YES-GHANA Inaugurates Coordinating Committee For Mexico Summit!
The Deputy Africa Regional Representative of the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) Mr. Anatolio Ndong Mba has called on stakeholders to work
closely in finding sustainable strategies that ensure that young people earn
decent work in Ghana. He said, the FAO is ready to collaborate with civil
society in this pursuit. Mr. Ndong Mba said this at YES Ghana's National
Consultation when he inaugurated a five-member coordinating committee that
would lead Ghana's preparation for the Youth Employment Summit Mexico 2004.
He charged the committee to work conscientiously in achieving their terms
of reference, which include raising funds to support Ghana's delegation to
the summit; collecting adequate materials to showcase Ghana at the
Innovative Marketplace which would be held parallel to the summit in Mexico;
collaborating with government to ensure a high level ministerial delegation
from Ghana; and facilitating the participation of delegates from Ghana,
including making all logistical arrangements for their travel. The
Coordinating Committee members are Mr. Kwamina Amoasi-Andoh, National
Coordinator ? Head of ILO projects in Ghana (Committee Chairman), Mrs. Dei
Awuku, Assistant Director, Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment
in Charge of Street Children's projects, Mr. Edward Karewel, Head of
Industrial Relations Department of the Trade Union Congress of Ghana, Mr.
Ishmael Sellasi Gbedzeha, UNFPA Youth Advisor and PPAG "Young and Wise"
staff, and Miss Sandra Serwaa Baafi, recent Graduate from the University of
Science and Technology in Kumasi and member of YES Ghana. In his
address,Ghana's Minister for Manpower Development and Employment Honourable
Yaw Barima stated that the creation of a platform for a national
consultation and launch of Youth Employment Summit 2004 is a step in the
right direction.
He therefore thanked the British Council and the YES Ghana Planning
Committee for their kind invitation. Honourable Yaw Barima emphasised
government's commitment to ensuring a decent work placement for young people
in the country and sited some examples of government programmes that have
worked. In his own words, "As I speak to you today as many as 10,000 people
have so far received skills training in various artisanal trade areas such
as batik, tie and dye, garment construction, food processing and many
others. 15,000 are still undergoing training in various Vocational/Technical
Institutions throughout the country. "In the rural area 15,000 underemployed
farmers have been trained in vocational agriculture to produce snails,
mushroom, honey, grasscutter indigenous leafy as a means of supplementing
their low incomes. Quite an appreciable number of the trained graduates are
happy that at least they have acquired some skills to do something on their
own to earn a decent living", he added. He concluded that his government
hopes that "this Youth Employment Summit 2004 will help to mobilize
informed opinion and appropriate situations to address the youth
unemployment in the country". Other speakers at the consultation include the
YES Ghana Coordinator, Mr Emmanuel Edudzie; British Council Director John
Payne and several other youth leaders from around the country who gave case
studies of their organisation's work in the area of youth employment.
Mr. Emmanuel Edudzie called on government and the international development
community to lead Ghana's delegation to the Mexico Summit and to provide
support for young members' participation. He stated that generating
employment opportunities for young people and thereby eliminating youth
unemployment is a widely shared goal. "However, there has been little
movement beyond rhetoric to concrete and effective action. Efforts need to
be infused with a sense of urgency, vision and resolve, and guided by
practical experience".Mr Edudzie provided some pathways that would lead to
success: political will, long-term commitment, employment?intensive
macro-economic policies and equitable social and labour policies, supported
by effective institutions. Mr. John Payne used the opportunity to share the
British Council's work with young people. He expressed the need for other
organisations to emulate this effort and support initiatives by the youth.
In a plenary session, participants were overwhelming with their useful
collection of "what works" for youth employment. They presented their
experiences in the field, including video documentaries, power point
presentations, and discussion. A compilation of these case studies would be
presented during the Mexico summit in October. The National Consultation was
organised by the YES Ghana Country Network and sponsored by the British
Council in Ghana.
It was a national dialogue of representatives from government, private
sector, NGOs, youth organizations, academic institutions and other members
of civil society, under the theme; "action for youth employment" ?
identifying the existing country scenario and thereafter, forging
partnerships to take action to meet the youth employment challenge. The
occasion was also used to officially launch Ghana's preparation for the
milestone youth employment summit scheduled for Mexico this October. Over
200 participants attended the two-hour event. Many of the participants have
expressed interest in joining the YES network and thus, enlarging the
membership base of the Ghana network. The event was preceded by massive
media campaign, including a major interview by the Ghana Broadcasting
Corporation with Emmanuel Edudzie (YES coordinator in Ghana) which made
all-day headline news on Ghana's only National Radio network all day 29 June
2004. The 30 minutes live interview, which had excerpts featured
subsequently in major news items focused on the purpose of the event, and
highlighted the need to bring the issue of youth employment to the national
agenda. Special thanks to the following people for their support in ensuring
a successful event: - John Payne and the British Council for their
sponsorship - Poonam Ahluwalia and the YES HQ team for their continuous
support - The new Coordinating Committee for accepting this offer - YES
Ghana volunteers whose did all the "rounds" - Every other person who in one
way or the other supported this process.
Thank you all.
Emmanuel Korbla Edudzie
Please read my profiile at:
http://ycdo.takingitglobal.org/community/profile.html?memberid=1430
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