Another year is wrapping up for NCN, and upon reflection, it has been so heartwarming to see how we have grown as a community.
This year, we focused primarily on celebrating entrepreneurs within the organization by encouraging a sharing platform for them to highlight their businesses or venture activities during our quarterly social network event, as well as on our WhatsApp platform and website. In addition, we held a series of informational seminars that ranged from financial literacy to estate planning, which included engaging and working with subject matter experts in the community. We were fortunate to have representatives from Sereno group, Citibank, Northwestern Mutual, and Business, Energy, and Election Law, PC (BEELaw Firm) donate their time and provide information to the organization body. These seminars have been great value added to what NCN is about and with tangible benefits to its members.
We have also had some lessons learned along the way on how to better operate as a diaspora community organization; these are expected growing pains that have further helped make NCN to be more positively impactful to its member community.
However, the most significant path forward this year has been the intangible benefits that have ‘community’ spirit at its core. This is evident in how new members are embraced into a welcoming community away from home, members supported by applause and accolades for professional and personal achievements, members have at least someone within the community to lean on for support, etcetera. In essence, the most significant growth for the organization has been the continued manifestation of our motto “United together we thrive, achieve, grow, and flourish as a community”.
So with that said, we are excited about 2020, and we are hoping it will be another great year of growth for the organization!. We will continue to grow our value-added proposition to the membership body as well as foster and nurture the community spirit that is integral to who we are as NCN. In the new year, we will continue our efforts to expand our website content and increase our footprint on multiple social media platforms to showcase and highlight topics, businesses, causes, and opportunities that are relevant and important to the organization with local and global reach potentials.
In that vein, 2020 starts with “Conversations on Educational Systems in Africa”! NCN is excited to have a professional with over a decade of experience with international NGOs provide a webinar for our members to discuss international education projects including early grade reading projects, UNICEF-funded Reading and Numeracy Activity in Northwest Nigeria, as well as the USAID-funded Addressing Education in Northeast Nigeria (AENN) project. This is an especially poignant way to start 2020, as education is a major passion for Nigerians and naturally important for NCN members. With many more programs in the works and future social networking gatherings [our famed Potlucks] planned for 2020, we hope it will be another great year to be part of the NCN community.
Personally, I am looking forward to a great year ahead in 2020 for the organization!
Thank you for a wonderful 2019. Wishing you a fantastic 2020, NCN!
