The Osei-Kusi Foundation (OKF) has instituted a Leadership Award Scheme valued at GH?5,000.00 to be contested for by young girls in senior high schools (SHS).

A statement issued by Mr Emmanuel Owusu, OKF Public Relations Officer, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday, said the girls groups, made up of three to five members in SHSs all over the country, would battle out their ideas for the new award next month.

It said the awards scheme, which is implemented in partnership with the Forum of Heads of Girls Senior High Schools (FOHGSHS), sought to offer a platform for development of leadership skills for young girls and to equip them with essential competencies such as problem solving skills, innovation and self-confidence.

It said participants were expected to download an application form from the foundation’s website, identify a social need in their school or its environs and propose proactive solutions to it.

“The finalists will present their projects at the awards ceremony in January 2015 and will be assessed by a distinguished panel of judges.

“There will also be one-on-one mentoring sessions for finalists and leadership quiz competitions based on one of OKF’s personal development books,” the statement said.

It recounted that the award scheme was launched on Wednesday, August 13, at the 2014 annual summer camp of the FOHGSHS held at Krobo Girls School in the Eastern Region.