The CEO of Forestry Commission supported the launch of Ghana’s Youth Presidential Race 2019, an initiative of leadership empowerment by Youth Leadership Parliament Foundation, an NGO for youth development. Speaking at the GIMPA Law Faculty event on Friday, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie popularly known as Sir John, who was Chairman of the occasion challenged the youth to dream big to achieve their ambitions. He called on all political parties and civil society organisations to throw their weight behind the laudable initiative by Youth Parliament, which has set the pace to nurture future presidents and ministers. The former New Patriotic Party (NPP) General Secretary also thanked the founder of Youth Parliament, Kobby Fabian, for his initiative.  Sir John lauded the NGO which he describes as the academy of learning for political leadership in the country. Mr Fabian explained that the Youth Presidential Cabinet is a model presidential race, a reality TV show. The show creates the platform for all aspiring young leaders, to showcase their leadership skills and ambitions to compete in a Presidential Race for ‘Ghana’s Youth President 2019.’ The presidents and their cabinet ministers will compete and pitch their manifesto and policy documents against each other.  They will be doing this while championing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN before the chamber of Youth Leadership Parliament and a panel of experienced judges. Judges will examine the content of their manifestos and key skills demonstrated by the young leaders to score them through various stages of tests and eliminations until the final stage. A youth president will ultimately emerge with his ‘Cabinet Ministers’ as the winning team and various awards will be given. This project’s objectives are to promote good governance and make the 17 pillars of the UN SDGs, the centre drive in leadership amongst our youth for development in Ghana. Mr Fabian, in his address, challenged the youth in the country to engage government on decisions and discussion on issues that affect the present and their future. “If indeed the future belongs to the youth, then the youth must be a part of decisions that impact on building that future which belongs to them,” he said. Dignitaries in attendance were the former presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet; MP for Ledzokuku, Dr. Okoe Boye; Board Chair of Ghana Gas, Christine Churcher; Marricke Kofi Gane, an aspiring independent presidential candidate; Jignesh Viradi, a business mogul and global finance consultant and Rev. Elvis Eben-Baffour of the Christ’s Oasis Ministry, Airport City. Others in attendance were dignitaries from the Progressive People’s Party, the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) as well as the office of the Ghana ambassador to Saudi Arabia.