The West African Alumni chapter of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) held its first Alumni Homecoming Conference on Thursday 23rd November 2017 to Sunday 26th November 2017, under the theme “The Role of the Youth in Socio-Economic and Political Transformation in Africa”.
The conference, which was convened at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), was the first since the establishment of the YALI Regional Leadership Centre (RLC) West Africa, Accra in 2015, and had in attendance over 200 alumni of the RLC from 9 West African countries namely; Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia and Cameroon.
On the day of arrival, 23rd November, 2017, participants were warmly welcomed and refreshed with a cocktail party. The party was a powerful networking session aimed at giving participants a soothing atmosphere to familiarize, get together and network, while relaxing entertainment after their long flights/trips to the Conference.
The conference was officially opened on Friday, November 24th, with presentations and panel discussions from Guest Speakers including Ghana’s Honourable Mustafa Hamid (Minister for Information), Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah (Former Minister for Trade and Industry, Former Minister of Communications, and Former Minister of Education), Mr Alex Deprez (USAID Mission Director for West Africa), Samia Nkrumah, Dr. Shola Safo Doudu (Director of YALI West Africa), David Ampofo, Kofi Bentil of IMANI, Mr. Kwabena Owusu Adjei ( Business and development manager for Appolonia), Mr. Prosper Ahmed Andoh (President of the Mandela Washington fellows association of Ghana) and Mr. Oxford Bonsu (YALI Alumni Coordinator).
Dr. Shola officially welcomed participants to the conference emphasizing the need to sustain the RLC to continually train Young Leaders. She mentioned that, with the support of its partners, the RLC has trained over 2200 young people in leaderships, ethic, accountability and contemporary issues in Africa in the specialization tracks of Civic Leadership, Business Entrepreneurship and Public Management. She added that, The RLC has now published a book that tells the incredible stories of its Alumni.
Addressing participants in his capacity as USAID mission for West Africa, Mr. Alex encouraged the alumni to keep networking, connected and engaged and keep working to develop their communities, countries and the continent. He added that associations are founded on the principles of democracy, volunteerism and common interest, and thus, the YALI RLC Alumni association will need to create an environment that will inspire and empower its members to do and know more. He further assured the Alumni that the US government, in all possible ways, will continually support them to achieve concrete results.
Speaking on the theme, all guest speakers emphasized the need for the Alumni to uphold the ethic lessons thought them by the RLC and remain Ethical Leaders in order to achieve the ‘The Africa We want’.
Samia Nkrumah highlighted the need for young people to harness, promote and live the spirit of cooperation and Pan Africanism. This was emphasized by Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah, who used the Life of Kwame Nkrumah as an example to encourage the Alumni to live the Pan African Spirit. He equally encouraged Alumni to aspire to improve African countries.
Lawyer Kofi Bentil also cautioned the Alumni against taking up entrenched positions on development or political issues, and consequently refusing to accept or see when their position is wrong. He advised the Alumni to rather stand for morality, democracy, and exchange of ideas.
The Key note speaker, Mustapha Hamid, equally encouraged the Alumni to champion the development of Africa, emphasizing the need for them to remain proactive in ensuring accountability and championing development in their respective countries. He further encouraged the Alumni to take the conscious effort to learn more, beyond their professional or academic specializations. He applauded the RLC for taking its leaders through Ethics, Leadership and Accountability, stating that these (Ethics, Leadership and Accountability) are the most important foundations for excellence in almost all aspects of life. He therefore encouraged the Alumni to avoid greed and remain Ethical.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
