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Ghana YMCA youth taking the lead on civic competence in the country

Photo: Minister for Youth and Sports, Honourable Rashid Pelpuo.

‘Building the civic competence of the youth – prerequisite for societal change’

At the recent Ghana YMCA Youth Convention, the Minister for Youth and Sports, Honourable Rashid Pelpuo, applauded the YMCA’s current focus on civic competence to ensure youth are able to influence policy. He invited the YMCA youth to submit a communiqué to government for consideration and possible adoption.

Under the theme ‘Building the civic competence of the youth – prerequisite for societal change’, the annual Convention, attended by 160 youth from seven regions in Ghana, was held from 30 July to 2 August at Prampram, in the Greater Accra Region.

A previous YMCA member when he was at school, the Honourable Minister praised the YMCA for taking the lead on civic competence in Ghana, saying, “The Ghana YMCA has the capacity to make a positive impact on the youth and government relies on you to show the way for other youth organisations to follow.”

He opened his door to creating a partnership with the YMCA and committed government support to the civic competence programme.

Harold Obeng Yeboah, National Youth President, said, “As a result of colonialism, we were made to accept what was given to us. Decades after our country’s independence, this mindset has not changed. We are taught to respect our elders, whether they are right or wrong.”

Joel Arthur, National Youth Secretary, said that the youth have become more and more voiceless. “If we don’t change things, the next generation of leaders will also continue to focus rules and laws on the older generation.”

Harold explained that civic competence is about youth being able to articulate issues of importance to them, to have their opinions heard and then ultimately to influence those in authority. While, as Joel explained, the Convention focused on raising awareness and creating understanding, the next step is that of skills formation.

Four Ghana YMCA youth will attend the YMCA Youth Summit in Ethiopia from 28 October to 5 November, which focuses on equipping youth with the skills to act as change agents in their countries and collectively in Africa. On their return, these youth will be able to take practical steps to implement a civic competence programme in Ghana to ensure that youth are able to influence decision-making from community to national level.

As part of youth leadership development, the youth were tasked with raising the bulk of the budget for the event.

“As youth, we selected the theme for the Convention. Much of the preparation involved explaining civic concept to the participants and linking this with real issues. We made sure that we communicated constantly to mobilise support. Some of the monies we raised came from organisations but most of it was raised amongst ourselves, using registration fees, sponsorship packs and various other ways.

“There was a driving force in raising the money, as we were committed to dialogue about the theme, which had wide ownership due to us conceptualising it ourselves,” explained Charles Habiah, Chair of Greater Accra Regional Council, and National Executive Committee member. Charles also sits on the Executive Committee of the Africa Alliance of YMCAs and is a youth delegate at World Alliance level.

Never before in the history of the Convention had this happened. The youth raised three quarters of the budget, and the participant attendance doubled from previous years.

Another unique aspect of this year’s Convention was the engagement with decision-makers. As well as the Minister’s participation, other officials included Her Excellency Ernestina Naadu Mills, First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Honourable E.T. Mensah, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Nene Atsure Denta III, Manklalo and Acting President of Prampram Traditional Council.

By: Gil Harper, Executive Secretary: Communications, Africa Alliance of YMCAs

posted onTuesday, August 25, 2009