On Friday, 3 July 2026, We the People inaugurated the 5th Cohort of its Rights Academy, a 13-week intensive youth training programme, at the Nnimmo Bassey Conference Hall in Calabar, Cross River State. The inauguration brought together 20 newly admitted students of the Academy, alongside members of the media and alumni of previous cohorts.

The Rights Academy is designed to equip young people with the knowledge, critical thinking, and practical skills required to become activists and engender social change. Over the course of 13 weeks, participants will engage with issues around human rights, environmental justice, climate change, civic participation, and social transformation through a combination of physical and virtual learning sessions, discussions, practical exercises, and field trips.

Creating a New Generation of Change Agents

Welcoming the newly inaugurated students, the Prefect of the Rights Academy, Jude Edu, provided an overview of why the Academy was established. He pointed to the interconnected human rights, environmental, and climate crises confronting society, as well as the shrinking civic space, noting that young people are at the heart of many of these challenges despite having contributed the least to several of the crises.

“This is why the Academy was created, to provide a new generation of young activists with the knowledge and skills required to become change agents in society,” he said.

Speaking during the inauguration, Ken Henshaw, Executive Director of We the People, described the Rights Academy as a place where participants come to learn but “never really leave.” He described the Academy as a community of activists, emphasizing that the programme goes beyond classroom learning by supporting participants to take practical action towards bringing about the change they want to see in society. Mr. Henshaw also highlighted the impact of the Academy’s alumni, many of whom have gone on to record significant achievements in social advocacy and activism across the country. He encouraged the new cohort to see their participation not simply as an opportunity to acquire knowledge, but as the beginning of a lifelong commitment to social change.

A Space for Critical Thinking and Transformation

Also speaking at the event, Grace Apollos, Program Manager at We the People, described the Rights Academy as a space for interrogating society and building the requisite intellectual capacity for transforming it. According to her, “the Rights Academy will stretch the capacity of your thinking, and challenge the knowledge you already have.”

She encouraged the students to approach the programme with openness and a willingness to question existing assumptions, engage critically with the issues affecting society, and develop the intellectual tools necessary to contribute meaningfully to social transformation.

Learning from the Alumni

The inauguration also provided an opportunity for members of the Rights Academy Alumni group to interact with the new cohort. Alumni shared their experiences of the training and reflected on how the Academy had contributed to their development as activists and advocates. Their testimonies highlighted the practical value of the programme and the ways in which knowledge and skills acquired through the Academy have supported their subsequent advocacy efforts.

A 13-Week Journey of Learning and Action

The 5th Cohort of the Rights Academy will run for 13 weeks, combining physical and virtual learning sessions. The programme will also include field trips to locations and initiatives that provide practical learning opportunities around human and environmental rights. A key component of the Academy is its emphasis on translating knowledge into action. At the end of the 13-week programm, each student is expected to undertake a practical advocacy campaign, applying the knowledge and skills acquired during the training to address an issue of concern within their communities or wider society.

The inauguration of Cohort 5 is a continuation of We the People’s effort to nurture a new generation of informed, critical, courageous, and action-oriented young people committed to defending rights and advancing social and environmental justice.