A Nigerian, Olasubomi-Iginla Aina, has been elected as one of the directors of the Global Non-Government Organisations Executive Committee of the United Nations for the 2021 to 2022 dispensation.
The Global NGO Executive Committee is the representative organ for all NGOs associated with the United Nations Department for Global Communications.
According to a statement, Aina is the only Nigerian on the GNEC which is made up of representatives elected by civil society organisations that are officially associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications.
Alongside the other 17 individuals who form the GNEC, they act as the liaison between the NGO community and the UN through the Department of Global Communication of the UN.
Aina, a Nigerian youth philanthropist and advocate, is the chief executive officer of Lightup Foundation, an NGO that has the mandate of improving child rights and the empowerment of the youth and the disadvantaged.
The organisation acts as a fortress and inspiration for young people by providing support, advice, assistance and organising educational programmes as a means for advancing in life.
LightUp Foundation also has resources for helping young people by developing their skills, capacities and capabilities.
The foundation, which started in 2000, has impacted beneficiaries that cut across Africa and Europe.
An alumnus of the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University (Ile-Ife) and a former students’ union acting President of the university, she has been around for a while creditably representing Nigeria on the world stage.
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom had appointed Aina as a Member of the British Empire (MBE), among other nominees on the 26th of November 2019 in honour of the Queen’s birthday.
The United Nations works closely with the worldwide network of the Non-Governmental Organisations in achieving a vast majority of her programmes e.g. the Sustainable Development Goals.