YFM Ghana's most innovative urban radio has hit the University of Ghana, Legon with its youth mentoring and career guidance initiative 'Y Dialogues'.
'Y Dialogues' is a platform for achievers in various fields to share their vast experiences with the youth to inspire them to aim higher in their career aspirations and equip them with the right information to succeed.
The 'Y Dialogues' which reminisced the African story telling under the moon lit sky took place at the Limann hall basketball court. The event witnessed Limann Hall students, representatives from other halls, members of Y Campus Express (YCE) fan club and Y Army and the discussions were centred around resilience, perseverance and tenacity in career development and personal growth.
Opening the dialogues, Ghanaian filmmaker, director and cinematographer, Isaac Adu Mensah popularly known as Skyface shared his experiences as a budding music video director.
"Right after school, I knew I could produce music videos. After completing Takoradi Polytechnic, I started editing music videos and that is how it started.
"I have been producing music videos for the past eight (8) years since then. One of my challenges as a music video director is undecided clients. They can tell you they want the video shot this way and when you are done, they will reject the entire thing. Aside from the financial constraints and implications of rejecting a finished video, it’s also frustrating. Another thing that is frustrating is how often the cameras and other gadgets we use for shooting the videos are upgraded.
"Elsewhere you can rent very good cameras, but it is not the same in Ghana so you save to buy the latest camera and five (5) months down the line there is a new one. All these challenges did not stop me from achieving my dream I never gave up" he stated.
Nana Kofi Asihene Ghana’s premium filmmaker and videographer took over from Skyface and shared some of the knocks of life he received but did not give in with the numerous students who gathered under the moonlit sky of the basketball court of the Limann Hall to listen to words of wisdom.
"Years back, I shot a music video and I must say it was really bad. I said to myself I was not going to shoot again, but here I am today. If you love what you do, you will keep going back even if you fail" he said.
The award-winning videographer also encouraged the students to make the right choice when friends and family desert them.
"When you get deserted, it either makes you want to work harder or give up" he noted.
Award winning singer, rapper and media personality Enoch Nana Yaw Oduro-Adjei, popularly known as Trigmatic, used his life experiences to tell the students about the importance of sacrifice in career development.
''I worked at Vibe FM for two years without salary. When you sacrifice the painful days now, you will certainly enjoy in the future. Most people are skipping their sacrifice phase because they are seeing other people's ending. You need to make sacrifices to be successful" Trigmatic said.
Programmes Manager of YFM' Eddy Blay said: "Y Dialogues is to nurture the students' self-awareness, self-directedness, and life skills to set viable goals, to continually learn and add value to their future workplace and explore viable education.''
The Limann hall edition of 'Y Dialogues' was aptly moderated by Rev. Erskine Whyte and supported by Paa Kwesi Schandorf Ayiribi-Acquah a student of the university of Ghana.
Over two hundred students signed up for the YCE fan club at Limann Hall week Y Dialogues activities held on 2nd of March 2020.