The University of Ghana has emerged as the overall winner of the Pan-African Grand Finale of the Shifting the Power Youth Debate, defeating teams from Zambia and Malawi in a highly competitive contest that celebrated youth leadership, policy innovation and locally driven development solutions.
The debate, organised under the Shifting the Power Programme, brought together young debaters from Ghana, Zambia and Malawi to deliberate on pressing development challenges facing the continent.
At the end of the contest held in Accra today (March 30), Team Ghana from the University of Ghana secured the first position, while Team Zambia placed second and Team Malawi finished third.
The competition marked the culmination of months of national debates across the three participating countries, during which university teams tested their ideas, sharpened their arguments and proposed innovative solutions to Africa’s most pressing development challenges.
The Pan-African Grand Finale formed part of the Shifting the Power Programme, an initiative designed to amplify youth voices and promote locally driven development solutions.
The event was organised by the STAR-Ghana Foundation in partnership with the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) with support from development partners including Comic Relief.
It brought together policymakers, civil society organisations, development partners and students from across the continent.

Journey
The debate series began in January 2026 with national competitions organised across Malawi, Zambia and Ghana.
In Malawi, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources faced strong competition from institutions including the University of Malawi, Mzuzu University, the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, the Malawi University of Science and Technology and the Catholic University of Malawi.
After several intense rounds, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources narrowly defeated the University of Malawi by three points to represent the country at the continental finale.
In Zambia, Copperbelt University fought through a difficult start in the national rounds but recovered strongly, eventually defeating the University of Zambia in the national final to secure their place in the Pan-African contest.
Ghana’s national debate was equally competitive, with teams from the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ashesi University and the University for Development Studies presenting strong arguments on development policy issues.
Despite the pressures of academic work and preparation for examinations, the University of Ghana team demonstrated resilience and determination to secure victory in the national stage and advance to the continental finale.

Debate
Throughout the competition, participants addressed critical issues affecting communities across Africa, including community-led climate action, inclusive education, youth mental health, gender justice and participatory governance.
The arguments presented were grounded in evidence and informed by local experiences, with the aim of influencing policy and promoting locally led development approaches.

Youth leadership in development
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Dr Nana Asantewaa Afadzinu, said the debate demonstrated the growing influence of young people in shaping development conversations across the continent.
She explained that Africa remained the youngest continent in the world, with more than 60 per cent of its population under the age of 25, making it essential for development processes to intentionally include the voices, ideas and leadership of young people.
Dr Afadzinu said that for decades many development frameworks were designed by actors far removed the communities they sought to serve, often excluding the people most affected by those decisions.
She added that initiatives such as the Shifting the Power Youth Debate were helping to challenge that approach by creating platforms where young people could present evidence-based ideas and contribute meaningfully to policy discussions on the continent.
“Young Africans are not merely the future of development; they are its present architects”, she said.
She further highlighted that across Africa, young people were already leading initiatives in areas such as climate justice advocacy, civic accountability, governance reforms and innovation in agriculture and food security.

PULL QUOTE
Young Africans are not merely the future of development; they are its present architects