.. declares Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo Ghana High Commissioner to the United Kingdom

The maiden Ghana Youth Day organised by the Ghana High Commission in collaboration with the Ghana Union was a marked success. The event which took place at the Tottenham Leisure Centre in North London UK on Saturday, the 2nd of October 2010 was under the theme; Our Youth, Our Future.
It attracted Ghanaian dignitaries, members of the Diplomatic corps, artists, religious leaders, chiefs, the media and Ghanaian youth from all over UK. This event was the Ghana High Commission’s response to the recent sad losses of life to gun and knife crimes. It was also an opportunity to engage young people with the assistance of other supporters and collaborative community groups.
In a speech to mark the day, Ghana’s High Commissioner to UK, Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo extended greetings from the President, His Excellency Prof. John Evans Atta Mills to the Ghanaian youth in the UK. He relayed the President’s “... strongest appreciation and support to the youth day celebration”. Prof. Danso-Boafo declared that the youth are our greatest assets. He said “The youth are the future of our nation – Ghana, the African continent and indeed the world and I believe that we should invest in them to ensure they turn out in a manner that will equip them to continue to serve humankind.”
The High Commissioner recounted some of the challenges he had faced since arriving in UK. He said the rising crime levels involving youth in the black ethnic community in the UK resulting in loss of lives through knives and guns and especially those affecting Ghanaian youths has continued to pre-occupy his mind.
The High Commissioner also paid tribute to the Lawson family; “the death of Godwin Lawson, a bright Ghanaian youth who was fatally stabbed to death, should not pass unnoticed and I must commend Mrs Yvonne Lawson for her hard work in creating awareness of the problem to help prevent further loss of precious lives.”
He said the Ghana High Commission in the UK recognises that “there is a lot to do and achieve in youth development and cultural orientation.”
Prof. Danso-Boafo also expressed his passion for the youth and their welfare. He said: “as some of you may already know, I am very passionate about young people, what they represent and what we need to do to improve their lives in the United Kingdom.” The passion of the High Commissioner was exhibited throughout the event as he stayed and interacted on a personal level with the youth who expressed their excitement to have such a high profile personality in their midst to champion their course.
The day’s events included cultural displays, musical performance, workshops on youth development, questions and answer sessions, interactions and networking. Tullow Oil plc also demonstrated on a giant screen what the company has done so far in the oil industry in Ghana and the opportunities available to the youth.
Leading figures (role models) also addressed the youth and shared with them some of their experiences as Ghanaian professionals growing up and living in the UK. Prominent amongst them was Prof. Felix Konotey-Ahulu a distinguished Professor in Human Genetics, Tutu Agyare, a Ghanaian and Board member of Tullow Oil plc., and Hugh Quarshie, an actor who stars in BBC’s hit sitcom, Holby City and recently featured on BBC’s show Who Do You Think You Are? Popular British Musician of Ghanaian descent, Donaeo, entertained the youth to his hit songs and also took the opportunity to answer questions from them.
His Excellency Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo said he believes that “most young people want to achieve positive lives. And with the right opportunities and support, they could. The Challenge for us is to harness that desire and match it with our commitment to providing the right opportunities and support for these young people.”
He continued; “we need to involve young people themselves in the solution. They too are experts in youth issues and have a stake in trying to address these issues.”
In his quest to find solutions to the increasing youth crimes involving Ghana youth in the UK, the High Commissioner promised to network with community leaders to bring together groups and individuals who are committed to making a difference. In view of this a Youth Network will be formed he promised.
As the guardian of the Ghanaian community in UK, the High Commissioner has offered to provide co-ordination and support for the youth network, which he hoped “will include representatives of young people themselves, to ensure that its output is genuinely responsive to young people’s needs.”
According to him, “the Youth Network will build on the principles which my office, based on the success of today’s forum will draw together with its existing and new partnership. My particular aim for the Network is that it will contribute to and complement existing youth-focused policies of both the British and Ghana Governments.”
Prof. Danso-Boafo was optimistic that the event will enable the participants to engage and interact with “the youth to gain first hand insight into what the real issues are that affect our youth and what corrective measures could be adopted... at the end of the group exercises, workshop outcomes will be collated and synthesized and this will serve as a guide to policy makers as well as drive future youth engagement efforts.”
The High Commissioner called for the translation of the potential of the best educated generation into the most productive workforce, stressing “If we do, we can solve the problems of poverty, meet the Millennium Development Goals, sooner than at the present rate.” He said.
He promised that the youth day will be a regular event and hoped that the next event will attract even more youth across UK.
The Ghana Youth Day was supported by Tullow Oil, plc, OBE TV, Akwaaba, GFM Radio, Noble Friends and other organisations.