Service, Strategy and Global Engagement
"Growing up in Nigeria, I understand the issues that millions of young people are facing and how their voices are not heard on the global stage."
Temitayo Olatunde is a community development strategist, public policy advocate, and civil society leader with over six years of experience running programmes that advance education equity, gender inclusion, and sustainable livelihoods in underserved communities across Nigeria.
His work connects two levels: grassroots community action and high-level policy. He is especially interested in how decisions made at the global level, in trade, economic policy, and education funding, affect life at the community level. He looks closely at how things like trade policy shifts, donor funding cuts, or global economic decisions can determine whether a child stays in school, a family can afford basic needs, or a local economy grows or struggles. This interest shapes his advocacy work, where he turns the everyday realities of marginalised young people into evidence and arguments used in national and international policy discussions.
As Founder and Executive Director of Temvert Empowerment Foundation, he leads an organisation that combines direct community programmes with work to change policy at a systemic level. The Foundation has reached thousands of people across six states in Southwest and Northern Nigeria.
Temitayo has strong experience in stakeholder engagement, programme design, and impact evaluation. He has built and managed partnerships with government agencies, international NGOs, and donor organisations. His approach to community development is participatory. He believes the communities he works with should help shape the solutions meant to help them, and should understand how global decisions affect their daily lives.
His own experience of educational hardship, facing financial struggles and institutional barriers to complete his university degree, gives him a personal and credible voice in conversations about education access, youth empowerment, and inclusive development. He holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor's Degree in English and International Studies from Osun State University, Nigeria.
