INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY CELEBRATION 2020

To commemorate the celebration of International Youth Day, the Ghana National Commission for UNESCO in partnership with Youth Advocates Ghana with support from Plan International, OXFAM in Ghana, Foundation for Security Development In Africa and Girls Advocacy Alliance Ghana organized a round table discussion with young people and key stakeholders including the National Youth Authority C.E.O. Hon. Sylvester Tetteh and the Board Chair for National Youth Authority and MP for Kwabre East Hon. Francisca Oteng at the Accra Digital Centre.

One of the major key highlights from this round table discussion was youth engagement should not be seen as a simple condition that needs to be met but a RESPONSIBILITY. A responsibility that is not only borne by leaders, institutions and stakeholders but young people themselves. Those who occupy positions of power, be it at the local or global level, need to create enabling spaces that prioritize youth participation and engagement in the development discourse which will help build the capacity of young people to engage in policy making and implementation. When such spaces are created, young people have a responsibility to take advantage to participate in those processes without placing high priority on monetary gains. However, in the absence of such spaces, young people should bear a personal responsibility to create spaces for themselves that allows them to engage in development processes through action such as advocacy and voluntarism.

This year’s theme for International Youth Day was ‘’Youth Engagement for Global Actions’’.