Victor Okechukwu is a passionate Peacebuilder with passion towards achieving a safer and a saner world for all. He is the Founder and Team Lead at Mind Reformers Network where he helps to inspire young people into peacebuilding and has led the team to reach 5000+ young Nigerians across seven Nigerian cities in Peacebuilding projects in about seven years. Through his foundation, he has organized various Peace Talks in schools, peace outreaches in communities and internally displaced persons camps and physical and virtual peacebuilding workshops for young Nigerians. As an Institute for Economics and Peace Ambassador he has facilitated various positive peace education training for hundreds of Nigerian youths.
Read about his incredible journey and be inspired below
Victor started his organization eight years ago in Calabar while he was still an undergraduate student of the University of Calabar. He thought of a way to reach out to young ones in Calabar South and Calabar Municipality against engagement in hooliganism, thuggery, cultism and all forms of social vices and that was the beginning of what has grown into the internationally recognized Mind Reformers Network. His first project, which he carried out with his school friends, reached out to five selected schools in June 2017 and from there, he has led the team to organize various projects across various parts of the country today.
He is also the immediate past Nigerian Country Coordinator for the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, a youth led commonwealth initiative aimed at galvanising youth efforts to promote peace, respect and understanding and to prevent violent extremism. He led the network from April 2021 to February 2023.
He then joined the Commonwealth Youth Correspondents team where he writes on youth development, peacebuilding and governance related issue. He won the best correspondent of the month of March 2024 for his article on Urgent need for peacebuilding through the social media.
On his successes
Due to his work over the years he has earned various recognitions like; Institute for Economics and Peace Ambassador 2019, Nigerian Youths SDGs Champion 2019, He is an Institute for Economics and Peace Ambassador 2019, Under 30 Afro-Arab Youth Champion 2020, USIP Generation Change Fellow 2022, Rotary Positive Peace Activator 2023, Kofi Annan Changemaker 2024 and a Rotary Peace Fellow 2024.
Challenges
As a young person running a youth led and youth focused organisation, there are often challenges of funds for projects but that hasn’t been stopping the team as the team still try to carry out projects. He hopes to be a leading voice for peace globally, pushing for more intentional inclusion, recognition and protection of the voices of young peacebuilders and activist in the future.
“As Victor believes, ‘Peace is not an abstract concept but a collective action fueled by intentional efforts to address the root causes of conflict. It is built upon the foundations of justice, inclusion, and understanding. As young peacebuilders, we must rise above the challenges of our environments, knowing that every step we take, no matter how small, brings us closer to a world free from violence and social vices.”
Victor Okechukwu
You can contact Victor Here, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
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