Cape Coast, Aug. 13, GNA - The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Ghana, on Friday noted with concern the deprivation of the youths in Ghana and Africa as a whole, which has rendered them voiceless and powerless.

The National President of the YMCA, Ghana Mr. Harold Obeng-Yeboah, who made the observation, stated that, the situation had made them easy targets for “bandit politicians” and armed groups.

He said although the youth are in the majority, constituting more than two thirds of the population of the Continent, they have remained voiceless and relatively powerless.

Mr Obeng-Yeboah said this at the opening of the three-day “Eighth Annual National Youth Convention” of the YMCA for 100 delegates from all over the country, at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

It is under the theme “Be seen, be heard; Young people communicating to influence change”.

Mr Obeng-Yeboah underscored the importance of the youth to national development through effective contributions but indicated that poverty, lack of access to quality education, hunger, unemployment and under-employment, as well as, lack of access to proper health care, were the main challenges facing majority of the youth.

They have therefore resorted to anything just for survival, opening them up to the risk of exploitation, manipulation and abuse by people, who recognize their value for alliance.

To address the anomaly, the National Youth President said, a youth empowerment module has been developed to create youth civic competence, to enable them to stand up, advocate and influence leaders and policy makers to foster positive change in their lives.

He stressed the need for the potential of the youth to be harnessed to propel the nation to greater heights.

Mr Kofi Amoa-Awuah, the National Vice Chairman of the YMCA said the theme reinforces the objective of the Annual Youth Convention, which aims at promoting youth civic engagement and giving them the needed space to articulate their views on national issues.

He said the country needs to take a serious reconsideration, of involving the youth in its affairs, because their future success or otherwise was tied up with how they would be engaged today.

Mr Amoa-Awuah said the Central Regional YMCA, has been dormant for sometime but was now in the process of revival and urged the youth to join it.

Professor Stephen Kendie, the Dean at the Faculty of Social Sciences at UCC advised the youth to engage themselves in productive and constructive communication and also act as agents of change, availing themselves for voluntary services.

He also advised them to be disciplined, hardworking as well as selective in choosing their role models, while setting positive goals for themselves.

Mr Kwabena Nketia Addae, the newly elected National General Secretary of the YMCA, solicited the assistance of the executives and delegates in strengthening the Association at the grassroots levels and advised the participants to lead exemplary lives worth emulating.