Nigeria has emerged victorious at the prestigious World Affairs Challenge (WAC) 2024 as the Christ the King College, Onitsha, which represented the country, secured the coveted global first-place position.

This feat, which occurred on Wednesday, marks the first time Nigeria is clinching Gold in the competition’s 32-year history.

The World Affairs Challenge, organised by WorldDenver, empowers high school students to develop innovative solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

This year, students tackled critical issues like climate change, poverty, and inequality.

The students, Ekufu Ernest, Obuna Somtochukwu, Umeodinka Emmanuel, Ejike Ekene, and Ubah Jason, led by their coach, John Onuigbo, impressed the judges with their impactful project, “Wise Tales by Primus,” a captivating series of digital comic stories addressing environmental degradation, climate change, and substance abuse.

The project, “Wise Tales by Primus” aims to raise awareness and inspire positive change among young people.

CKC Onitsha’s journey started at the African Regional Competition, where they were named the highest-scoring Nigerian team and the top five in Africa. The team proceeded to pitch in the virtual global finals and following a rigorous evaluation, the team’s in-depth understanding and passionate delivery during the final Q&A session left a lasting impression.

Delivering the judgment, the judges paid glowing tributes to the team’s outstanding performance, “Excellent presentation and applications of SMART indexes with extraordinary action plans for global outreach through language translation and website creative solutions dynamics. This is innovative, creative, and illustrious,the judges said.”

Today, they were officially declared the World Affairs Challenge 2024 Global Champion, surpassing teams from all over the globe participating in the championship. Redmond High School, WA, USA, and TEVITOL High School, Turkey, came in third and second place, respectively.

Speaking on the win, the school principal, Rev. Fr. Celestine Arinze Okafor, said, “CKC Onitsha’s victory extends beyond the competition. It signifies the immense potential and innovative spirit of Nigerian youth, who not only secured a historic win but also inspired others to tackle global challenges with creativity and dedication. These boys deserve all the support they can get to build and push their project to millions of users.”

Adding to the excitement, the CKC Onitsha team will travel to Denver, Colorado, USA, later this month for the award ceremony! There, they will showcase their project to a global audience and connect with other young leaders. (The PUNCH)

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