STAR Ghana Foundation in collaboration with the Parliament of Ghana, the National Youth Authority of Ghana and the Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL), together with other partners has organized a maiden National Conference of Youth Parliaments in Ghana. Under the office of the 1st Deputy Speaker and mandated by the Speaker of Parliament, the event was held in the Eastern regional capital of Koforidua from Friday 16th to 17th of August 2019 with technical support from the Parliament of Ghana.
The purpose of the event was to build consensus among the youth and other stakeholders on a consolidated framework and mechanism for coordinating a proposed National Youth Parliament. The event also sought to strengthen coordination and alliances among and between youth groups and the National Youth Authority as well as the Parliament of Ghana.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA) - Emmanuel Asigri, in his welcome address expressed the willingness of the NYA to support the National Youth Parliament initiative “… assure you of the commitment of the National Youth Authority to a well-established National Youth Parliament that will stand the test of time.” he said.
Ebenezer Djietror – Head of Table Office, Parliament of Ghana, speaking on behalf of the Acting Clerk to the Parliament of Ghana endorsed the concept of a national youth parliament and pledged the support of Parliament to same
“Permit me to indicate that: the Leadership of Parliament, the Speaker of Parliament, Parliamentary Service, the Clark and the Staff are all in support of the programme and we pledge not just our moral support but our technical support and any other support that we can lend to help build our youth...”
Speaking at the event, Teiko Sabah, Acting Programmes and Policy Director of STAR Ghana Foundation, shared the rationale behind the Foundation’s support to the Programme by indicating that:
“STAR Ghana’s interest in all aspects of the youth is based on our (STAR Ghana) approach of ensuring that gender equality and social inclusion is at the heart of our work. We believe that social exclusion as a multi-faceted reality is based on an interplay of force fields, and that by consciously and strategically addressing the roots of social exclusion, our nation Ghana will achieve its developmental aims, including greater gender equality for all Ghanaians."
Teiko further indicated that the conference was the beginning of a new phase of creating synergies, relationships, linkages among all stakeholder who have implemented the youth parliament or student parliament concept in one way or the other. She urged participants to participate fully and contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the event.
“What was the underlying rationale for our individual initiatives? How did we implement it? What lessons we have learned and how do we take the process forward in a beyond aid context? “ She quizzed.
Hon. Joseph Osei Owusu – First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, in his keynote address urged participants at the conference to as part of their considerations, deliberate on how to provide alternatives to the election of the leadership of the youth parliament and pledged the support of the speaker and the entire Parliament to the Youth parliament initiative. In concluding, he commended STAR Ghana Foundation, the National Youth Authority and other collaborating partners for championing the event:
“I cannot end my address without thanking the NYA, the STAR Ghana Foundation and other resource persons, organizers of this conference and all other collaborators who have contributed in diverse ways to make this maiden conference of youth parliaments possible.”
In the March 2019, STAR Ghana Foundation grant partners namely: The National Youth Authority and Youth Empowerment for Life (YEFL) among others paid a working visit to the leadership of Parliament and key Committees of the house in support of Affirmative Action - Right to Information and the passage of the requisite Legislative Instrument to back the National Youth Authority Act. Another key request to Parliament by the visiting youth parliamentarians was the need for Parliament to support the youth through mentorship to establish a national Youth Parliament.
The Youth parliament concept is an initiative by the National Youth Authority (NYA) to provide a single formalized youth structure at the district, regional and national levels for the youth to deliberate on matters of importance to youth development and hold duty bearers accountable.
