NYA briefs African Diplomats on YouthConnekt Africa [YCA] Summit 2021

The National Youth Authority [NYA] on 30th September, 2021, met, briefed and officially invited diplomats from across Africa with missions in Ghana to the 4th YCA Summit to be hosted by the government of Ghana.

The session which took place at the Obed Yaw Asamoah Hall at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI), under the auspices of the sector minister, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, saw 30 African Heads of Missions, Ambassadors and High Commissioners in attendance.

Welcoming the diplomats, Amb. Emmanuel Antwi, Chief of Protocol at the MFARI thanked them for honoring the invitation particularly at such short notice and craved their full indulgence to make the Summit a memorable success.

He further said administrative and protocol guidelines to ensure a smooth Summit are at an advanced stage of development and would in due course be made available to all participants.

Mr. Pius Enam Hadzide, CEO of NYA in giving an overview of the Summit touched on the importance of the Summit and called on the diplomatic community to assist in facilitating the full participation of Youth Ministers and young people from their respective countries in the Summit as that would go a long way at consolidating the values of unity, cohesion and the sharing of experiences and best practices among the youth of Africa.

‘’Twenty-three African countries including ZAMBIA, LIBERIA, GHANA, GUINEA, TOGO, ETHIOPIA, CONGO BRAZZAVILLE, RWANDA, SENEGAL, UGANDA, ZIMBABWE, DRC, MALI, SIERRA LEONE, THE GAMBIA, CAPE VERDE, CAMEROON, MADAGASCAR, BURKINA FASO, SAO TOME & PRINCIPE have to date signed up to the YouthConnekt initiative, scaling it up from the original six countries that signed up in 2012. It is expected that many more African countries will sign up after the 2021 Summit to ensure the benefits of the initiative are localized” Mr. Hadzide stated.

For her part, H.E Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, High Commissioner of Rwanda could not hide her joy at Ghana being chosen to host the Summit and said the government of Ghana needed to be highly commended for the bold step taken to convene the Summit.

She tasked her colleague diplomats to wholly support the Summit through all means since according to her, that would be a further boost to the ratifying and implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement which young Africans must be properly positioned to actualize and to reap its numerous benefits.

This is an annual convening that connects youth from across the continent with policy influencers, private and public sector actors, non-governmental institutions etc, to devise and formulate youth empowerment strategies through enhanced partnerships.

The fourth of its kind, the 2021 Summit is being hosted by the government of Ghana under the auspices of H.E President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from Wednesday October 20th to Friday 22nd October, 2021 at the Accra International Conference Center (AICC).

The theme for the Summit is “AFRICA BEYOND AID: Positioning the Youth for the Post COVID Economy and AfCFTA Opportunities”.