In furtherance of its mission to equip 50,000 youths with practical AI skills within one year, CIHAN Digital Academy has trained more than 130 youths of Cherubim & Seraphim (C&S) Movement Church in practical digital AI skills.
The bootcamp, organised in partnership with the Youth Fellowship of Surulere District of the church, Lagos, saw the participants build over 50 AI solutions from the two days training.
Speaking to journalists on the sideline of the event, CEO of CIHAN Digital Academy, Dr. Celestine Achi said the training was part of the company’s CSR initiative aimed at giving back to the society and empowering the youths with skills that could set them apart in the job market.
He expressed satisfaction at success of the programme, saying that the participants did not just ‘learn AI, they built the future’.
He also commended the leadership of the youth fellowship for their unwavering commitment and efforts to ensure the success of the programme.
‘We didn’t just talk about AI; we built with it. I saw true masters of AI emerging from this group. The passion was unmatched!
Over 50 diverse solutions were created from scratch and are ready for deployment’, he said. ‘We are building the future, one line of prompt at a time’.
He added: ‘I am humbled by the feedback calling this initiative a trail-blazer in the future of AI in Africa. A huge thank you to the leadership and the youths for their unreserved commitment and excellence’.
Dr. Achi explained that the academy has already trained over 5,633 youths in Lagos and plans to expand to other parts of the country, including Abuja and Delta State.
Apostle Kehinde Sowemimo, Shepherd, Youth Fellowship, C&S Movement Church, Ayoni, Surulere, said the church’s partnership with CIHAN Digital Academy to train its youths was borne out of the understanding of the importance of AI in today’s digital world.
Noting that AI was the next level of digitalization, Sowemimo said that learning it could empower youths to create their own world, expand their horizons, and make things easier.
According to him, the church aims to ensure that youths use AI in a positive sense, leveraging its benefits while minimizing potential negative impacts.
Chairperson of Success Gate Foundation, an NGO and the career development unit of the church, Prof. Abimbola Sowemimo said the goal was to build a ‘total man’ by equipping the youths with practical skills.
She noted that the foundation believes that AI skills would empower youths to become entrepreneurs, enhance their businesses, and improve their productivity in various areas of life.
A participant, Akinwande Eninlanioluwa, expressed gratitude for the AI training, saying that she learnt new things that she planned to apply in her life, both as a student and beyond.
She said the training was insightful, allowing her to explore new areas, create chatbots, and build her own website.
She encouraged other churches, institutions, and organizations to adopt similar AI training programmes, recognizing that AI was here to stay and had vast potential for growth and development.
