Recognized as a Leader
From the nominator:
The top reason Adéṣínà Ayeni deserves to be recognised with a 2025 Open Education Award for Excellence is his groundbreaking work in making Nigerian languages accessible through open, culturally rooted digital resources, empowering underrepresented communities, advancing language equity, and bridging the digital divide with passion, innovation, and inclusive impact across education, technology, and culture.
Adesina is doing phenomenal work in Nigeria to support Nigerian language education in science, technology and digital communication. For me one of the primary goals of open education is to empower and protect Indigenous languages and culture, to be inclusive and support diversity. I think this is critical if we are to promote open education as a force for good, as a way to decolonize the curriculum. I was so inspired by this work, his work to protect languages and close the digital divide, his establishment of an open repository etc., and feel it will strongly benefit the Nigerian people.
Award Reviewer
He has shown remarkable dedication to the preservation and revitalization of regional languages by harnessing the power of open education. In a time when many indigenous and local languages face the threat of extinction, his work stands as a powerful example of how open educational practices can be used to protect cultural heritage and promote linguistic diversity.
Award Reviewer
Learn More
- Yobamoodua: Language activism striving for linguistic diversity in digital spaces (empodora impact)
- Mapping OER And The Open Education Milestone In Nigeria (PDF, Zenodo)
- Adéṣínà Ghani Ayẹni (Global Voices Community)
