Accra, Sept. 30, GNA - A 26-year-old Ghanaian, Mr John Laryea, a Gol= d Award winner of the Head of State Award programme, has been elected to serv= e a three-year tenure as African Youth Representative to the International Council of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Association. He would represent the voice of young people on the Council chaired by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, with prominent individuals such as Lord Paul Boating and Gregory Belton.

This was in a statement issued in Accra on Friday by Mr Ernest Safo Ababio, Executive Secretary of the Head of State Award Scheme-Ghana, a Member of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Association. It said Mr Laryea was elected with eight others at the International Gold Event (IGE) recently in Kenya.

The IGE is the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Association= 's premier global youth event. Another Ghanaian youth, Master Peter Akai Anum has been nominated by the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council (CYEC) to sit on the International Youth Planning Team for the Eighth Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF8) to be held alongside the Commonwealth Head of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Australia in October.

The Forum brings together two youth delegates from all 54 Commonwealth countries selected to represent their countries to deliberate and discuss diverse issues affecting the youth. It is one of the parallel events held along CHOGM and the only forum that feeds directly into the CHOGM headed by Queen Elizabeth II of Britain.