Our activism on promoting youth inclusion in formulating national policies is contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) overarching principle of leaving no one behind. Youth voices are being heard in the governance of the country because the two (2) major political parties in Ghana including the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) have adapted a total of twenty (20) recommendations proposed in the Ghana Youth Manifesto (GYM). This followed a series of youth-led engagements targeting the leadership of the political parties, media personnel and media interactions.

In 2023 the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) and youth focused CSOs established the GYM Core Team. The team (Male 9 and Female 7) was commissioned to understudy youth priorities across the 16 regions of Ghana. This culminated into the Survey Report of 3565 respondents across the regions on youth priorities in Education, Employment, Health and Sexual Reproductive Rights, Governance, Inclusion (PWDs) and Peace and Security. The team further validated the survey report and condensed it into a simplified version known as the Ghana Youth Manifesto: For 2024 Elections and Beyond which carefully highlighted the forty-three (43) recommendations proffered by the youth.

Political Party Engagements

Following the launch of the GYM in December, 2023, the GYM core team began  engagements on the recommendations from January, 2024 first with the leadership of the NPP and representatives of the Vice President’s office. This continued with the Manifesto Chairperson of the NDC manifesto committee and subsequently, their Manifesto Committee. Other political parties including the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and All People’s Congress (APC) were engaged. In all a total of twenty-seven (27) influencing reach was covered within the political leadership space including APC-1; PPP-2; NPP-6 and NDC-18. The general message and response from the political parties was their acceptance to incorporate the recommendations but on conditions that these recommendations will be thoroughly reviewed to determine the extent of their feasibility.

Engagements with Media and Media Personalities

In addition to engaging the political parties and further trumpeting the concept of the Ghana Youth Manifesto, the GYM Core team engaged four (4) media personnel on the recommendations of the Manifesto. The personalities included Bernard Avle (Citinewsroom) Evans Mensah and Emmanuel Dzivenu of JoyNews (Multimedia), Alfred Ocansey of TV3 (Media General and Caleb Ahinakwah of Asaase Radio. While the engagements with the media personalities were ongoing, the GYM core team undertook series of 10 media interactions alongside to complement the influencing process including Joy, Homebase, Asaase, GHone, TV3, Radio Universe, Obonu Fm, Unique FM, Citi and GBC. These media interactions reached over 4,000 direct viewers and listeners in Ghana.

GYM Recommendations Reflecting in the Political Party Pronouncements

One of the early changes recorded following the GYM activism was the political parties’ pronouncements at the beginning of the political season. Particularly, for the NPP the Vice President (Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia) and Presidential candidate for the December 2024 elections outlined 19 out of 43 recommendations from the Ghana Youth Manifesto during his address at the University for Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA). This was to set the tone for his political campaign.

Similarly, on the campaign trail, the NDC flagbearer John Dramani Mahama , announced plans to revamp the Youth and Sports Ministry for enhanced service delivery to Ghana’s youth during the launch of the NDC’s National Youth Wing Secretariat and Campaign. Mr Mahama indicated the necessity of adopting a more holistic approach to youth empowerment by separating youth and sports through the establishment of a youth development service and also appointing the youngest cabinet.

At the time, these were just excerpts of the political party’s pronouncement awaiting its reflection in the main party manifesto’s

GYM in Manifesto’s

Following the launch of the NPP and NDC manifestos, a stocktaking of the policies and programmes show a total of 20 recommendations reflecting. The political parties appear to have hosted these recommendations in different sections of their manifestos’. These recommendations are recorded under the 5 main thematic areas of the GYM activism including

1. Youth Priorities for the 1st 100 days of the next government
   1. Commit to abolish the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) on Mobile Money wallet
   2. Commit to organise a referendum on a review of the Constitution
   3. Surcharge corrupts government and public officials
   4. Continue projects of the previous government
2. Education and Learning for Sustainable Work
   5. Review the Free SHS policy to target needy students in poor households. The policy should be equity oriented
   6. Increase budgetary allocation to TVET and clearly indicate budget and expenditure for TVET schools and focus on developmental expenditure
   7. Establish modern TVET institutions across the country
   8. Increase training for TVET instructors
3. Youth Employment and Wealth Creation
   9. Roll-out special employment programmes in Agriculture and ICT
   10. Increase promotion of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
   11. Provide job search and employment support to job seekers
   12. Promote and provide internships, mentorships and volunteerism
   13. Support startups and small businesses to nurture entrepreneurs and provide support
   14. Facilitate access to funding for emerging enterprises
4. Youth and Disability
   15. Establish a comprehensive framework for the development of disability-friendly infrastructure for accessing essential services
   16. Establish specialized TVET training tailored to the need of youth with disability
   17. Implement and sustain special employment programs designed to address specific challenges of youth with disability
   18. Strengthen and enforce inclusive policies across various sectors to eliminate discrimination
5. Good Governance, Justice and Accountability
   19. Review the 1992 Constitution and address youth political participation as well as facilitate youth effective engagement in governance at national and sub-national levels.
   20. Pass the Affirmative Action bill 

NDC Adapt “Youth Manifesto Concept”

Another worthy development worthy of mention is the NDC Youth Manifesto “The Pledge”. An event no one expected. Perhaps, this is the first time in the history of the 4^th Republic that a political party has developed a Youth Manifesto featuring only youth development issues. While this is no mimic of the Ghana Youth Manifesto, it follows inspiration of the constant work on engagements of political party leaders, media and key influencers to popularise the GYM to the point where it becomes worthy of emulation.

Hosting by the NYA on International Youth Day (IYD) 2024

Having gained public traction and trust from public institutions on matters of the Ghana Youth Manifesto, the FOSDA and GYM core team were invited to host a side event and breakout session at the 2024 International Youth Day (IYD) celebrations in the Central Region of Ghana. Under the theme; “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development” over 1000 Young people across the 16 regions of Ghana were sensitised on the recommendations of the Ghana Youth Manifesto as a key reference point for youth advocacy and activism on youth development. FOSDA and the GYM core team further distributed over 250 Youth Manifesto QR codes to the participants.

GYM Activism Ongoing

GYM Activism is currently reaching out to more young people, stakeholders and duty bearers in the Northern Region, Ashanti Region, Eastern and Volta regions. Our partners including the Northern Regional Youth Network (NRYN), Youth Without Borders (YWB), Eastern Regional Youth Network (ERYN) and Love Aid Foundation continue to work hard to ensure that the recommendation of the GYM becomes a household name for policy makers, implementers and other stakeholders in the development process targeting the youth.

Conclusion

In sum, the gradual flow and transformative change that has occasioned as a result of the entire GYM process, coupled with the prospects that it holds is a demonstration that the GYM is really not an event but a process. This therefore represents a call to all well-meaning Ghanaians, stakeholders and development partners to remain committed to supporting youth-influencing activities. This approach to development has proven to contribute to change and effort to really… leave no one behind.