By Chantal Hildebrand, Program Manager | August 28, 2020
This month Rise Up and Nigeria lost a fierce advocate for girls’ education. Rise Up Leader Princess Mariam Adams was an entrepreneur and leader in the field of gender equity in digital media and production. Through her organization, HamazonACADEMIA, Princess created spaces and tools to empower young women and girls to reimagine their futures, build tangible skills in digital media technology, filmmaking, and entrepreneurship, and connect with potential mentors and professional opportunities to help them achieve their goals.
When Princess became a Rise Up Leader in 2018, she demonstrated her passion and commitment to drive exponential change. She advocated for programs like those offered by HamazonACADEMIA to be standard offerings in secondary schools across Nigeria, so that more girls could learn about digital media, technology, and entrepreneurship. Princess was already working in a number of secondary schools in Lagos, but she was in discussions with the Department of Education around possibilities for collaboration to expand this work across Lagos State.
Princess’s passion and dedication to elevating the capacity of young women and girls did not go unnoticed. She was named a Microsoft Innovative Educator in 2016 and a Technovation Regional Ambassador in 2017, the same year that HamazonACADEMIA was recognized as one of the top 10 African Startup Ecosystems.
As we say goodbye to Princess, let’s celebrate her legacy as a leader, visionary, and advocate for gender equity in Nigeria. May her smile and light continue to shine on us as we pick up the torch to continue the fight for women’s and girls’ rights.
To learn more about Princess, please read “How far is the journey to heaven?,” a tribute authored by her brother Tesilimi Yusuf.