A PREMIUM TIMES journalist, Oladeinde Olawoyin, has been selected by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as one of Africa’s young leaders and media influencers championing the global goals.

Mr Olawoyin, along with about a dozen young leaders, journalists and media influencers selected across Africa, will be inducted into the Goalkeepers’ community at a conference holding in Johannesburg, South Africa, this weekend.

According to details of the event, he and other selected ‘Goalkeepers’ will join 200 other established and emerging leaders from different parts of the world to discuss the global goals, its prospects and various challenges.

“We believe in the power of media as a tool to help accelerate sustainable progress and recognize the critical role you fulfil as an emerging leader in shaping change,” the organisers said in an invitation message to selected Goalkeepers.

“Goalkeepers is dedicated to highlighting personal stories, sharing insightful data, and convening leaders like yourself, who can accelerate progress on some of the biggest issues the world faces.”

Mr Olawoyin, a first class graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria, reports business, economy, energy, Lagos metro and development for PREMIUM TIMES.

Other young leaders and media influencers selected across Africa include Kenya’s Victoria Rubadiri, a reporter and Prime-time news anchor; award-winning investigative journalist, Dennis Okari; reknown TV host, Amina Abdi; among others.

Countries represented at the Johannesburg event include Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Senegal, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

“The Goalkeepers community is a group of ‘Next Generation’ leaders from across the world who can drive action, awareness and accountability on the Global Goals (also known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs),” a statement by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said on Friday.

“They include people who act, communicate and keep leaders accountable to deliver on the Goals in their countries.”

The initiative is meant to inspire the media to be part of the bigger Goalkeepers community while considering the change Goalkeepers can make in their individual and collective capacities. Also, through the initiative, Goalkeepers are expected to understand the biggest challenges they face in developing and sharing meaningful change focused content.

The Saturday session is expected to provide technical support on insights and best practice for storytelling and writing content to inspire change; the best practices in terms of interpreting data in a meaningful way; and how Goalkeepers can lobby for better information that inspires action and commitment.

The event, which will include activists, policy makers, business, media and influencers, will take place alongside the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Concert on Sunday. The Mandela concert features, among others, global entertainment figures such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

Goalkeepers was launched by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2017 in partnership with Project Everyone.

It is dedicated to accelerating progress towards the Global Goals: using powerful stories, data, and partnerships to highlight progress achieved, hold governments accountable and bring together a new generation of leaders to address the world’s major challenges.