CURRENT MISSION

Leading change >>> a global changemaker

ABOUT ME

Zaid Shopeju is a youth advocate, social entrepreneur and sustainable development strategist with years of experience on climate change mitigation & adaption and gender & health issues with special focus on breast & cervical cancer and HIV/AIDS advocacy.

In 2009, he founded Youth Vision Alliance Network (YVAN); a leading youth-led organization in Nigeria out of his passion for youth and sustainable development. A two times finalist of the prestigious LEAP Africa Nigeria Youth Leadership Award.

Zaid is the Project Director of Zero Carbon Africa – an alliance of youth/focused organisations and young individuals working to build grassroots movement across Africa to combat the effect of climate change and environmental degradation through innovative projects and continental day of actions to mobilise Africa for sustainable development. He is also the Team Leader for 350Nigeria (a country affiliate of 350.org).

As a youth trainer, facilitator, public speaker and project manager; he believes in the people’s power to bring about real change from the grassroots level to the global stage. He has represented the voice of Nigerian and African youths at UN conferences on Climate Change in Germany and South Africa respectively, and as well spoken at other forum such as the World Cancer Day (2010, 2011 and 2012) and African Climate Leadership Training among others. He has facilitated and made series of presentations on environmental protection, sustainable development & leadership, breast & cervical cancer, climate change & employability and self-management etc.

He has represented African youth in different United Nation conferences on climate change and sustainable development in Germany and South Africa; and Zaid have had the honour to speak on DemocracyNow, OneClimateTV, Africa Independent Television, CSBN, ETV South Africa, Lagos State Television, Galaxy TV, Television Continental and MITV among others.

Zaid is a two times finalist of the prestigious LEAP Africa youth Leadership Award, an alumnus of LEAP Africa Microsoft Employability Programme cohort 9 and a graduate of the e-GLO 2 [Earth Charter Global Learning Opportunity session] a semester-long online sustainable leadership course inspired by the Earth Charter International where he represented Nigeria.

PHILOSOPHY

I might not be the most handsome or the nicest looking dude. Nor have the perfect body. I might not be the first choice...but I am a GREAT choice. I don't pretend to be someone else cause I am too good at being ME. I might not be proud of some of the things I've done but I am PROUD of who I am today. Take me as I am or watch me as I GO... REAL TALK!!!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Mind blowing experience so far!

Interests

Swimming, traveling, reading

• reading
• tv
• traveling
• swimming
• entrepreneurship

Music, Movies, and Books

An Army At Dawn by Rick Atkinson

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The sight of Frankfurt and Durban

Countries I’ve Visited

Benin, Germany, Qatar, South Africa, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Nigeria, United States

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