By Michael Ovat -Awka
The Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), has hosted the second edition of Young African Girl’s Conference (YAGC 2026).
The one-day conference that took place at the Varsity’s ETF Auditorium Igbariam campus on Saturday, October 24th, 2026 attracted Anambra top government functionaries, State Assembly members including, the Lawmaker representing Onitsha 1 State Constituency, Hon Ifeoma Azikiwe, female students of the host University, female students from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and female students from Saint Michael Secondary School Nibo.
NewsSetters report that the conference aimed at inspiring equipping, empowering, informing and to build young females ahead of their future endeavors.
Declaring the conference open, Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha, encouraged the young females to focus, create and develop self-confident, self-awareness and self-loved to attain their height in life.
She urged them to also equipped themselves with the spirit of God and good friends.
She commended the organisers for the conference, describing it as educating, inspiring and a welcome development.
In her opening remark, the convener and the founder of Heroes For Her Foundation, Dr Ijeoma Omenugha, said the Young African Girl’s Conference (YAGC 2026) is a life-on-life impact platform that allows inspiring women leaders to mentor aspiring teenage leaders in University and secondary schools and help them become better leaders.
YAGC recognizes that girls need role models to help them become their best selves.
Research has found positive female role models are essential for girls to grow into confident women, especially as they choose college majors and career paths that are needed in today’s world.
According to her, “it will be interesting to know that The Young African Girls’ Conference started with a dream in my room.
“There was no grand plan. It was simply a desire to create something meaningful, something that could help young people, especially, girl child see what was possible for them.
“You see, when I was a young girl, I was also trying to figure things out. I had dreams, but I did not know how far those dreams could take me. I did not have the opportunity to attend conferences like this, sit in rooms like this, or learn directly from women who had walked the paths I hoped to walk.
So, when this idea came to me, I thought about the young girl I used to be. I thought about what it would have meant to have access to information, meet women doing incredible things and hear someone say to me IJeoma “look beyond where you are today. There is so much more that is possible for you.”
“And so I wanted to create that kind of room for someone else and that was how the Young African Girls’ Conference was born.
“I was inspired by my mother, while growing up, my mother would tell us stories about footballers who made their countries proud. She spoke about patriotism and people whose names were celebrated because they had done something remarkable for their country.
“I really wanted to become that person, I began to imagine becoming someone who would make my country proud.
“Someone whose name might be mentioned in the news, not because of something terrible of course, but because of something remarkable.
“And when I eventually received the Chevening Scholarship, a UK Government scholarship that gave me the opportunity to study in the United Kingdom, it was a dream come true, not just for me, but for my parents too.
“I heard someone talking about the Chevening Scholarship and I applied for it and got in.
“Sometimes, the difference between where you are and where you could be is access to the right information”.
“There are so many young people with incredible potential who may never discover what is possible, not because they are incapable, but because they have not yet encountered the information, the people or the opportunities that could change their direction.
“And I began to ask myself: What if we could bring these opportunities closer to young African girls? What if we could create a space where they could learn from women who have gone ahead of them and begin to imagine bigger possibilities for their own lives?
“What if one girl could discover a scholarship, a career path or a leadership opportunity simply because she attended this conference? That is the heart of the YAGC.
“We are not just here to listen to speeches, take photographs and go home. We are here to give you new perspectives, practical skills and connections that could help shape your journey.
“Your future is in your hands, it may not unfold exactly as you imagine it. You may not control every circumstance, and you may not have all the resources you need today. But you can begin with what you have. You can seek knowledge, learn from others, prepare for opportunities and take deliberate steps towards the life you want to build.
“If there is one thing I want you to leave this room with today, it is the power of vision: the ability to see beyond your immediate environment.**
I want you to understand that where you come from is part of your story, but it does not have to be the boundary of your imagination.
“There is more to you than you currently know, more potential in you that you may not have discovered, and more possibilities ahead of you than you may presently see
“To our partners, sponsors, speakers, facilitators, panellists, volunteers and everyone who has contributed to making this gathering possible, thank you.
“Your support is helping us create a space where young women can learn, grow and begin to see new possibilities for themselves, Omenugha advocated.
In her paper presentation, titled: “Your Voice Matter’s Speaking up; Being Heard and Saying True to Yourself as an African Women” Prof Njideka Ebisi, urged women to always speak out whenever they are in danger and misrepresented.
The Conference with the themed; “Empowering the Next Generation of African Female Leaders” also featured inspiring talk sessions, masterclasses, breakout sessions, award presentation to the V.C, Prof Omenugha, the 2027 APGA House of Representative candidate for Aguata Federal Constituency, Hon Chibueze Oforbuike, Anambra Commissioner for Women Affairs, Lady Esther Onyekesi and a panel discussion moderated by Nnalue Veronica Mmesoma
