Sometime last year, from the middle of 2023 until around March 2024, I embarked on an incredible journey that I have to share with you all. 

I was selected for a groundbreaking program called the Youth for Animation and Post-production Initiative, which trained about ten thousand young Nigerian men and women in animation, motion graphics, storytelling, 3D modelling, and post-production skills.

The program, sponsored by the Mastercard Foundation, was organised by the Del-York Creative Academy. Del-York recognised a significant gap in the Nigerian movie, entertainment and advertising industries. It was a 9-month intensive program.

They saw that many modern skills were missing in these industries, and they decided to take action to transform the future of the industries. Their mission was clear: train and introduce a large number of young talents into the sector, and wow, did they deliver!

The implication is huge. 

In the next three to five years, we'll see the quality of movies in Nigeria improve dramatically, and the cost of production will also reduce. Just imagine—better movies at lower costs! 

The lessons I took were superb. The creators of this program are true moral leaders. They use the tools of moral imagination to listen to the market needs in the Nigerian movie industry and then provide the exact solutions required. 

Their solution? 

Train thousands of Nigerian youths in these areas, opening up lucrative career paths in the movie industry and filling it with well-trained young talent ready to meet its demands.

Their approach got me thinking: this is how we can prepare the next generation of the ummah. 

By training the vanguard of the ummah in specific areas of social influence, we can level up in areas of competence, the ability to produce tangible things that solve problems, and the capacity to implement and influence lifestyles.

This experience has taught me that real change comes from listening to the needs around you and acting on them with a clear vision and dedication. It's about creating opportunities and empowering others to rise and meet those opportunities head-on. 

This journey was insightful, and I'm grateful to Allah for the opportunity. 

This was how the US trained thousands of Egyptian youth between 2004 and 2010 before the Arab Spring. These were the youth they used to influence the revolution indirectly.

It is still happening within the Ummah.

Now, Del-York is a US-based organization. What kind of movies, cartoons, entertainment, and adverts do you think we'll be seeing in Nigeria in the near future?

While the Ummah focuses on preaching to a passive audience, others are training thousands of youth who will actively influence society with their overt and stealth ideologies. 

So, what about you? 

Have you ever been part of something that felt like it could change the world? 

Share your stories in reply to this email!  

I will read it.

Let's inspire each other.

Hope to hear from you.

Teslim

The Muslimchangemaker

P.S. By the way, when you are ready, these are the ways I can help you:

AI-Empowered Muslim Mini-Course: This course will help you create a consistent pipeline of varieties of dawah content. It will help you become a digital dawah machine spreading the message of Islam daily without overwhelm. 

Dawah Design Thinking Coaching/Mentoring: In this coaching/mentoring program, you will learn how to translate Islamic values into products and services using the skills, knowledge, education, and passion you already possess as your starting point to address social problems in your community. You will learn to apply your unique strengths and creativity to make a real difference in your community. You will have direct access to me anytime you get stuck to help you out with your dawah so that you can leverage your talents for a meaningful impact.

P.S. Access to the Dawah Design Thinking Coaching closes by the 30th of June. You may never get this same offer at both the current price point and the bonus included again. Don't miss the opportunity.