Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative, BBYDI @BrainBuilders01

I think this is a good one docs.google.com/document/d/1l8…

Safer digital spaces won't happen by chance. They require informed conversations, collective action, and leaders who have spent years advancing justice and accountability. That's why we're excited to have Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Senior Lecturer at the University of Lagos, founding Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), and a renowned human rights advocate, as the facilitator for HerSafeSpace 2.0. With decades of experience advancing gender justice, human rights, and governance, she will lead our discussion on: Holding Big Tech Accountable: Citizen-Led Campaigns for Safer Digital Spaces. Join us as we explore how citizens, civil society, and technology platforms can work together to create a safer and more accountable digital future. Date: Wednesday, 22 July 2026 Time: 10:00 AM Venue: Google Meet Register here: forms.gle/xQD73dv6W9ppfr… #HerSafeSpace2 #DigitalSafety #TechAccountability #GenderJustice #OnlineSafety #BBYDI

In June, a photograph went round Nigerian social media. It showed armed men returning the body of a kidnapped general to his family in Katsina, then walking away unchallenged. A former senator posted it with the caption "What a country???" FactCheckAfrica's reviewers checked and found that the image was AI-generated. BBYDI and @FactC_Africa are recruiting 100+ Digital Democracy Champions to do that kind of checking in their own LGAs, from August through to the 2027 elections. Training is two to three days in August, all virtual. After that, Champions give four to six hours a month through January, including one community fact-checking session, and verified incident reports to EVIT. There's a token stipend to support the work, and everyone who finishes gets certified by BBYDI and FactCheckAfrica. Apply if you teach, run a school, work or volunteer for a CSO, report for a newsroom or community radio station, or lead a student union or youth group. Ages 18–35. Priority goes to Lagos, Rivers, Abia, Kano, Borno and Kwara, but every state and the FCT is welcome. Women, girls and persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged. Champions sign a Code of Conduct, and it's enforced. The programme is non-partisan. Apply: forms.gle/WuPtKSyDfUoADT… Full details: docs.google.com/document/d/1l8… Deadline: Wednesday, 29 July 2026, 11:59pm WAT Questions: [email protected] Supported by the @DigitalDemocrcy and @CIVICUSalliance. #DigitalDemocracy #FactChecking #CivicParticipation #Nigeria2027

Are you a resident of any Local Government Area in Osun State with a passion for democracy and electoral integrity? We are still accepting applications for Election Observers for the 2026 Osun State Governorship Election. If you are committed to neutrality, and passionate about credible elections, we encourage you to apply. Selected observers will receive pre-election training before deployment. Apply now: tinyurl.com/OSUNELECTIONOB… Application closes: Sunday, 19 July 2026. Be part of the process. Protect the vote. Strengthen democracy. #OsunDecides2026 #ElectionObservers #Democracy #ElectionIntegrity #BBYDI #VoteNaija #CivicEngagement

Technology is changing how people prevent, report, and respond to gender-based violence. But how effective are these digital tools in communities across Kwara State? To help answer this important question, our Communications Intern, Ogunlaja Oluwafemi Temitope, is conducting an MSc dissertation titled "Influence of Digital Technologies in Mitigating Gender-Based Violence in Kwara State." If you are a resident of Kwara State, we invite you to participate in this short survey. Your responses will contribute to research that can help strengthen efforts to address gender-based violence through digital innovation. Complete the survey here: forms.gle/YartdmT6JkfQtq… If you know other residents of Kwara State, please share this survey within your network. Every response helps build a better understanding of how technology can support safer communities.

The internet affects all of us. The question is, what role are we playing in making it safer? If you're passionate about digital rights, online safety, civic engagement, gender justice, or technology governance, HerSafeSpace 2.0 is for you. Join youth leaders, researchers, community organisers, students, digital rights advocates, and changemakers as we explore: Holding Big Tech Accountable: Citizen-Led Campaigns for Safer Digital Spaces. We will discuss how citizens can demand greater platform accountability, challenge harmful online practices, and contribute to building a safer digital ecosystem for everyone. Register here: forms.gle/xQD73dv6W9ppfr… Tag someone who should be part of this conversation. #HerSafeSpace #DigitalSafety #OnlineSafety #DigitalRights #BBYDI

For many women, online abuse begins as a threat. Comply, or the photograph goes to your father, your husband, or the public. A takedown can remove the image. It cannot reach the home that will blame her for it. The threat only works because everyone already knows who will be blamed once the image is out. The harm plays out offline, under the same norms. So BBYDI works two fronts at once, the tool a woman reaches for and the community that decides how she is treated. Kemi, our anonymous WhatsApp chatbot, is the first. It supports women through harassment, image-based abuse and extortion, and routes those who choose it to more than 260 vetted legal and psychosocial services across five countries. The second is slower work. In Kwara State, BBYDI's community programme has persuaded traditional and religious leaders to treat gender-based violence as a public matter rather than a family secret. Our Communications Director, @sannialausaissa, writes on why the best tool still can't reach a woman her community has already turned against. medium.com/@brainbuilders… #TFGBV #GBVPrevention #OnlineSafety #DigitalRights #GenderJustice

What happens on election day doesn't begin on election day. It begins with citizens who are willing to stand for transparency, accountability, and the integrity of our democratic process. Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative is calling on committed, objective, and civic-minded residents of Osun State to serve as Election Observers for the 2026 Osun State Governorship Election. If you are passionate about strengthening democracy and ensuring every vote counts, this is your opportunity to make a meaningful contribution. Selected observers will receive training before deployment. Apply here: tinyurl.com/OSUNELECTIONOB… Application deadline: Sunday, 19 July 2026. Your presence can help strengthen public trust in the electoral process. Join us in promoting peaceful, credible, and transparent elections. #OsunDecides2026 #ElectionObservers #Democracy #ElectionIntegrity #BBYDI #VoteNaija #CivicParticipation

Not every conversation changes the future, but the right one can. If you're passionate about leadership, governance, democracy, and the role young people play in shaping Nigeria, this Civic Hangout is for you. Whether you're a student, entrepreneur, creative, youth leader, community organiser, or civic actor, you'll be joining a room of young people ready to exchange ideas, challenge perspectives, and imagine a better future together. Date: 25 July 2026 Time: 10:00 AM Venue: Ilorin, Kwara State Spaces are limited. Register now using the link and secure your spot. lnkd.in/d8kvdPer #CivicHangout #YouthVoices #ActiveCitizenship #KwaraYouth #BBYDI #Nigeria2027

You cannot protect a child online by focusing on the child alone. That was the argument BBYDI's Programme Director, @HalimatOlufade, made at the Nigeria Youth Safety Summit in Abuja last month. The summit, hosted by @Meta and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, gathered government, technology companies, educators and civil society around a round of new platform protections and digital literacy initiatives. Halimat stated that the adults who stand between those platforms and the child must be given equal attention. Young people often read digital platforms more fluently than their parents and teachers, who are meant to guide them. An adult who can't spot a risk can't raise it with a child, and can't help when something goes wrong. A stronger privacy setting protects no one if the parent doesn't know it's there. Programmes that train only young people leave that gap wide open. BBYDI's Connected & Protected project in Osun State focused on this by training students, parents, teachers and community leaders together, through digital safety education, community dialogues and school engagements. Follow our work to see how BBYDI is building digital resilience, pushing for safer internet and child safety.

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After an impactful first edition, HerSafeSpace 2.0 returns with an even more urgent conversation on how we can collectively build safer digital spaces. From online harassment and misinformation to platform accountability, citizens have a critical role to play in shaping a safer internet for everyone. Join us for the second edition as we explore: Holding Big Tech Accountable: Citizen-Led Campaigns for Safer Digital Spaces. Whether you're a youth leader, student, researcher, media professional, civil society actor, digital rights advocate, or gender justice champion, your voice belongs in this conversation. Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM Venue: Google Meet Register here: forms.gle/xQD73dv6W9ppfr… Let's move beyond conversations and towards collective action for safer digital spaces. #HerSafeSpace2 #DigitalSafety #TechAccountability

Mama Tope shop dey shine. But she clear about one tin: "AI dey help me track my customers. But na my kindness dey make dem come back." The finale of Our Life Everyday don land. And the lesson na one we all need to hear. 🎧 Listen now. Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/2Y2zry… YouTube: youtu.be/TaE3QoGnRlI

As we approach the 2027 elections, our voice matters more than ever. The future of Nigeria will be shaped by the decisions we make today, and we all have a critical role to play in strengthening democracy, promoting accountability, and driving meaningful change. Join young minds from across Kwara State for an engaging Civic Hangout where we'll have real conversations about leadership, governance, active citizenship, and the future we want to build together. Date: 25 July 2026 Time: 10:00 AM Venue: Ilorin, Kwara State Spaces are limited. Register now and be part of the conversation that shapes Nigeria's future. forms.gle/MqKdnyqH8YH9bK… #CivicHangout #YouthVoices #ActiveCitizenship #KwaraYouth #BBYDI #Nigeria2027

Building on our ongoing commitment to preventing gender-based violence in Kwara State, we’re excited to continue our partnership with the @FordFoundation. Running from June 2026 to May 2027, this initiative will empower women-led initiatives to prevent GBV, strengthen community resilience, and promote safer, more inclusive communities where women and girls can thrive. This project reflects our continued commitment to working with communities to drive lasting change. Together with local partners, women leaders, and stakeholders, we will strengthen grassroots prevention at the grassroots, amplify community voices, and support solutions that create safer futures for everyone. #GrantAlert #EndGBV #CommunityLeadership #WomenLed #CommunityResilience #SaferCommunities #FordFoundation #BBYDI #KwaraState

In Alalubosa, Ilorin, residents set up their own desk for reporting gender-based violence. It has handled at least 12 cases. Ten of them are resolved. The community's Mogaji chairs it. Not long ago, that same authority would have called a case like this a private family matter and left it there. That shift is the subject of Battles in the Shadow, a new documentary from BBYDI. Over two years, with support from the Ford Foundation, BBYDI worked through the authority that already exists in these communities. Traditional rulers, community leaders and community security structures took the lead on preventing gender-based violence. In Alalubosa and Agbarere, that work now looks like marriage agreements, community charters against violence, and reporting desks. At the state level, the Emir of Ilorin contributed the foreword to BBYDI's GBV Prevention Toolkit, available in English and Yoruba. The film is honest about how much is unfinished. A signed charter changes what a community tolerates faster than it changes what people believe. The leaders in the film know this. They are taking responsibility for their part of it. Watch Battles in the Shadow: youtu.be/i4OFzRosUnM?si… Produced by Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative. Supported by the Ford Foundation. #GBVPrevention #CommunityLed #TraditionalLeaders #Kwara #Nigeria

We are excited to announce the launch of a new two-year project, supported by Luminate, to create safer and more inclusive digital civic spaces for women and girls in Nigeria. From May 2026 to May 2028, we will work to empower young women and girls to participate confidently online, strengthen collective responses to online harms, and promote greater accountability from technology platforms. This project marks an important step in our commitment to advancing digital safety and inclusion. We look forward to working alongside young women, partners, and communities to strengthen collective action against online harms and create digital spaces where everyone can participate safely and confidently. #GrantAlert #DigitalRights #OnlineSafety #WomenAndGirls #DigitalInclusion #PlatformAccountability #CivicEngagement #BBYDI #Luminate

More than 30 Mass Communication students at Kwara State Polytechnic spent an afternoon learning to verify what they see online before trusting it. These are the people who'll be staffing Nigerian newsrooms in a few years, deciding what gets published and shared. BBYDI ran the session with the polytechnic's Mass Communication department, and it focused on one of the parts of AI that will shape their work, spotting misinformation and deepfakes. BBYDI facilitator, Hanifat Balogun, ran MyAIFactChecker, our WhatsApp fact-checking tool, live in the room against a real piece of misinformation. More than twenty students saved it to their contacts before they left. They also worked through ways to trace where an image or video really came from, such as reverse-image search with TinEye and Google Lens, InVID for video, and basic URL check. They learned to prompt well, too, using the CLEAR format: Context, Language, Expectation, Audience, Response. It's the difference between a prompt that works and one that wastes time. Follow our work to see more from BBYDI's AI literacy programmes. #AILiteracy #BBYDI #DigitalSafety #Ilorin #KwaraPoly

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We're excited to announce the launch of our new project focused on combating AI-driven misinformation, strengthening electoral integrity, and promoting inclusive civic participation ahead of Nigeria's 2027 General Elections. Implemented in partnership with @CIVICUSalliance, this initiative will be delivered across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. Across the country, we'll be working with communities and partners to help people identify misinformation, make informed decisions, and participate meaningfully in our democracy. #DigitalDemocracy #GrantAlert #ElectoralIntegrity #FactChecking #CivicParticipation #Nigeria2027