Two young Ghanaians, Messrs Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia and Franklin Cudjoe, were Wednesday named Young Global Leaders (YGLs) by the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF). The prestigious honour is bestowed each year by the WEF on some of the most extraordinary leaders in various fields below the age of 40 from around the world in recognition of their "professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world through inspiring leadership". This year, the forum selected 197 Young Global Leaders from 72 countries who are all stakeholders of society in areas such as business, civil society, social entrepreneurs, politics and government, arts and culture, opinion and media. The two Ghanaians are part of the 17 young leaders selected from sub-Saharan Africa. The naming of Messrs Kuenyehia and Cudjoe come alongside an impressive list, including Twitter co-founder Evan Williams; YouTube co-founder Steven Chen; French Cabinet Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet; musician Wyclef Jean; Agatha Sangma, Minister of State - Rural Development, India; Roger Federer, professional tennis player, Switzerland; Kimmee Weeks, Executive Director, Youth Action International, Liberia. They were chosen by a selection committee, chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, out of a pool of more than 5,000 nominations. "The 2010 honourees will become part of the broader Forum of Young Global Leaders that currently comprises 660 outstanding individuals. The YGLs convene at biannual summits, as well as forum events and meetings throughout the year, and collaborate on initiatives to tackle some of the key challenges of our generation," the WEF said in a release. This year, the summit will be in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, from May 2-7, 2010, the first time in Africa and the largest ever gathering of the YGLs. Previous honourees include former English Prime Minister, Tony Blair; Microsoft founder, Bill Gates; Google co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Nigerian activist and writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr; Facebook founder Mark Zuckaberg; golfer Tiger Woods and fashion designer, Oswald Boateng. Mr Cudjoe, 30, is the Director and Founder of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education (IMANI), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation dedicated to fostering public awareness of policy issues concerning business, government and civil society. IMANI was named by the Foreign Policy Magazine in 2009 as the sixth most influential think tank in Africa. Cudjoe is also the acting chief evangelist of Mpedigree, an innovative technological tool for fighting counterfeit medicines, and co-author of The Water Revolution: Practical Solutions to Water Scarcity. Mr Kuenyehia, 36, is an Oxford-educated lawyer specialising in international finance and energy. He is Managing Partner of Oxford & Beaumont Solicitors in Accra and London, and an adjunct lecturer in entrepreneurship at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). Named the "Young Professional of the Year" by the Millennium Excellence Foundation in the Newmont Youth Awards, Mr Kuenyehia serves on the boards of Chase Petroleum, Metropolitan Insurance and Creativehub. When reached for comments, the hardworking Mr Kuenyehia noted that the honour came as a very pleasant surprise to him, saying, "I am incredibly humbled to be joining such an elite club of the world's most accomplished leaders". Attempts to get Mr Cudjoe for a comment I were not successful. The Executive Director of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr Cletus Kosiba, welcomed the prestigious honour and said it meant that given the opportunity, Ghanaians could compete within any sphere of life in any part of the world. He said in business, the sciences, academia and leadership, Ghanaians could compete and called on the nation to create opportunities for young people to realise their dreams and maximise their potential. Mr Kosiba also called on Messrs Kuenyehia and Cudjoe not to rest on their laurels but persevere to achieve even greater laurels. Noted for its annual meetings in Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum engages the most influential leaders from a wide variety of fields to share their knowledge, expertise and inspired ideas to improve the world and shape global, regional and industrial agendas. In Ghana, the AGI collaborates with the Switzerland-based WEF to organise a number of business-related surveys. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana