The Del York Creative Academy says developing more creatives will offer Nigeria an opportunity to become a major player in the $600 billion global creative industry.
Mrs Stella Fubara, Managing Director, Del York Development Company (a subsidiary of Del York Group), said this at Demo Day & Career Fair held at the Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos State, on Friday.
Del-York Group owns Del-York Creative Academy, a top film school and capacity-building institution for acting, screenwriting, 3D animation
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the Demo Day & Career Fair is a flagship event of the Youth in Animation and Post-Production Initiative (YAPPI).
YAPPI is a 3D Animation Training Academy aimed to empower young creative minds to tell African stories through animations.
Demo Day & Career Fair aims to bring together the best talents from previous YAPPI cohorts to present their works to key stakeholders in the creative industry.
The event serves as a platform for students, industry professionals, investors and recruiters to engage with most promising young creatives in Nigeria’s animation and post-production space.
It also provides an opportunity for students to showcase their talents and learn from experts, gain industry exposure and connect with potential employers.
Fubara said that, with the training of over 16,000 aanimators at YAPPI, with funding from MasterCard Foundation, Nigeria had the opportunity to become a huge player in the world’s $600 billion creative industry.
According to her, it is an opportunity that will also enable Nigerian animators and storytellers to showcase African animation revolution.
“The YAPPI programme is a major event that is dedicated to train young and creative minds especially to empower young women to tell African stories through animations.
“The programme is also committed to nurturing the next generation of animators and visual storytellers.
“Our comprehensive programmes offer hands-on training in the latest animation techniques and software.
“At YAPPI, we foster a dynamic learning environment that encourages exploration and growth by transforming your passion for animation into a thriving career.
“With this programme and demonstrations the students and animation graduates are giving today, Nigeria stands a major opportunity to become a huge player in the $600 billion global creative industry,” she said.
Fubara urged the federal and Lagos State governments to be committed to employing a significant number of the animation graduates to demonstrate the relevance and value of their skills.
The Chief Operating Officer of Del-York Group, Mr Ikenna Obueke, said the event provided an opportunity to get young people to be part of the global creative industry.
Obueke, who is also the Programme Lead for YAPPI, said it had enabled young people to tell African stories, especially Nigerian stories, and earn revenue for themselves in the creativity industry.
“We are complaining that there is no job, but we have a programme like this that will train young people free and expose them to the world.”
He said the academy had three study centres – in Lagos, Abuja and in Enugu.
A graduate of Cohort 1 of YAPPI, Miss Vivian Cole, said it was a great experience for her.
She thanked the academy and MasterCard Foundation for the programme.
“Before the YAPPI programme, I used to do little animation but this programme exposed me to a lot of things that I didn’t think I could know in animation.
