A 20-year old student of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and two others from the University of Ghana, both 22, have emerged winners in the 2016 ‘Voices of Our Generation Essay Competition’ this year.
Gideon Gabor, 20, from GIMPA, had the overall best essay. Shafic Osman, 22, and Naana Darku Yeboah, both from the University of Ghana tied as winners.
The topic for the competition was “What should a 2016 election manifesto say if young people mattered?”
The competition was designed to give the youth between the ages of 18-30 years, the opportunity to present their policy choices for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous society to Ghana’s political leaders and the general public.
It was also to intended to offer a platform to the young ones to tell the politicians seeking power why, how and what they ought to do; rather than the usual trend of listening to politicians speak about why they want power, what they intend to do, and how they intend to achieve it.
The top three winners were given cash prices of three thousand cedis, two thousand cedis and one thousand cedis respectively.
In addition, the two tie winners were given laptop, books and certificates.
In all, 29 participants were awarded with books and certificates.
The event was organised by the African Heights Foundation, a not-for-profit youth civic advocacy group in Ghana, with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (Ghana.
The two groups were also responsible for the just-ended 2016 ‘Youth Debates Series’ ahead of the 2016 elections. The debate series was designed to provide a platform to assess which of the parties in this year’s election best responds to issues affecting the youth and women.
The debates took place at the University of Ghana campus, Legon, the University of Cape Coast in the Central Region, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology- KNUST which was an all-female contest, and at the University of Development Studies (UDS) campus in Tamale.
The youth leaders of the five major political parties debated on the thematic areas of poverty reduction and economic development, the right to education and skills training (Youth employment), energy and natural resources, unemployment, corruption, the justice system, the rule of law and women’s empowerment
The African Heights Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, based in Accra, Ghana, dedicated to using the tools of education, advocacy and civic participation to raise leaders and active citizens excelling in various sectors of society in Ghana and Africa.
The Foundation aims at strengthening democratic values and increasing citizens’ participation in decision making processes and thereby contributing to improved policies and practices that affects people’s lives.
The Foundation also focuses on developing leaders and citizens with a sound understanding and a deep commitment to quality education, democracy, economic development and human rights as underlying values for building a peaceful, prosperous and ambitious country.
By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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