Enugu to Host Igbo Youth Culture & Tourism Entrepreneurship Conference (IYC-TEC Enugu 2025)

  

Enugu is set to erupt with colour, culture, and youthful vibrance as the Igbo Youth Culture & Tourism Entrepreneurship Conference (IYC-TEC Enugu 2025) prepares to take centre stage with a Road Show on Saturday, November 29, 2025, and the main event on Sunday, the 30th at the International Conference Center. With a powerful call echoing across the Coal City, organisers are urging young people to “join the wave” and become part of a cultural movement that promises to reshape the future of the Igbo nation through heritage, creativity, and enterprise.

Addressing journalists during a press briefing, the Chief Host and Convener, Sir Chukwuma Harrison Okeiyi, described the forthcoming conference as more than an event, he called it a mission, a revival, and a vision that seeks to rebuild the pride and enterprise of Igbo youths by transforming cultural heritage into economic opportunity. He explained that the initiative, driven by the Ezi-Aha Festival under the Igbo Cultural Renaissance: Umunna Community Cultural Empowerment Initiative, aims to raise over 2,000 young cultural ambassadors and entrepreneurs by 2026 through culture-based empowerment, creativity, and innovation.

The excitement in Enugu is already building ahead of a colourful cultural roadshow scheduled for Friday, November 28, 2025. The streets of the Coal City will come alive with traditional dancers, creative entrepreneurs, cultural ambassadors, and youth innovators, all moving through key locations to mobilise, inspire, and ignite a renewed sense of pride in Igbo identity. The procession is expected to serve as a massive awareness campaign, reminding the youth that heritage is not just something to preserve, but a resource they can convert into opportunity and enterprise.

At the main conference the next day, participants will experience a rich blend of cultural business conversations, panel engagements with industry leaders, pitch sessions for creative business ideas, exhibitions of traditional arts and storytelling, and a marketplace showcasing local innovations. Awards will also be presented to outstanding young cultural entrepreneurs and advocates of Igbo excellence. Organisers say the conference will give Enugu youths practical exposure to capacity building, digital branding, creative tourism, mentorship, networking, and skill development. Young people will have the chance to meet investors, present their products, and gain access to national and international markets.

Beyond personal gains, IYC-TEC Enugu 2025 is positioned as a strategic contributor to economic rejuvenation across Igbo land. By promoting cultural tourism, strengthening local enterprise, and offering sustainable youth engagement, the initiative is expected to boost brand visibility for Enugu, promote social stability, and reignite the cultural pride that defines the Igbo identity. According to the organisers, when young people are meaningfully engaged in creative and profitable ventures, the same energy that fuels restiveness becomes a catalyst for peace, development, and community-building.

The Enugu edition marks the beginning of a wider cultural renaissance that will extend to Abia, Imo, and Anambra States in 2026, all leading up to the Ezi-Aha Grand Annual Cultural Festival in Ebonyi State and the highly anticipated Ezi-Aha Cultural Reality Show in Enugu. Stakeholders, government agencies, multinational organisations, NGOs, media houses, investors, and Igbos in the diaspora are being called upon to partner with the organisers to ensure the success and sustainability of this cultural revolution.

Sir Okeiyi expressed deep appreciation to existing partners including Nani Boi Productions, Fortress Fabrics Ltd., ShelterPoint International Agencies Ltd., Ezi-Aha Entertainment Network, and Omeiheuzu Storytelling Enterprise, noting that their support is crucial to the ongoing rebirth of Igbo excellence. He concluded with a passionate message, declaring that the Igbo story must be told again, this time by young people empowered to shape their own destiny through culture, unity, and entrepreneurship.