the purpose of the EIE Workshop?

Answer:

Purpose of this
Project:

1.         Skill Acquisition and Youth
Empowerment: This is the first reason for this project. To expose our youths
into diverse areas of entertainment, which they can profit from.

2.         Job Creation: It has been often said
that 54% of Nigerian youths were unemployed in 2012 and this has speedily
increased to more than 58% in 2013, this means that there are millions of
jobless youths (even graduates) roaming about the streets. This has a negative
economic influence on the nation. EIE Workshop hopes to create an avenue for
participants to have their own means of livelihood.

3.         Increase In Youth Sanity And Decrease
In Crime Rate: With the show of our young and successful facilitators at EIE,
we hope to create hope and encouragements in the minds of our participants
(Youths). This will encourage them to stay focused and work hard to earn high,
rather than take to criminal ways of making their daily bread. It was said that
in 2012 46,836 youths were recorded against different types of crimes, 42,071,
representing 75.5% were males, while the remaining 24.5% were females, Among
the 32 different crimes committed, Marijuana (Indian hemp) smoking has the
highest figure, representing 15.7% of total crime. This was followed by theft
and murder with 8.1% and 7.4%, respectively. The least committed crime was
Immigration/Emigration representing 0.04%. 86.3% of all these crimes had an
undertone of unemployment. With EIE Workshop, youths can be kept busy and
useful to themselves and the society, increasing Youth sanity and reducing
crime rates. The glaring consequence of neglecting the proper development of
young people through proper education, impartation of work skills and adequate
investment in their welfare through robust education, health and
entrepreneurial programs such as EIE is to unconsciously breed a massive,
redundant, counter-productive and rebellious population. This is neither good
for the general growth and development of a society nor for purposes of
internal security.

4.         Creating a Healthy Forum for
Networking: It is no news that healthy networking is one of the greatest keys
to success in life. EIE shall create a healthy and worthwhile avenue for these
young talented Nigerian Youths to mingle and interact with other talented
youths and the high and mighty in the Nigerian entertainment industry. This is
a very rare opportunity, which can lead them to greater places even after the
program.

5.         Building Young Entrepreneurs: EIE is
not just an ordinary and usual empowerment program, but it is a unique workshop
that is set and targeted at building up and creating the entrepreneurial
‘spirit’  in all our participants. With
the topic ‘Branding and Positive Positioning of Yourself in the Entertainment
Industry’ , we shall be opening the eyes of our youths to the fact that all
they need to make it big in life lies within them. They shall be taught to be
job creators with their God-Given artistic talents, rather than wait for what
the government can do for them or a white colar job that may not suffice
soon. 

6.         Platform for Talent Discovery: With the
hands on practical and projects to be submitted at the end of the program,
talented participants shall be discovered, these shall be given letters of
recommendations as extremely talented entertainers, which they can present to
producers to give them an edge above their competitors when the need arises. We
shall also introduce them to worthy producers in the movie industry.

7.         Opportunities  for Youths to feature in Movies and Soaps:  An accurate data shall be kept of all
participants, so that e-mails and SMS shall be sent to them whenever
opportunities arise in the industry. Exceptional talented participants shall be
immediately casted for  upcoming movie
and soap roles.

Question: How can
interested Participants register for this workshop?

Answer: They can
register by visiting our office at Stride Media and entertainment 113 Ogudu
Road, Ogudu GRA Junction ogudu along ojota Lagos State. Or visit the Lagos
State Ministry of Youths Sports and Social Development office they can also
call any of our hotlines 08033571919 and 08138457360.