Embrace Storytelling and Technology to Drive Inclusive Society, Urges Leadership Expert Oley Dibba-Wadda
In a powerful address that resonated throughout the Gender Inclusion Summit (GS-25) in Abuja, Oley Dibba-Wadda, Founder and CEO of Gam Africa Institute for Leadership, issued a compelling call to action for Nigerians and Africans at large. She championed a transformative approach to social progress, urging communities to harness the combined power of storytelling, technology, and personal accountability as the most effective tools for advancing genuine gender and social inclusion.
A Paradigm Shift: From Passive Participation to Active Ownership
Dibba-Wadda, a renowned voice in leadership and development, delivered a keynote speech that reframed the entire concept of inclusion. She argued that the era of passive participation is decisively over. True progress, she asserted, is no longer about simply securing a seat at the table. Instead, it demands active ownership, the deliberate amplification of marginalized voices, and a relentless drive for transformative change that reshapes societal structures from the ground up.
She observed a significant and encouraging shift already underway: women, non-binary individuals, and marginalized groups are increasingly moving beyond being mere participants in conversations to actively leading and directing them. While acknowledging the hard-won progress of past decades, Dibba-Wadda was clear that traditional advocacy methods are no longer sufficient to dismantle the complex, deeply entrenched inequalities that persist in modern society.
Reclaiming the Narrative: The Empowering Act of Storytelling
At the heart of her argument was a profound emphasis on the power of personal narrative. “We must take our power back and own our narrative,” she declared to the assembled audience. “Our voices must be heard and our stories must be told for us, by us, and in ways that resonate with our realities.”
Drawing from a deeply personal well of experience, Dibba-Wadda shared her journey of publishing a memoir in 2017. She revealed that the act of sharing her vulnerabilities and truths was not just a public act but a private catharsis—a process that facilitated her own healing. More importantly, it served as a beacon, inspiring countless other women and girls to find the courage to speak their own truths. This, she explained, requires a conscious move away from a mentality of victimhood and toward a mindset of self-empowerment. “We are not victims. We are, and must be creators of our realities,” she stated with conviction, a message that challenges individuals to become authors of their own destinies.
The Digital Megaphone: Technology as a Great Equalizer
A significant portion of Dibba-Wadda’s address was devoted to the transformative role of technology and digital platforms. She positioned these tools as the great modern equalizers, capable of amplifying voices that have historically been silenced or ignored. Social media, in particular, was highlighted as a revolutionary force that has enabled Africans across the continent to mobilize, hold governments accountable, and share their lived experiences with a global audience instantaneously.
She provided a potent example from her home country, The Gambia, where a coalition of youth, women activists, savvy social media users, and the diaspora played an instrumental role in finally ending 22 years of dictatorship. This case study powerfully illustrated how digital tools can be leveraged to achieve tangible political and social change. “Technology does not discriminate,” she noted. “It is a tool that can be used by anyone daring and willing to learn, to tell our own stories, to speak out, to accelerate and amplify our voices old and new, for an inclusive society.”
Bridging the Divide: The Imperative of Intergenerational Collaboration
Dibba-Wadda’s vision for an inclusive future is not a solitary one. She strongly advocated for robust intergenerational collaboration, emphasizing that this is a critical component of sustainable development. She stressed the urgent need for younger generations to actively seek out and learn from the wisdom, experience, and historical context held by their elders.
Conversely, she encouraged older generations to embrace the technological innovations and fresh perspectives that youth bring to the table. This symbiotic relationship, she argued, is essential for building future-ready resilience and ensuring that the fight for inclusion is both informed by the past and innovated for the future.
A Call to Action: Bold Voices and Responsible Leverage
In her concluding remarks, Oley Dibba-Wadda left the summit attendees with a clear and urgent charge. She called on every individual to use their voice boldly and without apology, to leverage technology responsibly and strategically, and to make an unwavering personal commitment to building a society where inclusion is not just an ideal but a lived reality for all, leaving no one behind.
Her final words served as a poignant benediction and a challenge: “Inclusion matters and no one individual should be an island. May we all, individually and collectively, step forward to embrace with confidence that first or next courageous and daring step to use our voices for the good of humanity.”
The speech sets a new, actionable agenda for advocacy, moving the conversation around inclusion into a more dynamic, personal, and technologically empowered phase, challenging every Nigerian and African to become an active agent of change in their own community.
Full credit to the original publisher: The Nation Newspaper – Source link