The United Nations Children’s Fund, in collaboration with the federal government, has organised a two-day workshop on child foresight analysis to strengthen long-term planning for children’s well-being up to 2050.

The workshop, held under the Anticipatory Governance and Foresight Capacity (AGFC) programme, implemented by the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience, brought together stakeholders to develop strategic policies and programmes affecting children’s future.

Speaking at the event in Kano, UNICEF Nigeria Planning Specialist Boco Abdul said the organisation’s mandate was to safeguard the well-being of children and young people.

Ms Abdul explained that UNICEF was providing technical support to the Office of the Vice President through the AGFC programme and OSPRE to promote proactive planning for children’s future.

According to her, the initiative is designed to strengthen governance systems, structures, policies, and programmes that directly impact children.

She said the workshop was part of an ongoing collaboration between UNICEF and the Office of the Vice President through OSPRE, focusing on foresight analysis using horizon scanning to identify emerging trends likely to affect children.

Ms Abdul identified critical planning areas, including demographics, unemployment, artificial intelligence, and climate change, stating that the exercise involved building future scenarios with stakeholders such as government officials, technology experts, policymakers, entertainers, and academics.

She added that the workshop outcomes would be validated and translated into actionable policy plans for implementation across ministries, departments, and agencies.

Ms Abdul urged the participants to think innovatively, analyse available data, and develop diverse future scenarios to improve policy formulation and planning.

Also speaking, special assistant to the president on special duties under the office of the vice president, Muhammad Ahmed, said governance planning had become more complex due to emerging challenges such as climate change and disruptive technologies.

Mr Ahmed said developments in artificial intelligence present both opportunities and risks, adding that the AGFC programme was introduced to strengthen institutional capacity to address emerging realities.

He disclosed that discussions between the government and UNICEF began in 2025 alongside a scoping exercise to develop evidence-based case studies.

According to him, UNICEF will utilise the workshop’s outcomes to support Nigeria’s development planning over the next four to five years.

Mr Ahmed said the AGFC programme is built on stakeholder engagement, capacity development, and institutionalising long-term governance through the establishment of a Community of Practice with designated champions.

“For government, we hope this will provide proof of concept as we advocate long-term thinking in governance. Our collaboration with UNICEF demonstrates what can be achieved,” he said.

He further explained that OSPRE was established through an executive order following a directive by the Economic Community of West African States to member states, describing the office as a key partner in strengthening anticipatory governance in Nigeria.

(NAN)