The Nigeria-EU Innovation Days gathered representatives from the Nigerian, African, and European research and innovation ecosystems in a structured setting. The event portrayed the vibrancy of Nigeria-EU and Africa-EU cooperation on research and innovation, highlighting meaningful success stories from these partnerships.

It was moderated by Nkechi Isaac, an Innovation Science Journalist, and featured the presence of Danilo Dreolini, President of Africa Partnership Projects at Danieli Group, Victoria Fabunmi, and Adriano Mauro, Managing Director of Apodissi.

The amount of waste generated globally poses a threat to the environment, ecosystems, and biomass. The World Bank estimated in 2020 that 250,000 metric tons of plastic waste were dumped from Ghana into the Atlantic Ocean. According to the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigeria generates 32 million tons of waste yearly, with 70 percent ending up in landfills, sewers, beaches, and water bodies. Nigeria and Ghana are among the highest waste generators in Africa.

Ms. Elisabeth discussed that GreenVETAfrica is an ERASMUS+ project initiated to pave the way for green waste management in Nigeria and Ghana. To achieve its ambitious goals, GreenVETAfrica has seven partners across Europe and Africa, including LAWMA plays a pivotal role in planning the Green Waste Management Vocational Education Training Programme. The programme aims at building Nigerian and Ghanaian youth skills in waste management.

In conclusion, the panellists talked about the need for dedicated professional training among Nigerian youth on Industry 4.0 technologies and innovation, to promote employability and sustainable future.