The Entrepreneurship Initiative for African Youth (member of PWYP Nigeria) organized a one day workshop with support from the Facility for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER), for Artisans across South-eastern Nigeria. The meeting which was held at Oakland Hotel, Enugu had 45 participants in attendance. The objective of the meeting was to improve the understanding of the artisans on oil and gas issues and galvanize the voices of artisans across the region to demand for reforms.

The informal sector, comprising of mostly artisans, has shown to be a major employer of labour and also contribute highly to the nation’s GDP. The workshop became pertinent because reports have shown that over reliance of the Nigerian economy on the petroleum sector makes it susceptible to the fluctuations of the international crude oil market.

The workshop was also organized to build a network of Artisans, sensitize and improve their awareness of artisans on how changes in the crude prices are transmitted to their livelihoods. At the workshop three presentations were made; understanding the Nigerian oil and gas sector, the use of public media in building a resilient artisan community and changing the perception of citizens on their involvement in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. These insightful presentations were followed up by a breakout session where the participants were divided into three groups and requested to develop advocacy strategies for engagement with the Federal, State and local governments respectively.

At the end of the workshop, a communiqué was developed and adopted by all the participants. There were also commitments by all the participants and organizers to move the outcomes of the workshop beyond the hotel. In conclusion, all the participants appreciated the organizers and acknowledged that the event had been very enlightening and informative.