A Nigerian engineer, Odinakachi Umunna has been voted one of the young people making a remarkable difference in the world. In a statement posted on its official website, www.oneyoungworld.com, the United Kingdom-based One Young World organisation listed Umunna among 12 other young achievers from across the world selected as One Young World Ambassadors for April 2024. The only other African on the list is South Africa’s Mishalan Davids.
One Young World said that Umunna was being recognised because of his SABI Lifestyle Campaign which aims “to close the knowledge gap in energy efficiency in Nigeria and create a community of individuals committed to sustainable living and promote actions to help the environment”.
“Odinakachi is the Founder of Sabi EcoFusion and Sabi Lifestyle. The SABI Lifestyle Campaign was launched to close the knowledge gap in energy efficiency in Nigeria and create a community of individuals committed to sustainable living and promote actions to help the environment.
“The first stage of the campaign included a 30-day challenge where participants received daily advice on energy saving at home. The calls to action were interactive, including suggestions on actions to take, how to achieve them and the reasoning behind them to induce habits in participants. Actions suggested including installing energy efficiency devices to efficient cooking methods to cooling, lighting, etc. The tips were targeted to a range of experience levels such that everyone who participated could learn something new.
“This phase was done in January, with 2,000 people signing up to join. After the campaign was done, 100% of participants that participated in the close-out survey said that they implemented the changes and that they are committed to continuing these practices. At the moment, the Sabi EcoFusion is leveraging their social media channels to sustain the impact of the campaign”, the statement read.
It listed others recognised alongside the 30-year-old Umunna and South Africa’s Mishalan Davids as Doménica Cobo Flandoli (Ecuador); Marc Senninger, Martina Vollmer and Lisa Heite (joint effort from Germany); Imani Sinclair (Antigua and Barbuda); Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts (Australia); Christina Dumitriu Jackson (UK); Karime Guillen Libien (Mexico); Doménica Cobo Flandoli (Ecuador); Sagar Kalra (India); Daniel Gutiérrez Patiño (Colombia); Lynton Aaron Filia (Solomon Islands); Kaito Nanko (Japan); and Paideia Gratia Sumihe (Indonesia).
The website described One Young World Ambassadors as outstanding you achievers from diverse fields who “are leading projects in every country of the world, creating substantial social impact across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals”.
