The event will take place at the AfCFTA meeting hall in Accra.

The engagement will be on the theme, One Million next level is knocking; youth-led movements that transcend borders.

A statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pius Enam Hadzide explained the discussion is to commemorate the 2023 African Youth Day.

The statement added that, the engagement reflects government’s commitment to fostering and providing young people with the tools and opportunities needed to thrive in the business world in order to create our commonwealth.

The highlights of the engagement include; entrepreneurship and training workshops, access to finance forums, free side chats with successful entrepreneurs, launch of digital African report, and engagement with international organisation on migration (IOM).

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Read the full statement below:

A statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pius Enam Hadzide, said it is heartbreaking to see such a sudden change and disruption to their sources of livelihood and their homes.

Mr Hadzide noted that, NYA acknowledges their resilience and strength in these challenging times, adding the youth is the backbone of the nation.

In this regard, he has pledged NYA’s commitment to assisting in the recovery and rebuilding undertakings of these young individuals. 

“The Authority is mobilising logistics and other resources to support the endeavour. Volunteers under the National Youth Volunteers Programme (NYVP), which was recently launched by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will also be deployed to assist in some critical areas,” the statement assured.

Meanwhile, NYA has encouraged all individuals, organisations, and the broader community to join hands in the effort to ensure that the youth affected by this adversity are equipped with the requisites for re-building their homes and businesses. 

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Read the full statement below:

The National Youth Authority (NYA) has advised young people in the private sector to be abreast with modern trends in business in order to keep their businesses running.

Speaking at a workshop organised to empower young stylists and those in the cosmetic industry in the Eastern Region, the Eastern Regional Director of NYA, Mariam Mensa Minnah, said that the private sector continues to play a major role in the economy and the ever changing phase of doing business within the sector requires stakeholders to adapt to current trends.

She mentioned that it is essential to build young Ghanaians to build their capacity to meet international standards and create a level playing ground for effective competition.

The NYA’s core mandate is to provide relevant and conducive environment that defines and supports the implementation of effective frontline youth empowerment practices, focusing on young people’s participation in socio-economic and political development whilst facilitating private and third sector provider investments in youth empowerment.

The training workshop, which was in collaboration with a Japanese firm Kanekalon Products, brought together stylists and cosmetologists from across the Eastern Region.

Participants were taught proper bookkeeping, how to identify quality products, and access to credit facilities, among others.

After organising a fifth successful session, the authority intends to make the training an annual event.

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The celebration is on the theme; Breaking the barriers to meaningful youth participation and inclusion in advocacy.

In a statement issued by the NYA, it said Africa’s youth have diverse skill sets to solve the continent’s teeming economic, technological, industrial, and cultural problems.

“They have the ability to provide the resolutions to challenges plaguing the continent, through their unwavering resilience, vibrancy, and penchant for innovation.

“Africa’s Youth, by virtue of their energy, vibe and adaptability, gravitates to the forefront of creating new solutions to old problems, and African governments must leverage this natural affinity through building their capacity and providing spaces for them to thrive,” it read in parts.

The statement emphasised that the government, through the NYA, has adopted the National Youth Policy Document as the blueprint to guide all youth-related activities in the country. 

“Government recognises the challenges of education, industrial and technical training, unemployment and access to finance for businesses as some of the many challenges facing the country’s youth. 

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“To address this trend, the Government of Ghana has adopted the National Youth Policy Document as its blueprint to make financial inclusiveness one of its major thresholds to provide support for the country’s youth to grow their potential,” the statement explained.

Below is the full statement:

He has also urged them to endeavour to be responsible young adults who will contribute to the development of the country.

He made this statement at a send-off ceremony organised by the management of the Authority to bid the NSS persons farewell.

Mr Hadzide briefed the personnel on the current state of employment and encouraged them to venture into their own businesses no matter how small, as the Authority is always open to them for support and assistance.

Also speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy CEO, Nelson Owusu Ansah, reiterated that the workspace is a very competitive one and has no space for people who lack direction and plan.

He further advised that the NSS personnel put up the right attitude towards work and also consider internship and volunteer opportunities in other organizations.

Mr Ansah mentioned the National Youth Volunteers Program as a platform they can take advantage of.

Under the auspices of the National Youth Authority (NYA), the National Youth Volunteers Programme is designed to ignite the spirit of selflessness and volunteerism amongst young people in Ghana and encourage youth participation in national development through voluntary activities.

The Programme will coordinate volunteer activities in the country and seeks to implement 13 Modules with the objective of developing active citizens, foster national cohesion and create opportunities for skills development among young people.

Officials of the National Youth Authority say the NYVP is envisaged to empower over 100,000 young people across the country in the next five years with the period of engagement expected to last between one and twelve months.

Young persons between the ages of 18 and 35 years will have the opportunity to volunteer in areas such as Agriculture, Education, Health, Infrastructure, Afforestation, Community Self-Help Programme, Science, Research and Technology, among others.

Performing the launch at the Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi on Monday, 11 April 2022 Vice President Bawumia said by providing a coordinated framework for streamlining volunteerism activities, the NYVP will provide an avenue for the young Ghanaian person to contribute their quota to national development by fixing the problems right from their communities to the national level.

“This Programme will therefore create a generation of Ghanaian political and thought leaders, traditional and religious leaders, entrepreneurs, and people of all professions and trades who can envision the grand agenda for Ghana and work hard to address the structural challenges that impede our journey to our glorious destination.

“The diversity of the modules under the Programme will ensure that no able and willing youth, regardless of their gender, level of education, social or economic status, religion, or any other, is denied the opportunity to serve their country and to develop their creative potential. There are 13 modules; at least one will be of interest to you.

“I am particularly excited about the prospects of the Science, Research, and Technology module, which is slated for later implementation. This will permit gifted young Ghanaians to leverage new technologies to provide lasting solutions to the myriad challenges in communities across the country.”

To further prepare Ghanaian youth for the future, government is investing heavily in Education, evidenced by the assurance of universal access to inclusive and equitable education through the sustained implementation of the Free Senior High School Policy and the upscaling of Technical and Vocational Education Training under the TVET Strategic Plan, Dr Bawumia stated.

Furthermore, Government has rolled out a number of initiatives to equip graduates with the needed skills required for the job market in the future, including an ongoing stakeholder engagement for skills revitalization in several sectors of the economy such as in the banking and tourism sectors. In the Tourism, Arts and Culture sector, the target is to train and certify 10,000 persons on specific tourism and hospitality skills by 2023.

“There is ongoing construction and modernization of all National Vocational training Institutes (NVTIs) and Opportunity Industrialization Centers (OIC). So far, 17 Technical and Vocational Institutes across the country are being upgraded and modernized.”

“The YouStart initiative which will support young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, training, technical skills, and mentoring to launch and operate their own businesses, is also expected to take off soon,” he added.

Commending management and staff of the National Youth Authority, led by Pius Hadzide and assisted by Nelson Owusu Ansah and Akosua Manu, for the “hard work that has resulted in the roll out of this laudable programme,” Vice President Bawumia urged all stakeholders to ensure its success.

“We have before us an opportunity to change the narrative of what the Ghanaian youth is about and in doing so change the narrative around our country and our continent. We must not let this opportunity to engage our youth in useful, productive volunteering that will have long-lasting personal and national impacts pass us by.”

Mr Hadzide takes over from Sylvester Tetteh, who is now the Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro.

The appointee is expected to bring on board his experience and expertise as a youth worker and mobiliser for the smooth and effective running of the authority.

Mr Hadzide in 2017 was appointed a Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports in President Akufo-Addo’s first term.

He was, however, transferred to the Information Ministry.

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The NYA as a Statutory Institution of Reference in Youth Development Service seeks to provide an environment for youth participation.

NYA also drives political development using appropriate technology and highly motivated professionals.

In a video that has since gone viral, the priest lined up some of the female students allegedly from St Monica’s College of Education and gave them “kisses” one after the other.

This, the Authority has condemned in the strongest terms, adding that the action “in our opinion does not augur well and inure to the overall development of our youth…”

In a press release, NYA said it perceives the conduct of the priest as an infringement on the rights of the students and especially in the wake of the novel COVID-19.

It also added that the priest’s conduct constitute an abuse of office and that must be critically looked at particularly by the Christian Council of Ghana and immediate steps must be taken to withdraw him.

The NYA called on the Ministry of Education and other related authorities to conduct their own internal investigations and subsequently make their findings public as a matter of urgency.

Find attached press release: