Last month, I wrote about an environmental conference I hosted under Tunza Eco-generation in Zaria, Nigeria. It was a big event that attracted some of the young and successful activists, social entrepreneurs, and academics in the environmental field. Indeed, It was such an honor working with other like minds to host such people. In this article, I will focus on what happened before the event and I hope my fellow Tunza Eco-generation family learn from it.

I developed a passion for impacting positively in my community by inspiring, motivating and encouraging other youths to champion a sustainable environment in their environs. There is a need to start small and narrow the scope for a terrific impact then expand my outreach. Also, it is very important to form a team of like minds in other to achieve this level of impact.

When I applied to become a Tunza Eco-generation ambassador representing Nigeria, I knew the benefits which didn?t include a stipend or other financial benefits. My personal goals were to improve my knowledge in the environmental sustainability field, network with other ambassadors, and improve on my writing skill. Having developed an idea of hosting an environmental conference, I knew I will have to source for funding. The first thing we did was to write proposals to different organizations and companies to fund the event as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We received negative responses from the ones that replied. We also sent proposals to businessmen about hosting an environmental conference targeting the Northern Nigerian youths. Again, we received similar responses. It was later one of the guests told me ?Kamal, people don?t get funded without having success stories?. 

A mistake we made was that we already invited the guests for the event and all of them accepted. This troubled us a lot because we can?t cancel the event. We believed it will affect our integrity. So, I told my team saying ?Guys, we will have to start planning with the capital at hand because the day of the event is getting closer. We don't have to relinquish on our struggle to impact because of inadequate capital?. Immediately, we highlighted what we really need for a successful conference. These include the venue of the conference, 200 event posters, a photographer, 4 speakers, 2 microphones, a projector, snacks and drinks for the guests and audience. When we calculated the total cost, it was a saddening moment because we don?t have enough capital. In the end, we had a successful event due to supports we received from the university. They gave us the school hall for free, slashed the printing price of the posters by 50%, and provided the projector we used during the conference.

In conclusion, I hope you all learn one or two things from this article. A thing I will like to say is that capital shouldn?t be a reason for you not to pursue your passion and vision. 

The picture below were the main people (Micheal Audu, Abdulazeez Ta'ariq and I) that organized the conference.