The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Foundation has urged youths to imbibe financial literacy and good reading culture for a more secured future.
It also appealed to them to strive to contribute to nation building as they grow to become future leaders.
The Managing Director, UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the bank, Bola Atta, spoke during a virtual session with students to mark this year’s edition of the International Day of the African Child.
Persecondnews reports that June 16 is set aside annually by the United Nations as the International Day of the African Child to celebrate children in Africa where it recognises the courage of students who marched for their right to better education in Soweto South Africa, and as an institution that cares about the education and welfare of the African child.
UBA through its Foundation marks this all important event annually. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown on educational institutions, UBA Foundation was not able to visit schools and community centres as is its usual practice, however, the Foundation held activities online, where students of secondary schools were afforded the opportunity to watch and listen to virtual mentoring and reading sessions.
Highlighting UBA Foundation’s three key pillars of Education, Empowerment and Environment, Atta said the bank recognized the huge role that education and a good reading culture play in the lives of the youth.
“These days school children barely make out time to read and are easily distracted by the presence of electronic social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others; and to curb this declining culture of reading across the continent, UBA Foundation came up with the ‘Read Africa’ project, designed to resuscitate the reading culture amongst our youths across the African continent.
“As a pan-African institution, we believe that the future of Africa lies in her youth and for this reason, UBA Foundation is actively involved in facilitating educational projects and bridging the literacy-wide gap on a pan-African scale, and is helping to rekindle the dwindling reading and literacy culture amongst African youths as they pursue their education,” Atta said.
While emphasizing the belief that a highly educated and well-informed youth is critical to the future of Africa, Atta seized the opportunity to read a few passages of the recommended novel to students and encouraged them to visit the UBA Foundation website on www.ubagroup.com/uba-
UBA through its Foundation believes that quality education is crucial in developing the manpower needed by Africa to exploit emerging opportunities and propel the continent to higher levels of development.
Last month, the bank also held its UBA Conversations, an annual event commemorating the Africa Day, where world presidents and leaders contributed to discussions aimed at propelling African growth post covid-19.
As a Pan-African institution, UBA is in the forefront of promoting Africa and African values, especially in the areas of economic development for the continent. Operating in 20 African countries and globally in the United Kingdom, the United States and France, the bank has a strong record of supporting its communities, through challenging times.
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