The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has organised a two-day workshop on Child Foresight Analysis, focusing on futures literacy and intergenerational equity to plan for the wellbeing of children up to the year 2050.
The workshop, held under the Anticipatory Governance and Foresight Capacity (AGFC) programme implemented by the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE) , brought together key stakeholders to brainstorm and develop strategic plans that will shape policies and programmes affecting children from now till 2050.
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Speaking at the event, UNICEF Nigeria Planning Specialist, Boco Abdul, explained that UNICEF’s mandate is to ensure the wellbeing of children and young people.
She said the organisation is providing technical assistance to the Office of the Vice President through the AGFC programme and OSPRE to proactively plan for the potential future of children.
According to her, the initiative aims to strengthen governance systems, structures, policies and programmes that impact children.
She noted that the workshop forms part of the collaboration between UNICEF, the Office of the Vice President implemented by OSPRE on child-focused foresight analysis through horizon scanning to identify trends and drivers that could affect children in the future.
Abdul highlighted key areas of planning to include demographics, unemployment, artificial intelligence, and climate change.
She said the process involves building different future scenarios with relevant stakeholders such as government officials, technology experts, entertainers, policymakers and academics.
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The planning specialist,added that the outcomes of the workshop would be validated and developed into an actionable plan for government to implement across ministries, departments and agencies.
Abdul urged participants to think creatively, internalise available data and develop diverse future scenarios that would improve policy formulation and planning.
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Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties under the Office of the Vice President, Muhammad Ahmed, said planning in the past was more predictable, but emerging challenges such as climate change and disruptive technologies have made the future increasingly uncertain.
He noted that new realities, particularly artificial intelligence, present both opportunities and risks. Saying that, the AGFC programme was introduced to strengthen the capacity of government institutions and stakeholders to proactively respond to emerging realities.
Ahmed disclosed that discussions between the government and UNICEF began last year, alongside a scoping exercise to develop a case study that would generate evidence of need. He said UNICEF would use the outcomes of the workshop to help shape the country’s development plan for the next four to five years.
He explained that the AGFC programme is built on three main pillars: stakeholder engagement, capacity development and institutionalising long-term thinking in governance through the creation of a Community of Practice (CoP) with designated champions to drive the initiative.
“For government, we hope this will provide proof of concept as we advocate for the adoption of long-term thinking in governance. Our collaboration with UNICEF demonstrates what can be achieved,” he said.
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Ahmed added that participants are expected to develop open minds and become more comfortable with uncertainty, stressing that curiosity and forward-thinking are essential in shaping policies for future generations.
He further revealed that OSPRE was established through an executive order following a directive by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to member states, noting that the office remains a strategic partner in institutionalising anticipatory governance in Nigeria.