Celebrating of Peace Award
In celebration of the High-Level Segment of the 74th UN General Assembly and Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations, Silicon Valley Nigeria Economic Development (SV-NED) and Black Tie International Magazine proudly partnered in hosting a celebration of peace awards ceremony. Attendees were documented with smiling faces as the event was flooded with embraced cultural diversity. Blown up versions of Chinese Red Envelopes were proudly displayed behind event speakers. Traditional clothing was utilized throughout the audience as individuals embraced the opportunity to be themselves.
The event itself was lively as some attendees included His Royal Majesty- (Arc.) King Adedapo Aderemi Adeen, the Alayemore of Ido-Osun, the Secretary of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, (Abuja) - The BOT Secretary Umbrella Body of All Traditional Rulers Council in Nigeria, and Her Royal Highness Queen Mother Temitope Ajayi Chairman/CEO Silicon Valley Nigeria Economic Development SV-NED Inc. World Peace Awards were distributed to H.E. Haija Aisha Buhari (First Lady of Nigeria), H.E Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, Dr. Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar 111 (The Sultan of Sokoto), HRM (Arc.) King Adedapo Aderemi Adeen, HRH Alh Dr Ibrahim Sulu Gambari (The Emir of Ilorin), Dr. Azza Karam, Arun Gandhi, Ramesh Sharma, Isabelle Kocher, H.I.M Oba Adeyeye Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi Ojaja 11, Chief Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, and Mr. Steve Jones. The SDG Global awardees included Ms. Denise Williams (President/CoFounder Silicon Valley Nigeria Economic Development SV-NED Inc), Mr. Gerard Mc Keon, Ms. Lilian Ajayi-Ore, (President/CEO Global Connection for Women Foundation), Gail Davis-Carter, Purnima Voria, Dr. Purnaka L. de Silva, and others. The SDG Global awards ranged in title from decent work and economic development to gender equality.
Another highlight revolved around the local non-profit Serve the Children foundation from Tacouma, Washington. Established in 1997, Serve the Children aims to provide children in Africa and India the opportunity to learn safely, with nourishment daily. Serve the Children foundation offers food sponsorship programs for school age kids Kindergarten to 12th grade.
Observing child soldiers as young as 8 during the Liberia West African civil war a passion grew to reveal Serve the Children’s mission. Dr. Doug Collier & Steve Jones, co-founders and Board Members of Serve the Children, accepted the a World Peace Award.
In additional to the awards, the event itself included live performances by Michael Fitzpatrick, ample food, and the ability to fully embrace such a culturally diverse environment. Emphasizing the idea of international unity, SV-NED continues to brand itself as a trailblazer through connecting Silicon Valley resources to Nigerian businesses. Creating economic growth that would elevate Nigeria from a developing country SV-NED strives to attract capital in all industries of technology. Through job creation, SV-NED hopes to provide millions of Nigerian youth living in poverty with the opportunity to rise the socioeconomic rankings. SV-NED hosting the United Women in Technology Conference and more recently their “Entrepreneur Series”, continues to make strides and build brand awareness on an international, multicultural level.