The Municipal Chief Executive of Ho, Hon. Divine Richard Bosson has called for the inclusion of young people in decision-making. He said opportunities must be created for the youth to contribute to issues that directly or indirectly affect them.

Hon. Bosson said this at the Ho Youth Policy Hackathon dubbed the “Young and Safe” organized by Node Eight in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital, in partnership with Botnar Foundation, Ghana Education Service, Ho Municipal Assembly, and Love Aid Foundation.

“We must create opportunities for young people to participate in decision-making, especially the ones that affect them directly and indirectly,” Hon. Bosson said.

The Ho Youth Policy Hackathon was themed “Building a young people, the inclusive city the Role of Private-public Partnership” It was aimed at building a young people-inclusive city and supportive community by 2026.

Hon. Bosson added that for young people to thrive they would need a safe and conducive environment.

“For our young people to thrive we must create a conducive environment that promotes youth welfare, safety, and security, this is where the concept of the youth-inclusive city comes into place.”

“The public-private partnership can succeed in providing the youth agenda if they’re able to pull resources and expertise of the two entities together to provide the necessary support for our young people,” he added.

The Executive Director of LoveAid Foundation, Miss Lovia Tetteh urged young people to be inquisitive and united in their voice for an inclusive future.

“We young people are not inquisitive enough, it’s like we don’t care about what is happening around us. We don’t have a united voice that is why the politicians always run to us for violence,” she noted.

“We need to have a united voice and be inquisitive to take part in policy-making” she added.

The programs manager for Node Eight, Perfect Amegboe, is confident that the event would project and highlight to policymakers the key issues that affect youngsters.

She is optimistic that the ideas generated from the event will lead to more policies for young people’s well-being being captured, prioritized, and implemented in the Ho Municipal Annual Plan.

“We hope to see the solutions developed during the event implemented to create a healthier, more inclusive future for all young people in Ho.”

The ideas and solutions that were generated during the panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions will be drafted in a document and handed over to policymakers for consideration in their annual plans for young people.

The one-day event attracted policymakers, community leaders, students, youth advocates, and local organisations.