Mrs Thywill Eyra Kpe, Volta Regional Director, Department of Gender, says the youth are fountain of knowledge and valuable human resource that must be tapped to accelerate growth and development.
She said the level of investment in the development of the youth would determine the outcome of the future of the country.
Mrs Kpe said these when she delivered the keynote address at a programme organised by Plan International Ghana to launch its Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) in its Southern Programme Influencing and Impact Area (SPIIA) in Ho.
The YAP is one of the structured mechanisms that Plan International has adopted to give the opportunity to young people to participate in Plan International’s internal decision-making spaces to share their perspectives.
Mrs Kpe said globally, according to the World Youth Report (2020), there were about 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years, accounting for 16 per cent of the global population.
“Ghana according to our population and housing census has a very youthful population, which is a rich resource that must be explored and tapped for national development,” she said.
The Director said equipping young people required providing them the opportunity and space to learn, develop requisite skills and knowledge, and appropriately apply these skills to curtail challenges facing them.
She lauded Plan International and their partners for setting up the panel to amplify the voices of young people and provide them with the platform to learn, express their views and participate effectively in advocacy and decision making.
Mrs Kpe said representation and participation of young people presented great opportunities for them to influence society, change negative perception and develop themselves for the better.
The Director charged the youth to rise and be determined to achieve higher heights as “you are not only competing with your peers locally but also globally.”
Mrs Kpe implored the youth to identify their strengths and talents and take advantage of opportunities around them to develop those talents to drive the change in society.
Ms Adjei, Youth Engagement Facilitator at Plan International Ghana, said the organisation new country strategy, which is in line with the global strategy, aimed to work more with girls and young people to be leaders and change
makers in their family and in the broader society.
Mr. Seth Fiagorme, Director for National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at South Tongu District, asked the youth to endeavour to balance digital life with real life.
He said digital intelligence would enable the youth to overcome the challenges and demands of digital life including application of new digital knowledge and skills while maintaining a connection with real life.
The programme was on the theme: “Equipping and Working Together; Young People, Key Partners in Advocacy and Decision Making.”
