At Next Century Education, our mission is to revolutionize the educational landscape by empowering learners to thrive in the ever-changing world of the 21st century. We are dedicated to providing innovative, inclusive, and personalized learning experiences that inspire curiosity, foster critical thinking, and ignite a lifelong passion for knowledge.
We believe that education should transcend traditional boundaries and adapt to the unique needs of each individual. By leveraging the unique gift of every learner, the digital technologies and resources, committed team members, and a forward-thinking approach, we aim to redefine the way education is delivered, ensuring balanced growth, accessibility, equity, and excellence for learners of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
Under the Next Century umbrella is what I termed Smartyoungpreneurs to help children move from ideas to impacting their world. By letting them have an insight into the world of business and understand the concept of money, we run an annual entrepreneurship and financial literacy coaching program tagged Lemoney, coined from two words – lemon and money The lemon representing the skills knowledge and ideas, while the money represents the financial gain, the impact and fulfilment from using the “lemon”. We empower them using simple strategies that bring desired results and build confidence while also retaining their childhood innocence.
In financial literacy, they get to learn the basics about money making, money management, savings, investing, giving and community service. In entrepreneurship, they
get empowered with the basic steps, skills, resources and tools needed in starting and running a business, the different models of business that can be adopted and so on.
I have seen that through entrepreneurship, people are able to express their creativities without boundaries and this is critical to fully blossom and experience fulfilment.
We also work with adults through RECONNECT, which is a program designed to help grown-ups reclaim their power using these 3 themes: ”Reflect, Review and Redesign”. This is meant to take the adults on a journey of self-discovery starting from identifying their purpose, who they used to be and their dreams, to reviewing who they are now and what they currently do. This is to check if they are on track with their dreams and purpose. Then, provide a guide to redesigning a life in alignment with their purpose while giving adequate consideration to their challenges and their meaning, the values and habits that matter. The focus of this is to ensure that they live the authentic life they were created for.
The ultimate goal of Next Century is to build adults who are creative, confident, have growth mindset, financially aware, well equipped, feel fulfilled and who despite their fears, still take bold steps with their ideas to make impact in the world.
From the life of very renowned people in the world like Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, Malcom X, Richard Branson, Steve Job, Princess Diana and so many other notable people, it can be said that education is not all about learning within a four-wall, rather it is about building and perfecting what is already inside of you and this can be done anywhere and anytime. The most important thing is you bringing your ingenuity, your wit, your heart and commitment to the table in order to tailor your life on the outside to your life on the inside. This is the colour variant that the world is meant to have.
Next Century is built on these 7 core values – creativity, respect for uniqueness, empathy,
growth, trust, faith and wealth. We are committed to making a difference in the world with these values. Whether with a child, a teenager or an adult, we are ready to make a change in a life, with one-step at a time to bring out the sparkle within each person.
I honestly do not have it all figured out and I do have my fears and doubts, but know this and know the truth – I will always bring my heart to this table. Period!!!
I appreciate you for coming on here to read this epistle, especially if you have read this far with me and I really do hope you will connect better and go on this journey with us towards making every child thrive, happy and balanced.
Pleaseee, ……. just kidding, I know you are genuine, but be sure to click the link to enter your name and e-mail to get on the train. We can also connect on Instagram @smart_youngpreneurs and @rahmatakerele, on Facebook @smartyoungpreneurs and @Rahmat Akerele-tiamiyu to get to see my posts.
I believe you are someone filled with love for getting to this end and I appreciate you for that. I am really excited that we are connected already and I look forward to a more sensational journey together.