It is no longer news that the world has changed and it's a great news too because many things have actually changed for the better. The significant disruptions emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live, work and learn. And these disruptions have also reinforced the well-established belief that our world is increasingly flat and "glocal" (global in its thinking but local in its implementation).

As an upwardly- mobile young person, it is imperative that you find your place in this new world that we live in and unless you do so, you might just be left out in the cold wallowing in irrelevance. In this article, we will take a good look at simple and effective ways of placing yourself on the same level playing field as your counterparts wherever they may be on this earth.

So, here are a couple of them -

1. Foreign education - this is probably the commonest option among them all and it has opened up a vista of opportunities for so many young people in developing countries. While the cost of foreign education might sometimes be prohibitive, there are actually a number of tertiary institutions in Europe and North America that offer free or low tuition programmes that can be taken advantage of by students in poor countries.

2. Internship programmes - securing an internship with a foreign-based organisation might not be the easiest of tasks but can actually place interns on a sound footing to compete globally. Even when you choose to return to your home country, the addition of the internship to your resume will be a huge booster and will give you an edge in the labour market.

3. Foreign excursions - it is often said that traveling is part of education and those who travel abroad often will attest to that fact. A visit to a world heritage site or historical location could be a life changing experience for participants. Excursions expand our horizons and enables us to see the world from a whole new perspective.

4. Student exchange - this would normally involve a strategic collaboration between participating colleges and would seek to expose students to learning about a particular discipline in another setting. Although academic exchanges are more popular with visiting lecturers, students can also take good advantage of it too.

5. Youth competitions - Quite a number of young people have announced their name on the world stage by either participating in or winning global and regional competitions. Such competitions can be academic in nature or take the form of an assigned project but the rewards are usually very motivating and encouraging.

Over the years, Across Atlantic through its various projects has been able to expose young people in Africa to these fantastic opportunities around the globe. The major challenge of many African youths has always been an ignorance of these opportunities and Across Atlantic has done remarkably well in bridging this knowledge gap. For more information on how you can access these opportunities, please feel free to contact us via email or social media and where possible you may pay a visit to any of our offices in your home country.

Ebi Benjamin is the human resource and administrative manager at Across Atlantic.

You can reach him through the following means -
Phone - (+234) 090-1755-1758
Email - ebi.benjamin@acrossatlantic.org
Social - @iamebibenjamin

www.acrossatlantic.org

Ebi Benjamin