OCI FOUNDATION REWARDS NIGERIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS IN LITERARY CONTEST, UNVEILS SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE
Source: Vanguard News (01/11/2022)
By Luminous Jannamike (Abuja, Nigeria)
The Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora (OCI) Foundation, has rewarded participants and winners of the 2022 (2nd) Edition of the OCI Foundation-Auwal Shanono Literary Award for Medical Students, LAMS.
According to a statement by the organization yesterday, the award is in fulfillment of the Foundation’s resolve to support and improve the literary skills of Nigerian doctors-in-training in a national competition being delivered in partnership with the Nigerian Medical Students Association (NiMSA).
NiMSA is the national body that represents all the medical students in Nigeria, and is made up of medical schools from all six geo-political zones in Nigeria.
LAMS was made an annual event after the inaugural outing in 2021, when the first edition was held.
Essays for the 2022 edition were received between August 29th, 2022 and September 15th, 2022, while the winners were rewarded in a virtual (Zoom) ceremony held on Saturday, October 29th, 2022.
Addressing the participants as a guest speaker during the awards ceremony, the President and Founder of the OCI Foundation, Associate Professor Chris Ifediora, said that the decision to support the LAMS was borne out of the desire to identify, inspire, and reward Nigerian medical students who show literary dexterity, and to ensure these doctor-to-be obtain the skills they need to become balanced medical practitioners, researchers, and academics.
Professor Ifediora noted that, during his own undergraduate days, he was very active in NiMSA activities, and was an alumnus of the Southeast Zone of the body, having been a prominent member of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Medical Students Association (NAUMSA).
He stated that the literary skills acquired during his medical school days were vital in his sojourn through institutions in the United Kingdom (University of Liverpool), the United States of America (Harvard Medical School) and in Australia (Griffith University).
A regional version of LAMS, exclusive to only the medical schools in the South-east of Nigeria, also holds annually. The 3rd Edition of that competition is ongoing at the moment.
INTRODUCING THE INAUGURAL “LAMS SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE”.
According to the statement by the OCI Foundation, all the 10 winners of the 2022 LAMS will have the opportunity to participate in the inaugural “LAMS Social Media Challenge”.
This Challenge allows them to produce a one-minute video summary of their work, which will be published on the OCI Foundation’s official social media handles. These 10 winners will be allowed to promote their videos, with the support of the OCI Foundation’s media team.
The best five with the most views and likes (combined) will get additional cash giveaways from the OCI Foundation. The LAMS Social Media Challenge is a way to showcase the literary talents of the winners to a national (Nigerian) and international audience. It allows the winners to further improve their speaking skills, having already distinguished themselves in the written version.