7TH GLOBAL YOUTH SUMMIT STARTS IN LONDON TODAY!

Young people from across the world have converged in London to take part in this year’s Global Changemakers Global Youth Summit. The Summit has started today, 25^th November and ends on 1^st December, 2012. Global Youth Summit is a British Council’s Global Changemakers initiative which brings together young social entrepreneurs, social activists and volunteers to share ideas and best practices in their field of work. In addition, the summit offers the changemakers an opportunity to work on projects that directly impact the lives of those in their local communities.

This year’s changemakers (ages16-21) were selected from over 3400 applicants from across the world. This week, the new changemakers will be engaged in social entrepreneurship, learning Global issues, best practices in project management and later have a round table discussion with some officials of the British Parliament. Key global issues like human rights, climate change, poverty reduction, education, and HIV/AIDS will also be duly addressed.

Abdulie Badji from The Gambia considers himself as one of the luckiest young people to be attending this summit. He believes in networking and added that “Sharing best practices and information will help to see how best we can turn our ideas into activities to create the change we all hope to see”.

Armin, from Canada thinks this summit offers the best platform to bring about change on the international scale through inspiration and collaboration.

Global Changemakers, since its inception in 2007 has partnered with and participated in Global events like the World Economic Forum events, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Global Humanitarian Forum, various UN initiatives (including UNESCO Peace Ambassador programs, UNFCCC and COP, and the G20. Global Changemakers, as a global network, currently has over 800 social entrepreneurs, social activists and volunteers (ages 16-25) in 126 countries world-wide.

EXTRA CLASSES: A BOON OR A BURDEN?

In recent times, I have observed with keen interest the time at which some pupils in my neighbourhood return from school. These pupils usually leave home as early as 6:00am and return home at 6:00pm. As they hastily leave for school, they will tell you the kind of punishment that awaits a person for not attending extra classes. This situation leaves them with virtually no time for house chores and even much time to review their school notes. 

Perhaps, you might have also observed a similar situation in your neighbourhood. Pupils of upper and even lower primary schools are made to attend extra classes. Some of those who close before 5pm sometimes have special teachers at home. I feel in some circumstances, some of these arrangements deprive children of a sufficient leisure time- a component crucial for a child’s development.

Extra classes were evident in many basic schools I visited; especially those being managed by private individuals. From my interaction with some pupils, I understand school formally closes at 3:30pm  after which extra classes follow and ends at 5:00pm. “Super-Extra-Classes”, as some of the pupils described it continues from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. That notwithstanding, some of them attend classes on Saturdays and even during vacation. 

Reasons given for this kind of arrangement in some schools seem really interesting. Some teachers argue that time and duration for teaching is not sufficient to fully cover the syllabus within a term. According to some teachers, extra classes offer the platform for students to be better prepared for terminal and external examinations like the Basic Education Certificate Examination (B.E.C.E.). Fees from extra classes, they explain, supplement their seemingly insufficient salary. From what I gathered, some teachers would deliberately reserve certain crucial topics only to be taught during extra classes. This is used as a measure to compel students to attend the extra classes. The unfortunate part is that, those who can’t afford to attend therefore miss out on those topics and are even punished for that.

Extra classes, I believe are necessary. Children deserve to have the best start in life. As such, giving them special attention in their education is crucial. My worry, however, is the growing trend of commercializing and exploiting the education system. In doing this, children from modest background, whose parents cannot afford an additional school fees are deprived of full benefits from school work. This I must say runs contrary to what legal frame works on children’s welfare really states. Articles 28 and 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, for instance, stipulates that children have the right to quality but affordable education and the need for them to benefit from school work.

The Ghana Education Service and the Association of Private schools must step up their supervisory role to ensure that schools under their outfits do not take undue advantage of children under the pretext that such students deserve special attention. I have known teachers who identified poorly performing students in class and were willing to help them without even charging them any fee. Even if fees would be charged for extra classes, it should be within the reach of low income parents. I want to see children graduate with distinctions but certainly not at the expense of learning basic life skills. 

GHANA MOURNS A YOUTH-FRIENDLY PRESIDENT

Late President John Atta Mills

                     

“As far as this Administration is concerned, education is the key to giving the youth the skills they need to make the most of their lives”.

“To the youth I say, the future belongs to you. Take control of your destiny and anchor yourselves to the virtues of life knowing that it shall profit you nothing if you gain the whole world and lose your soul. …There are no shortcuts to success. Hard work is what will bring you genuine success.”

These were some statements of the late Ghanaian President, John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills. A man considered by many as a peace maker, unifier, humble and over all God fearing. I generated a personal like for him because of his love for young people. His administration by far had one of the highest numbers of Youth serving as Ministers of state and in other equally important capacities. He also committed himself to women empowerment in Ghana. He took bold steps to appoint females to key positions like the office of the Speaker of Parliament, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and a number of others .

This week, many parts of Ghana are clad in either black or red, mourning the late President. There has been an outpouring of grief from even some of those who vehemently opposed his leadership style. Many world leaders, from the UN Secretary General, presidents, business tycoons and to religious leaders, have had good to say about late president Mills’ legacies. As a young person, President Mills was a hero, a father and someone who the young generation could look up to.   

He showed humility to people irrespective of their background. There is even an instance where he was said to have referred to kindergarten pupils as my brothers and sisters in an official interaction with them. In the educational fraternity, the president spent over 25 years as a lecturer at the University of Ghana and the Ghana Law School.  At age 27, he got his PhD in taxation and economic development from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and later became a Professor at age 30: a feat rare to attain in many parts of Africa! 

His 3-year tenure in office as president saw the ratification of the African Youth Charter, Launch of the National Youth Policy, and establishment of a National Youth Parliament. These frameworks are geared towards ensuring social, cultural, political and economic development of young people in Ghana. His Government also made several efforts to improve education at the basic level. For instance, few days before his death, he inaugurated one of a set of basic schools being built to abolish schools under trees and school shift system in the Accra Metropolis. Others programmes of his government included free Uniforms and exercise books for students, Capitation Grant for Schools and School Feeding Programme. If these policies and projects are well implemented, I believe Ghana would be able to achieve targets under Goal 2 of the Millennium Development Goals. This goal aims to achieve Universal Basic Education by 2015.

His Vice President, now President John Mahamah, described him as a father, brother and a mentor. It’s good he acknowledged the instrumental role the late president played in his life. I hope he would continue with the good works of the late president and to also give the platform for the youth to realise their potential. I wish other African leaders could take some time to reflect on the kind of impact they’ve also created in their respective countries. Taking cognisance of how they would be remembered after their demise. It’s really hard to know that President Atta Mills is no more; but then, his deeds shall continue to be a source of inspiration to me and generation yet unborn. My heartfelt condolence to all Ghanaians as his funeral begins on Wednesday 8^th August.

May His Soul Rest In Peace!

“Yaa wor Jogbann, ts3 kpakpa”

                                                                                                                     

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT: HOLD ON!

The above video is a true story about the producer's life, Gabriel Torgbor-Ashong, with support from UNICEF Ghana. Gabriel is currently a child/Youth rights activist using Journalism as a main tool to champion the course of less privileged young people in Ghana.

Journalism Students Drive Press Freedom, Entrepreneurship in Ghana

Source: Global Press Institute Website.      Reported by Lily Mensah

 ACCRA, GHANA – In a small, crowded classroom on the campus of Ghana Institute of Journalism in Accra, Ghana’s capital, more than 60 students converge every Wednesday to give voice to issues concerning them using a new student publication.

The platform, called “Keteke,” is a new student initiative founded by Samuel Creppy, a 25-year-old student in his second year at the institute. Creppy says the goal of the platform is twofold: to strengthen the students’ voices on issues that concern them and to practice the skills they are learning in the classroom.

"The fact that a communication institute had no radio station and also does not have its own newspaper was a worry to us."

- Gabriel Obodai Torgbor Ashong, Keteke Co-founder 

Creppy, who is studying public relations and communications, says he surveyed students to find out what they wanted.

“As a result, I came up with an initiative, which will serve as a platform for students to air their views and practice what they are being taught in the institute,” he says.

Keteke has three means of disseminating information: a tabloid, a newsletter, and a website that features news and blogs. The tabloid comes out every two weeks, and the newsletter comes out twice every semester.

Keteke means “train” in the local Ga dialect.

Creppe says just as trains are fast and accommodating, he hopes Keteke will be a fast, dynamic information source for a diverse population.

At the Ghana Institute of Journalism, students started their own publication after noticing the need for freedom of expression on campus. The club also offers a platform for students to practice what they learn in the classroom, all the while honing their entrepreneurial skills. This initiative is unique, as many universities across the country do not have student-run publications. The main challenge for Keteke is funding, but the group is optimistic and has set goals to expand to other campuses in the next few years.

Many universities do not have student-run publications, according to students from various schools.

At the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Ashong says that Keteke has gained the highest membership of any student group within its first year. Francis Gbadago, the current president of the Student Representative Council, the university’s student-government body, confirmed this.

Keteke fills a void detected by students at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, says Gabriel Obodai Torgbor Ashong, co-founder and chairman of the initiative.

“As students of GIJ, we saw a number of challenges,” says Ashong, who is in his second year at the institute studying journalism.

In the classroom, students learn about the importance of freedom of expression to democracy. The student-led organization, which started barely a year ago, is crucial to practicing this tenet on campus, Ashong says. 

“The fact that GIJ being a communication institute, which has been in existence for over 50 years, has no radio station and also does not have its own newspaper was a worry to us,” Ashong says.

Gbadago, president of the Student Representative Council, calls Keteke a step in the right direction.

The students strive to use Keteke to bridge the communication gap between school administrators and students in order to address challenges that students face.

For example, the lack of online communications forced students to commute to school during vacation in order to find out their tuition costs for the coming semester. The application process was also tedious for prospective candidates because they also had to come to the campus to complete it.

As first-year students, Creppy and Ashong felt it was necessary to address these and many other challenges hampering students’ academic experience.

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