The Minster for Youth and Sports, Isaac Kwame Asiamah, has lauded the Coca-Cola Company for joining the nation to celebrate 60 years of independence by celebrating 60 young individuals who are excelling in their chosen fields.
The Minister, who was speaking at the Coca-Cola Ghana @ 60 Young Achievers Awards, said to Coca-Cola, “thank you for taking interest in young achievers. Thank you for celebrating Ghana @ 60 by celebrating the works of sixty young Ghanaians from across the country. This is the kind of partnership that delights our government and all of us as a people.”
In his keynote address, Isaac Asiamah also assured Ghanaians of his government’s commitment to equipping the youth who “constitute our major source of human capital for the transformational agenda of this country. The NPP government is committed to develop their leadership skills, provide quality education; build their entrepreneurial abilities, creativity and sports potential.
The Youth Enterprise Fund will provide funding for businesses owned by young entrepreneurs and facilitate business development seminars to build their capacities.”
The Awards ceremony, held at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, saw Ghanaian dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy, receive a special award from the Coca-Cola Company for what was described as, his hard work and excellence in; as well as dedication to, the world of Ghanaian music.
Speaking to citifmonline.com on the sidelines of the event, the Marketing Manager of Coca-Cola Equatorial Africa, Kgomotso Tabane, reiterated Coca-Cola’s philosophy to celebrating the youth and creating platforms for them.
“Coca-Cola has always throughout the years, celebrated with countries in their iconic moments and with Ghana turning sixty this year, we thought it was a perfect opportunity and occasion to identify young Ghanaians who are doing really awesome stuff in their communities and use their stories to inspire Ghanaians.”
The Coca-Cola Young Achievers Awards saw sixty participants (symbolizing Ghana’s 60 years of independence) from across the country recognised for their excellent work and service to humanity. The sixty young men and women were part of a larger group of over two thousand nominees who were drawn from six categories namely; Education, Entrepreneurship, Entertainment, Health, Sports and Technology.
The sixty participants were selected through a rigorous process conducted by a jury of seven, which included Citi FM’s Bernard Avle; with the support of the public.
The highlight of the event was the awarding of six individuals, one from each category, with plaques by the Youth and Sports Minister. The six youngsters were afterwards named the Coca-Cola Young Achievers BIG SIX.
Speaking on what lies ahead of the Coca-Cola BIG SIX, the Marketing Manager of Coca-Cola Equatorial Africa, Kgomotso Tabane, mentioned that the drawing and recognising of sixty individuals was symbolic to Ghana’s age.
“The sixty is for Ghana’s sixty and today we also selected six individuals. Obviously, we know we have the Big Six that spearheaded our democracy and liberation movement here in Ghana. I think Coca-Cola’s BIG SIX are also going forward to do awesome things as well.
Over the next sixty days, there’s going to be a lot of coaching and mentoring for them with individuals from within Coca-Cola. Each of them has received Six Thousand Ghana Cedis that they can use for their businesses or organizations in whichever way they feel will benefit them. We will see over the next sixty days what comes out of that.”
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
