Marvella Odili Is A Speaker/Panelist At The Paris Peace Forum

We cannot talk about sustainable development without talking about women empowerment. Women have the unique power to reshape societies. "There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women"- Kofi Annan As a panelist at the session “Breaking the glass ceiling: for a feminist and inclusive digital economy” at the recently concluded 5th edition of the Paris Peace Forum, our Founder/CEO, Marvella Odili had the opportunity to talk about women's economic empowerment and how digital skills will open doors for more marginalized women. The panel moderated by Alexandre STUTZMANN, Director, Parliamentary Relations with the UN Delegation of the European Union to the UN, shed more light on the inclusivity of women and the important role they have to play in the society and the world at large today.

Paris Peace Forum: For Multilateral Solutions and a More Inclusive World

Founder/CEO of Save Our Needy Organisation, Marvella Odili, was invited to the 5th edition of the Paris Peace Forum held Nov 11th-12th at the Palais Brongniart, the first in-person forum since after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent restrictions to present her project, "Project Empower."

In a world requiring more collective action to "ride out the multi-crisis" we face in the world today, the Paris Peace Forum is a platform open to those seeking to develop coordination, rules and capacities to answer global problems.

The forum explored ways to mitigate the multiple shocks by fostering a renewed cooperative world order and multilateralism as well as launching transnational issues, solutions and debates.

This year, the Space for Solutions showcased 60 projects tackling issues at the core of the 5th edition.

The global event gave opportunities for sharing of ideas, collaboration and networking among participants and guests.

"Girls Up Project" Launched

We launched the "Girls Up" project in October to promote girl-child education and empowerment.

In-school and out-of-school girls are selected from marginalized communities and empowered with ICT and digital skills particularly coding skills, and leadership skills to develop their capacity to earn a sustainable income through the use of technology and become changemakers in their communities.

Ajegunle, a major slum in Lagos State is the choice for this project.

Celebrating French National Day 2022

The French National Day has come and gone but the beautiful memories remain. On July 15th at the Mike Adenuga Centre (Alliance Française) Ikoyi, the France Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Emmanuelle BLATMANN and the Consul-General, Monmayrant, hosted Nigerian and French dignitaries to a well-organized soirée.

It was a fantastic event not only for celebration but also for reconnection and networking. Our Founder, Marvella Odili, ably represented Save Our Needy Organisation.

Director of Goethe-Institut Nigeria Hosts Marvella Odili

Art is life. It has been a very busy couple of days for our Founder, Marvella Odili, as she was invited by the Director of Goethe-Institut Nigeria, Dr Nadine Siegert to the close (finissage) of a major exhibition which successfully spanned 8 weeks showcasing the spectacular work of Wolfgang Tillmans and celebrating young Nigerian artists who use photography to promote art. The event took place at Art Twenty One at Eko Hotel and Suites.

She was also invited to the launch of the website of the House of African Feminisms. It was a hybrid event with panel discussions, performances, music and cocktails. Panelists were from Kigali, Johannesburg and Lagos. Aisha Salaudeen and Omolara Oriye moderated the event. DJ Electra thrilled guests with scintillating music.

The Nigeria IWD Awards Gala 2022

International Women's Day is celebrated annually to highlight the contributions of women to the world's development. 

On March 5th, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, European Union, British High Commission, and the Embassies of the United States of America, Germany and France came together in partnership to host the first ever Nigeria’s International Women’s Day Awards Gala. 

The Awards aim to serve as an incentive to leaders in different sectors to make concerted efforts in creating more opportunities for women and strive to ensure gender equality.

In a statement issued by the UNDP office in Nigeria, “The International Women’s Day Gala and Awards seeks to leverage the opportunity of the representation of 11 key countries in Nigeria by women Ambassadors to advocate for increased women representation in political and governance space, incentivise change by publicly recognising women empowerment champions, encourage decision-makers and policy makers to ensure adequate space is created for women in the spheres of policy and decision making and advance women’s political and socio-economic empowerment.”

In addition to having women in senior positions in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations, Nigeria also presently has women ambassadors in: Benin, Burundi, Colombia, Cuba, European Union, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Nigerian artiste, Cobhams Asuquo (middle)

Nigerian artiste Omawunmi (Omawonder) on stage

Our Founder/CEO, Marvella Odili, was a guest at this high-level International Women's Day Awards Gala where people from top government positions, Ambassadors, civil society and internationally recognized individuals including Chimamanda Adichie and Chief Mrs. Nike Okundaye graced the event.

Marvella Odili, Founder/CEO, Save Our Needy

Marvella Odili(L) with Chimamanda Adichie

Marvella Odili (L) with Chief Mrs Nike Okundaye

The awards celebrated Champions in promoting women’s leadership and gender equality in Nigeria. It recognized achievements by individuals and institutions across categories of: Political Leadership & Governance,  Private Sector, Arts & Culture,  Media & Entertainment, Civil Society as well as a Feature Award on the 2022 IWD theme: Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow as well as a Most Inspiring/Outstanding Woman Leader Award.