Young people should lead global transformation and innovation. Empowered, they can be the key agent for development and peace. If they are left on society’s margins, everyone will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies (Annan, 2015). According to the United Nations Development Programme (2014), 87 per cent of young women and men living in developing countries face challenges brought about by limited and unequal access to resources, healthcare, education, training, employment, and economic, social and political opportunities. The situation in Ghana is not different. It is against this background that this paper seeks to explore options and strategies for the effective empowerment of the youth in Ghana.
Each nation has its notion of youth. Generally, the period between childhood to adulthood is called “Youth”. During this period a person prepares himself or herself to be active and fully responsible members of society. The Ministry of Youth and Sports (2010), defines youth as persons who are within the age bracket of fifteen (15) and thirty-five (35). This definition conforms with that of the United Nations Organization and the Common Wealth Secretariat.
Empowerment
Empowerment is the process by which those who have been denied the ability to make choices acquire such ability and capacity for self-determination (Kabeer, 1999) cited in (Tagoe & Oheneba-Sakyi, 2015). Tagoe & Oheneba-Sakyi, (2015), in sharp contrast to the above, argues that empowerment is the process of enhancing an individual’s or group’s capacity to make effective choices, that is, to decide and then translate that decision into the required actions and results.
Youth empowerment thus refers to the process where young people between the ages of fifteen to thirty-five gain full understanding and control over personal, social, economic, and political forces to take action to improve their life situations (Israel, Checkoway, Schulz, & Zimmerman, 1994) cited in (Tagoe & Oheneba-Sakyi, 2015). Every society’s youth constitutes an important fragment that cannot be disregarded. They are considered to be the future leaders and also the bedrock to sustainable development hence there is the need to empower them to give the future a lucent picture. The problem with youth empowerment in Ghana is multifaceted in nature which cuts across political, economic, social and cultural dimensions. The options and strategies for effective youth empowerment discussed in this paper are access to quality education, skill training and healthcare, community service learning and lifelong learning, political participation and economic empowerment as the possible strategies to effectively empower the youth in Ghana.
Quality education, skill training and healthcare
Youth empowerment proponents adamantly contend that attempts to empower young people are driven by great education, or even better, that quality education is the foundation of such initiatives. This position is amply acknowledged by the 2010 National Youth Policy of Ghana which states, among other things, “that the development of a young person’s productive and responsible life depends on education and skill training” cited in (Agyei-triple,2012).
For the youth to be effectively empowered they should have access to quality education and health services. Effective youth empowerment according to the United Nations, is to ensure universal access to quality education; develop and deliver quality and inclusive education for young people that is learner-centred, adopts a lifelong learning approach, that is relevant to their lives and the social, economic and environmental needs of their communities, which promotes sustainable lifestyles and sustainable development. On the issue of lifelong learning, it is a purposeful and ongoing learning activity, which aims at improving knowledge, skills and competencies (ILO, 2000). Second-chance programmes in the broader context of complementary education and an open university system are the way forward, to strengthen the employment prospects for unemployed, low-educated youth to motivate their re-entry into education (National Treasury, 2011) cited in (Tagoe & Oheneba-Sakyi, 2015).
The country should focus on non-formal education since the majority of the youth who may not have been able to enter the formal stream also need to acquire skills to better their lives. This may be accomplished through creating a framework for youth policy that will promote non-formal education and its function in fostering young people’s knowledge, skills, and competencies, such as through apprenticeship programmes. To maximize their potential, there is a need for accessible and youth-responsive health services coupled with a healthy environment by strengthening the national health systems, and providing universal health coverage while addressing social determinants of young people’s health and well-being (United Nations,2018).
Community Service-learning
One of the means of empowering young people in schools and universities is through community service-learning. Community service learning according to Bringle & Hatcher (2000) cited in (Tagoe & Oheneba-Sakyi, 2015), is a “course-based, credit-bearing informative experience in which students (a) partake in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and (b) reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. Allan (2016) is of the view that when the youth are involved in community service learning, they learn more and become more confident about what they have learned, they improve in problem-solving ability, their leadership and social abilities improve, they take more enjoyment in the overall learning experience, and are more likely to volunteer to serve the community in the future.
Political participation
One way the Ghanaian youth can be effectively empowered in the political sphere is through strengthening youth political participation in formal political processes, platforms and institutions at the local, sub-national and national levels. According to the Speaker of Parliament Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, though the youth constitute about 68 per cent of the population of Ghana, only 5 per cent of members of the 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic are youth. To respond to the needs of young people and to guarantee that their basic human rights are recognized and enforced, young people’s active and meaningful participation in their societies and democratic practices and processes is of crucial importance (UNDP,2012). According to the European Union at the EU Youth Conference (2015) ensuring inclusive youth participation in youth councils and platforms at local and regional level and autonomy of local and regional youth councils will help in the quest to empower youth participation.
In a survey conducted by the UN IANYD in August 2012, a majority of 13,000 respondents expressing their voices from 186 countries highlighted that the main challenges for youth were restricted chances for effective decision-making involvement (UNDP, 2012). To support young people’s participation in inclusive political processes and democratic practice, the government of Ghana and non-governmental organizations should undertake the following activities as proposed by the United Nations Development Programme. The options available for the effective execution of this strategy include but are not limited to the;
- Promotion of an enabling environment (legal frameworks, policies and plans) for young people’s participation in a broad range of processes and areas (electoral and parliamentary processes, public administration and local governance, including peace-building environments) at local, sub-national and national levels.
- promotion of young people’s skills and capacities to participate actively in democratic practices including local national and global processes.
- promotion of young people’s participation and presence in political office and decision-making at all levels through both elected and non-elected positions.
Economic empowerment
One major strategy that can change the topic of youth empowerment in Ghana has to do with economic empowerment. To empower the youth economically in a developing country like Ghana, government programmes on youth employment should focus on factors affecting labour demand and supply as well as formulation of policies that provide a safe and conducive environment to job creation for young persons and improvements in the general quality of employment.
Also, entrepreneurship education should be considered as it is a strong strategy for poverty alleviation since it is geared towards producing self-reliant citizens through the acquisition of appropriate attitudes and skills. One of the policy options available to governments in addressing youth unemployment and creating an entrepreneurship culture is through the mainstreaming of entrepreneurship education at all levels of the education system (Hannon, 2006; Nelson & Johnson, 1997) cited in (Tagoe & Oheneba-Sakyi, 2015). Ghanaian higher education institutions should create entrepreneurship centres that focus on what Kuratko (2004) identifies as the three areas: (1) entrepreneurship education, (2) outreach activities with entrepreneurs, and (3) entrepreneurship research. UNDP (2012) proposes the following as options for economic empowerment.
- The government of Ghana must work toward increasing the employability of young persons through the development of skills, capacities, and knowledge as well as the promotion of non-formal forms of education. Such initiatives will seek to support the training of low-skilled and disadvantaged youth to upgrade their skills so that they might be better able to find work in more productive sectors, including in the green economy.
- Promote internship, apprenticeship, and volunteering schemes in support of young persons’ transition from school to work or their reintegration into the labour market after long-term unemployment spells and as a means to the acquisition of skills.
- Address skills mismatch through support for job centres and job market information systems. Efforts should also be directed at greater coordination among businesses, policymakers, and education and vocational training bodies in designing curricula based on labour market assessments and forecasts.
The provision of education and skills training alone may not be a catalyst to solve the problem of youth empowerment. When political participation and economic (that is entrepreneurship education) empowerment are not addressed, the youth will complete school and acquire skills that may be redundant. Since the old folks would still be making decisions among themselves that can render the skills and knowledge of the youth useless. Therefore, there is the need to politically and economically empower the youth to be actively and effectively involved in the day-to-day running of the country alongside providing them with quality and accessible healthcare services.
On a more serious note, education and skills training should not be made only accessible instead, the quality should be prioritized while improving accessibility.
The problem thwarting the political empowerment of the youth can also be linked to the culture of most societies in Ghana. There are many societies where 15 -35-year-old persons are still seen as kids (i.e., once they are not married and even if married and have not procreated) and are not included in decision-making at the local level which gradually manifests at the national level. It is therefore very necessary to tackle the problem from the root by educating the elderly in Ghanaian societies on the need to give the young people a voice in decision-making to nurture them for the bigger task at the national level.
Conclusion
The previous and successive governments have made efforts to empower the youth with programmes like youth into forestry, youth into community policing, youth into community health, youth pupil teaching, youth into trade and vocation under Youth Employment Agency and Nations Builders Corp etc but the results are less to be desired for. Therefore, to effectively empower the youth of Ghana, education, skills training and healthcare delivery should be made quality and accessible. Also, economic empowerment (emphasizing entrepreneurship education), community service learning and political participation were seen as strategies that can be employed to empower the youth. There should also be flexible systems to support young entrepreneurs because the current atmosphere is very frustrating and not enticing to attract young entrepreneurs.
A humble question, should the government be solely responsible for the empowerment of the youth or youth empowerment should be a shared responsibility between the government and the youth?
AUTHORS: Musah Issaka, Pius Selasi Gbli, Emmanuel Dorkutso Akafo, Ataworah Deborah, & Azumah Gloria.
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