The LagosMums 7th Annual Parenting conference and exhibition held on October 10, 2020, with a twist! It was our first all virtual conference and it was a success thanks to the amazing sponsors, speakers, and attendees! The event was streamed across zoom and YouTube.
The theme this year was “Gen Z – Growth and Grit”. The event started with a welcoming speech and opening prayer by the Compere – Tonye Orji and Yetty Williams kicked off the program.
Yetty Williams – Convener, LagosMums 7th Annual Parenting Conference and Exhibition
“Everyone has something they are passionate about. We will always be a little bit afraid but the confidence comes with stepping out and continuing to take action. My mantra is that we are all supposed to live Abundant Lives. Where did we get the idea that it is either or? We can have it all!”
These profound statements are what Yetty Williams officially started the conference with. She mentioned how amazed she is that this is the 7th parenting conference LagosMums has hosted; because she clearly recalls that the very first parenting conference held in 2014. The theme was Raising Global Citizens and it is still relevant many years later. We are not raising children to be good enough for our local community but for a truly connected world.
The Theme GenZ: Growth and Grit
The theme was chosen before the pandemic and it is indeed so timely. Why growth? We want our children to grow in all areas knowing that they can do whatever they put their mind to.
Grit? Grit is resilience. It is the ability to overcome challenges and that is what is going on now. Everyone has been challenged but not just with the pandemic. Locally and globally, we have police brutality, #EndSars, MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movement. The worst thing we can do as parents is to keep quiet and assume that children don’t know anything.
Who is GenZ?
GenZ refers to children between the ages of 5 and 23. The unique characteristic of GenZ is that they are the first 100% digital native generation. And parents need to upgrade their parenting skills and raise adults we will all be proud of.
Yetty Williams launched “Designing your life for abundance” for women who put a huge part of their lives on hold when they get married and have children. According to her. “ I want women to know that we can have it all. We just have to know how to have it all – many times it is who is in your network that will help you achieve it all”. She also called out to God as the CEO and she is the COO who works and makes it happen.
The Future of Jobs
The first Panel was on “The future of Jobs”. The speakers were Bankole Williams; Certified Life and Business Coach, Inya Lawal; President of Women In Film and TV Africa (WIFT Africa) Ascend Studios, and Nathalie Sundelin; Co-Founder & Managing Director, Global Wissen Consult and the moderator was Enimien Etomi.
This session was informative; the speakers explained the characteristics of GenZ and the future of jobs for them. According to the speakers, entrepreneurship is huge for GenZ and they are creating new opportunities and ideas for themselves. Nathalie Sundelin reminded us that some people are working at jobs completely different from what they studied in the university. GenZ understand that knowledge in or out of school is important.
Understanding Gen Z: The First True Digital Natives
In this eye-opening session, the speakers were Praise Fowowe; Principal Consultant, Praise Fowowe International and Labi Williams; Investment Executive. They enlightened parents on how GenZ troubleshoot and question everything. They are fearless and want to work as collaborators. Also, they want to be part of all the conversations from what we eat to our vacation locations. The speakers advised parents to protect children’s self-esteem and allow them to explore their natural creativity.
Mental Health and Our children
This panel featured Dr Oshodi; Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist & Senior Lecturer Department of Psychiatry, LUTH, Mrs Sherese Ijewere; Nutrition Consultant, CARIB HEALTH LTD, and Dr Orode Doherty; Founder, Medical Director, Ingress Health.
In this session, we learnt that the wonders of globalization are numerous. However, it exposes children and adolescents to things that can affect them. We need to involve our children in more physical interactions with friends and family; if not we risk a situation where they disconnect from us and do everything online.
The Future of Education
The speakers for this session included Abiola Seriki-Ayeni; Director-General Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos state, Otto Orondaam; Founder/Executive Director Slum2School Africa and Dr. Abimbola Ogundere; Director of The Kids’ Court School. They shared their views on the changing face of education. The panel was moderated by Fona Williams.
Dr. Abimbola Ogundare spoke about how the pandemic has raised thought-provoking questions like; Must learning take place in school? What type of education do children really need and do children need teachers to learn? In addition, DG – Abiola Seriki-Ayeni emphasized that children with grit have a high level of passion and perseverance. Children need to see their parents, teachers and other citizens model grit.
Finally, on this panel, Otto Orrondam reinforced the need to think about equity and inclusion. We have a nation where over 85% of the population is underserved. Majority of this population is going to be our “youth” soon. We need to be intentional about the future we want to see.
Why is Digital Footprint Important?
In this session, Isime Esene; Chief Intelligence Officer, RED for Africa, shared that A digital footprint comprises of all your online activity. Employers check your social media before recruitment. A friend of his lost two job opportunities because of something he posted on Twitter. Nothing is truly private online and the internet never forgets. GenZ need to be aware of this and take the necessary steps to protect their digital footprint.
FOMO and the Effect of Social Media
This fireside chat between Patrick McGinnis; International venture capitalist and the author of Fear of Missing Out, and Yetty Williams gave us insight on FOMO. According to Patrick, FOMO; which stands for the Fear of Missing Out; is the idea that you are missing out. It is also the perception that people out there seem to be living a better life than you. Because Perception can be deception, it is important to think about the feelings that FOMO elicits. Don’t let social media lead to stressful feelings. Understand that people who share on social media are not trying to make you feel bad; they are just posting what they feel like.
The Importance of Self Care
We cannot overemphasize the importance of self-care and Joycee Awosika did a great job of letting us know this. As parents, if we do not take proper care of ourselves, we can’t give our children our best. Self-care helps us create a healthy relationship with ourselves so that we can transmit those good feelings to others. We need to focus on the stressors in our lives that affect us daily. Ensure that you are being deliberate about taking a break.
You can catch the replay of the LagosMums Parenting Conference stream here on the LagosMums YouTube Channel
Vote of Thanks
Thank you to all our sponsors, ambassadors and vendors who helped make this event a wonderful one! Also, thank you to our Media Partners – Lost In Lagos, BellaNaija, Olorisupergal, Thrive Women Solutions and YNaija.
We thank all our Mums and Dads (LagosDads) who were in attendance. Without you, this would not have been a success. See you next year at “#LagosMums2021”.
Be sure to follow @LagosMums on Instagram and Twitter. Visit the website www.LagosMums.com. Also, sign up for the newsletter to get more information and to be notified of future events.
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