Winifred Bosa.

Come March 15 , 2017 , The Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN) will hold consumer summit as part of activities to mark 2017 World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD).

They are to  join the rest of the world in the global campaign at the symposium, scheduled to take place at White House Hotels, Ikeja GRA, Lagos between 10. am and 1. pm

According to a statement signed by BJAN Chairman, Goddie Ofose, Mr David Arome Okeme , President, Advertiser Association of Nigeria and also the Chief Marketing Officer of Systemspecs, owners of Remita would lead the discussion at the seminar on the global theme for the 2017 WCRD  ‘Building a digital world consumers can trust’.

Other discussants are Oluwasoromidayo George, Manager, Corporate Communications, Unilever Nigeria PLC, Kufre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigerian Breweries PLC, Adekunle Ayeni, GMD, BHM Group, Kayode Olagesin, CEO, Towncriers, Kayode Oluwasana, President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, Joshua Nggada, Lagos Head, Consumer Protection Council.

The BJAN Chairman, said that the  symposium which would be anchored by Sola Salako, president , Consumer Advocacy Forum of Nigeria (CAFON),and also a renowned consumer advocate , would be the fifth in the series.

He said that the seminar seeks to highlight the challenges consumers face in the present digital age.

Observing that in the height of internet penetration, well over 3 billion, or 40% of the world’s population is online now, compared with just 1% in 1995, and with all projections suggesting this number will continue to rise, BJAN noted that whilst consumers undoubtedly benefit from the increased access, choice and convenience that these technologies deliver, questions remain about how to improve the quality of services, which online services consumers can trust, what happens to the data they share online and what consumers’ rights are in relation to digital products.

The World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) has been an awareness day, which is observed on March 15, every year.

The day was set to mark the definition of consumer rights, as outlined by former US President John F. Kennedy.

He was the first world leader to set out a vision of consumer rights and he also recognized the importance of consumers as a group. Kennedy gave the American consumer four basic rights: the right to safety, to choose, to information and to be heard.

The WCRD was first celebrated in 1983 and became an important annual occasion for mobilizing citizen action and solidarity within the international consumer movement.

The day is an opportunity for promoting the basic rights of all consumers, demanding that those rights are respected and protected and protesting about the market abuses and social injustices which undermine them.

The day is organized by Consumers International (CI), which is the world federation of consumer groups that serves as the only independent and authoritative global voice for consumers and was founded in 1960. Currently it has over 220 member organizations in 115 countries around the world.