The founder of Terra Academy for the Arts, Bolanle Austen-Peters, has advised the youth to take advantage of the internet to better their lives and society.

 Mrs Austen-Peters gave the advice during an interview on Thursday in Lagos.

 She said that diverse information online that the youth could use to enhance their life opportunities.

“The youth should display their skills for people to see and patronise them. Don’t waste your time on the internet on just social engagement. Use it to better yourselves for self reliance and sustainability,” she said.

Mrs Austen-Peters said that her academy recently graduated 16,000 students who had successfully acquired skills in the creative environment.

According to her, TAFTA is an institution dedicated to nurturing artistic talent, career support and entrepreneurial opportunities.

She said that the graduates were trained and empowered at no cost, courtesy TAFTA in partnership with Mastercard Foundation.

“The objective was not to empower young creatives but to impact the creative sector for growth. The quality of education the graduates got can be compared with their foreign counterparts anywhere in the world. We took the best brains and worked with them to develop the curriculum used for the students. We have our practical centres in Ogun, Kano and Lagos states. I appreciate the team who made the dream a reality,” she said.

She expressed hope that the centres would surpass 19,000 students over the next four years.

She urged the graduates to be strong in the face of challenges in life by looking inwards and working on their innate talents for self employment.

(NAN)