YOUTH LEADERS COMMEND GOVT'S YOUTH POLICY (PAGE 23, AUGUST 19, 2010)

LEADERS of some youth organisations in the country have commended the government for coming out with a national youth policy.
According to them, that gesture would set the tone for various youth development programmes that would tap the potential of Ghanaian youth to enable them to contribute effectively to national development.
These leaders made the commendation at the launching of a tool kit developed to guide the youth to participate effectively in issues of national development.
The tool kit, which has been christened, “Keeping the promise”, empowers the youth to assess national programmes in setting youth development priorities contained in the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), of which Ghana is a signatory.
It was published by the Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES) on behalf of the Tackling Poverty Together (TPT) Ghana team and with assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
A member of the TPT team, Mr Kwesi Anderson Nketsia, said meaningful youth participation in national development was very crucial for achieving sustainable development and peace.
He said Ghana was undoubtedly a youthful nation, with over 70 per cent of the population falling below the 35-year bracket, as noted by the Ghana 2000 Population and Housing Census.
“We can, therefore, not ignore the youth because ultimately most development programmes will have an impact on them, either positively or negatively,” he explained, adding that that was why a youth policy was crucial.
Mr Nketsia said the world was faced with many crises, ranging from environmental degradation to security, and that investing in and partnering the youth in the development process had been identified as a key way to deal with those challenges.
He indicated that the TPT team was initiated to convince stakeholders of the importance of working with the youth in the area of poverty reduction, adding that the significance of the youth had been acknowledged by the international community and that led the UN to declare August 12, 2010 to August 11, 2011 as the International Year of Youth.
“This period will be used to place more emphasis on integrating youth-related issues into global, regional and national development agenda,” he said.
The Executive Director of the United Force for Development (UFFD), which is a member of the TPT team, Mr Yussif Abdul-Mumin, also noted that the existence of a youth policy would provide guidelines for youth-led initiatives.