Youth must help steer Ghana's development - German Embassy

Young people must be given meaningful opportunities to participate in and influence Ghana’s development, peace and security agenda, the German Embassy has said. Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy, Boehme Daniel, said beyond providing young people with education, training and employment opportunities, stakeholders must ensure that they are heard and actively involved in shaping the country’s future. “They need to participate. They need to steer the development also on their own. And they need to be heard and they need to be included in shaping the future of this country,” he said. Daniel was speaking at the official launch of the Ghana Civil Society Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) and a knowledge exchange forum held under the theme, “Strengthening Civil Society Collaboration to Advance the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda in Ghana.” The coalition brings together more than 30 youth-led and youth-focused civil society organisations to strengthen coordination, knowledge sharing, advocacy and youth participation in Ghana’s peace and security processes. Daniel said Ghana had made important progress towards developing its National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security under the co-leadership of the National Youth Authority (NYA) and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), in collaboration with government institutions, civil society organisations and development partners. He said as the development of the action plan approaches completion, attention must shift towards ensuring its effective implementation. “Effective implementation will require strong partnerships and coordinated action between government institutions, civil society, young people and other stakeholders,” he said. According to him, the newly launched coalition has an important role to play in coordinating civil society engagement in the national action plan process, generating youth-focused evidence, sharing experiences and connecting initiatives across Ghana. He said Germany remained committed to supporting Ghana’s peace and security agenda, particularly through initiatives that promote locally owned approaches and meaningful youth participation. Speaking on behalf of the National Youth Authority and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Ghana, Director of Programmes at the NYA, Archibald Donkor, described the establishment of the coalition as timely. He said the NYA was leading the process towards the development of Ghana’s National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security and looked forward to working closely with the coalition to strengthen youth participation, inclusion, protection and leadership. Donkor also conveyed UNFPA Ghana’s commitment to supporting the coalition and ensuring that the voices of young people, including young women, persons with disabilities and other minority groups, were meaningfully reflected in the YPS agenda. The National Coordinator of the Ghana Civil Society Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security, Issah Toha Shamsoo, said the coalition was established to ensure that the voices of civil society organisations and young people across the country were represented in discussions on peace and security. He said young people could contribute to peace and security by adopting non-violent approaches to addressing concerns within their communities. “What essentially the youth peace agenda is about is non-violent action to address our concerns. And that inevitably will contribute to Ghana’s peace and security,” Mr Shamsoo said. He said the coalition would now focus on developing an action plan and an accountable, flexible and simple mechanism for engagement among its members. Shamsoo added that civil society organisations would seek to contribute to the government’s National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security before its completion and also play a role in its eventual implementation. He expressed confidence in the potential of Ghana’s youth, saying harnessing their abilities would be critical to transforming the country. AM Inside Ghana’s Abandoned Engineering Powerhouse: What Went Wrong? Source: www.ghanaweb.com
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