Empowered To Witness: Developing, Deploying Our Skills In The Digital World

A paper delivered by VALENTINE OBIENYEM to the youth of Sacred Heart Chaplaincy during their Annual Youth Week, 6th August 2025.

Introduction

Good evening, young people! It’s both an honor and a profound responsibility to be here today to address you on a theme that resonates deeply with our current reality and the immense potential of your generation: “Empowered to Witness: Developing and Deploying Our Skills in the Digital World.” This powerful topic hinges on four key concepts: Empowerment, Witnessing, Skills, and the Digital World.

To ensure a clear understanding, let’s briefly explore each of these terms:

Empowerment is becoming equipped – mentally, spiritually, and practically – to take initiative, embrace responsibility, and create meaningful change. It’s about recognizing that you are not powerless or passive. You already possess something valuable: a voice, an idea, a vision, a skill. To be empowered is to realize you have the capacity to contribute – to positively influence the world around you. True empowerment ignites courage, cultivates purpose, and prepares you not merely to survive, but to serve and lead with confidence.

Witnessing goes beyond simply speaking or teaching; it’s about living with conviction. Traditionally, witnessing means testifying to what is true, noble, and just. In the Christian tradition, witnessing involves making one’s life a reflection of the Gospel. It means embodying truth and radiating goodness in our actions, choices, and words. It’s not only about proclaiming faith but also about demonstrating it – in how we relate to others, how we create, how we work, and how we interact in both physical and digital spaces. Witnessing isn’t reserved for the pulpit; it’s a daily, dynamic calling.

Skills are the tools we use to carry out our witness and express our empowerment. They are developed through learning, discipline, and experience. Some skills are technical, such as digital design, video editing, web development, digital marketing, coding, or photography. Others are creative or relational, like communication, leadership, ghostwriting, conflict resolution, or storytelling. Skills aren’t static; they grow with use and sharpen with practice. Simply having a skill isn’t enough; what matters is how intentionally we develop it and how purposefully we deploy it for the good of others and the glory of God. Skill development requires effort, training, and reflection. Deployment calls for courage, direction, and commitment.

The Digital World is no longer separate from our ‘real’ lives; it’s the environment where much of human interaction, communication, and expression now occurs. This world is built on technologies that convert information into digital signals. The internet, social media, mobile applications, artificial intelligence, and virtual spaces have become the platforms where ideas spread, communities form, businesses operate, and faith is both challenged and shared. For today’s believer, the digital world isn’t a distraction to avoid, but a mission field to engage. It’s where voices are heard, truths are tested, and witness can be powerfully amplified. Crucially, this digital mission field isn’t neutral in its demographics; among those best positioned to inhabit, innovate in, and transform it are you – the youth.

Who Are the Youth, and What Do They Represent?

The youth aren’t merely a younger demographic; they embody energy, curiosity, creativity, and, above all, promise. Throughout history, this vibrant stage of life has been both admired and critiqued, but never ignored. The Roman philosopher Cicero wisely remarked, “The young man’s strength should be governed by the old man’s wisdom.” This statement forms the philosophical backbone of today’s gathering. It speaks to a beautiful intergenerational dialogue – where elders, guided by the hindsight of their own experiences and the foresight shaped by their reflections, offer counsel to the younger generation. They may not have fully optimized their own youthful energies in their time, but now, with the advantage of perspective, they seek to help you – today’s youth – channel your dynamism with greater clarity and purpose. Their instruction isn’t born of condescension, but of care: a desire to see your potential not wasted, but wisely directed toward something enduring and meaningful.

Today’s event is, at its core, an intergenerational dialogue – an intentional coming together of Baby Boomers (1946–1964), Generation X (1965–1980), and Millennials (Generation Y, 1981–1996), to engage meaningfully with Generation Z (Zoomers, 1997–2012), and even the emerging voices of Generation Alpha. This conversation isn’t merely symbolic; it’s rooted in wisdom and lived experience. The older generations have seen both the promises and pitfalls of technological advancement, social change, and moral drift. Having journeyed through times of transformation, they are uniquely placed to guide, mentor, and empower the younger ones – not by dictating terms, but by offering insight gained through hindsight. This is not about control, but about collaboration. It’s about forging a shared path forward, where youthful energy is matched with seasoned wisdom to shape a more thoughtful, purposeful digital age.

Generation Z, often called digital natives, were born into a world shaped by sophisticated technology – fast-paced, hyper-connected, and constantly evolving. As natural navigators of this digital environment, their voices now shape conversations, influence trends, and redefine cultural norms. They are not merely participants in the digital space but culture-shapers and bridge-builders, linking tradition with innovation and connecting the legacies of the past to the possibilities of the future. In many ways, they are both the message and the medium, expressing values and direction – whether consciously or not – through their online presence. This influence, however, is a double-edged sword: like fire, it can either illuminate or consume. That is why the development and purposeful deployment of digital skills is not just important but urgent. The digital world, rooted in binary code, is more than just technical; it’s fast, global, interactive, and often permanent. It has changed how we communicate, learn, earn, and even express faith. For you, the youth, this digital reality presents both immense opportunity and serious responsibility. The challenge, then, is to channel this digital fluency in ways that uphold truth, promote justice, and serve the common good.

Opportunities in the Digital World

The digital world presents a vast array of opportunities for personal growth, social impact, and global engagement. It offers unprecedented access to information, allowing individuals to learn new skills, explore diverse perspectives, and stay informed in real time. For young people especially, it opens doors to entrepreneurship, creativity, and advocacy – enabling them to launch ideas, build platforms, and influence society with minimal barriers to entry. Through social media, blogs, podcasts, and online communities, voices once silenced or marginalized can now be amplified and heard across continents. The digital space also fosters collaboration across borders, bringing together people of different cultures to solve problems, share knowledge, and promote mutual understanding. In faith and values-based contexts, the digital world becomes a powerful mission field, where messages of hope, truth, and justice can be shared creatively and authentically. Ultimately, the digital age empowers individuals not only to consume content, but to create it – and in doing so, to shape the future.

To fully harness these opportunities, however, young people must intentionally develop and deploy relevant skills. In this space, your skills are your currency – they determine how effectively you engage, influence, and lead. Key areas of development include digital communication, such as content creation (writing, podcasting, video production), public speaking through webinars and live streams, and compelling storytelling on social media platforms. Equally important are technology and innovation skills, like coding, app development, web and graphic design, digital marketing, data analysis, and cybersecurity basics – tools that allow you to build and safeguard the digital environments you engage in.

Furthermore, the digital age invites you into creative and entrepreneurial endeavors. Skills like branding, personal development, e-commerce, animation, illustration, photography, and user interface (UI/UX) design equip you to stand out and serve meaningfully. Lastly, soft skills – critical thinking, online collaboration, digital etiquette, and responsible usage – remain essential for navigating this ever-evolving space with wisdom and integrity. In all of this, the aim isn’t simply to acquire skills but to use them with purpose: to witness, to inspire, to build, and to lead with vision and faith.

Developing Our Skills

In reflecting on the importance of developing one’s skills, I’m reminded of something my old teacher, Monsignor Sylvester Mgbemful, once shared. He spoke of how inspired he was by the cuttings Fr. Ikem Oliobi used to paste on the walls of his living and sitting rooms – one of which read: “Bloom where you are planted.” That phrase stayed with me. It means: whatever gifts or talents you have, wherever you find yourself, nurture them and let them flourish.

Wherever you are, align yourself with skills you feel you can develop, and strive to bloom there. As young people today, you are called to cultivate whatever space you are in. Skill development isn’t about waiting for a perfect opportunity; it’s about cultivating what you have, where you are, with intention.

Allow me to be slightly immodest and share my own journey. In seminary, I joined the Press Club. I wrote articles that, I must confess, often made teachers uncomfortable. I was even suspended once for my boldness in print! But over time, I came to realize something during moments of deep introspection: to write well, to express any meaningful idea, one must read widely. So, I began to read everything I could lay my hands on – books, newspapers, essays, journals. At university, I maintained a weekly column on the campus noticeboard and began contributing to newspapers. One of the turning points in my life came through the mentorship of Prof. Okey Ikechukwu, who encouraged me to refine the art of writing. With his guidance, I was able to truly bloom. Many of the breakthroughs I’ve had in life came directly from that writing skill.

Every one of us carries a gift – a skill – that cries out for development. Consider the late Mr. Ibu, the beloved comic actor. What was his talent? Making people laugh. That was his craft – “Mumumism,” some might say – but he honed it until it became his unique contribution to society.

In today’s world, particularly the digital one, there are even more opportunities. Whether it’s design, editing, content creation, coding, digital marketing, or even storytelling on TikTok, there’s space for your talent – if only you’re willing to learn and grow.

Ask yourself: did you join any group in school where you felt alive and capable? Back in our day, we had dance groups, choirs, drama societies, and press clubs. Today, schools have evolved. In line with global development, many now offer coding clubs, digital innovation labs, robotics teams, podcasting groups, and more. These aren’t just extracurricular activities; they’re incubators of purpose and platforms for transformation.

Where are you planted now? Will you choose to bloom?

Deploying Your Skills

You can only deploy what you’ve developed. Just as a soldier cannot enter battle without first being trained, no one can effectively use a skill that hasn’t been honed. Development must precede deployment.

Deploying your skills means putting them to work – not just for personal gain, but for community, country, and ultimately, for the common good. Whether your talent is in communication, leadership, creativity, or technology, there comes a time when you must move beyond preparation and start making impact.

The digital world makes this even more urgent. You may have learned how to design, edit videos, write, speak, analyze data, or mobilize others online – but what are you doing with it? Are you using your digital voice to inspire, educate, or build up others? Or is it simply for likes and vanity?

Skill deployment is about intentionality. It’s when the writer starts a blog to shape ideas, the coder builds an app that solves a local problem, the speaker starts a YouTube channel to mentor others, the leader forms a team to drive change in their community. Deployment transforms potential into purpose.

Some people are waiting for the “perfect” opportunity. But remember: impact often begins with small acts, done with excellence and consistency. You don’t need a big platform to start; you need vision, commitment, and courage.

In deploying your skills, always ask:

What problems can I help solve?
Whose life can I improve?
What good can I contribute?

In a world flooded with noise, people who deploy their skills meaningfully will not only stand out; they will light the way for others.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

In a world brimming with noise, distraction, and endless digital currents, your voice and your skills matter more than ever. This is your moment – not just to consume, but to contribute; not just to follow trends, but to set them; not just to exist online, but to live with purpose.

You were born into a time of extraordinary possibility – and with that possibility comes a profound responsibility. Cultivate your gifts, and use them with intention. Let your skills reflect your deepest values. Whether through art, writing, coding, organizing, public speaking, or community building – pursue excellence, not for applause, but for the common good. This, in fact, is one of the hallmarks of sainthood.

Consider this: the current patron saint of the Internet is St. Isidore of Seville, a 7th-century bishop and scholar. At first glance, it may seem odd – why choose someone from the 600s for a technology that only emerged in our own time? The answer lies in his legacy. St. Isidore was renowned for his vast learning and lifelong dedication to gathering, organizing, and sharing knowledge. In spirit, he exemplifies what the Internet can be at its best: a tool for truth, learning, and human flourishing.

If the Church were to embark once again on the search for a fitting patron of the digital world, there could be little debate as to who that should be: Blessed Carlo Acutis. Fondly remembered as the “Cyber Apostle of the Eucharist,” Carlo was born in 1991 and passed away in 2006, leaving behind a powerful legacy far beyond his years. Through his deep devotion and creative use of digital media to promote Eucharistic miracles, he demonstrated how technology can be harnessed for evangelization. It is widely expected that at his forthcoming canonization, he will be officially named the Patron Saint of the Digital Age.

The lesson is clear: age is no barrier to impact, and digital tools, when guided by faith, can become instruments of profound witness.