MESSAGE FOR THE CELEBRATION OF WORLD YOUTH DAY Sunday 12th August 2012 marks International Youth Day. The day has been set aside by the United Nations Assembly to recognize the importance of the youth in building a sustainable national development. As this important day is marked, Youth Alliance for Development wishes to draw the attention of stakeholders in the development of young people in Ghana of the need to invest and harness the potentials of the youth considering that they form the most sustainable development base of the country. Currently, the youth are confronted with so many challenges, among which are education and health. We find it unacceptable that more than half of our Junior High School graduates do not continue their education beyond the basic level. We urge government to immediately take steps to rectify this anomaly in our educational system to save many more of our youth from an uncertain future. It is our considered opinion that those who are not able to make the transition to Senior High School are located and placed in technical and vocational institutions, while those bent on learning a trade are also placed in skill development centers. While acknowledging that the Local Enterprise and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) that has been established by government as a way of addressing these problems, it is our considered opinion that the programme should be properly communicated to ensure that a lot more Ghanaian youth, particularly those in rural areas to have access to this programme. The issue of immorality which has taken center stage among the youth must be a major concern to all, especially parents and religious leaders. It is our view that parents should become more responsible in the upbringing of their children and instill Ghanaian values such as respect for authority, decency in dressing, use of decent language, among others. It is our expectation that government and the society at large find lasting solutions to these problems. We further call on the youth to occupy themselves in productive ventures which can add value to their lives to enable them build a better future. Regrettably the numerous challenges confronted by the youth are glossed over and are unfortunately missing in the media’s lively discourse. It is on this score that we appeal to media owners and host of programmes to create a special platform to discuss youth development issues. Finally, we call on all politicians to be decent and decorous in their speech at political rallies and campaign platforms in this election season. Signed. Ali Tanti Robert (Executive Director) Emmanuel Agyenfrah (Director of Communication) Joseph Owusu Addo ( Director of Research ) Youth Alliance for Development is a youth NGO oriented towards empowerment, research, advocacy, education, and skills development of young people.