The Ghana Union of Professional Students (GUPS) holds this year’s International Professional Students Summit from July 10-12, 2008. The summit will be under the theme, “Championing Professional Conduct and Approach Towards a Fair and Violence-Free Elections.” The International Relations Secretary of GUPS, Casmel Said disclosed this at a General Assembly meeting of the union at the weekend at Zenith College in Accra. The summit brings together people from selected countries across the globe to discuss development issues affecting especially the youth. Last year’s programme saw representatives from Togo, the United States, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Belgium participating. Mr. Casmel said the focus of this year’s summit will be on the December Presidential and Parliamentary elections which in his view are very crucial to the stability of the country. According to him, the Zimbabwean and Kenyan experiences especially make it mandatory for agents of development such as students to focus their attention on the elections. He appealed to members of the union to conduct themselves during and after the elections in a manner that will not jeopardise the peace in the country. The trajectory of tensions that characterise elections especially in the developing world and their concomitant effects on women and children place a huge responsibility on the youth. In view of this, the summit will provide the opportunity for representatives from the participating countries to share their experiences with the youth in Ghana on the need to help make the upcoming elections violence-free. Papers will therefore be presented by a number of persons both from within and outside the country on the subject. The GUPS president, Mr. Patrick Ayittah exhorted the country’s youth particularly students to exercise circumstances in their utterances during and after the elections. He stressed the need for members of the union to be decorous and avoid making incendiary speeches that had the potential to inflame passions. The Students’ Representative Council president of Zenith College, Mr. Abdul Faisal welcoming the students called on them to be worthy ambassadors of the country. He emphasised the need for students of professional institutions to let their training reflect in the way they conduct themselves in spheres of life. Story by Malik Abass Daabu