Youth Sounding Board Ghana members and dignitaries in a group photograph
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has unveiled 20 young leaders, aged 18-32, as the inaugural cohort of the Youth Sounding Board Ghana.
For the next two years, these selected members will collaborate closely with the EU Delegation to Ghana and the Netherlands Embassy. The initiative, launched in January 2025, aims to amplify youth voices and provide a platform for young Ghanaians to shape discussions, policies, and programmes related to youth development.
EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad Razaaly, in his address stated that the 20 young leaders were selected from across the country after a highly competitive process that received more than 500 applications.
“The launch of the Youth Sounding Board of Ghana is a concrete example of how we put youth at the centre of our partnership. It reflects our EU Youth Strategy, which stands on three key pillars: Engage, Empower, and Connect,” he said.
He indicated that, “across all our programmes (from climate action to digital innovation, from skills and jobs to peacebuilding and inclusion), EU strive to mainstream youth perspectives, ensuring that young people’s voices shape every aspect of our work.”
“The Youth Sounding Board will be a key channel for making this principle tangible in Ghana. Dear young leaders, this is your platform. Use it boldly. Speak with courage. Push us to do better. We are counting on your ideas, your creativity, and your energy to make Team Europe’s work in Ghana more relevant, more inclusive, and more impactful,” he urged.
Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Jeroen Verheul, said the Youth Sounding Board fits in perfectly with what the embassy has been doing already to strengthen the position of young people and to give them a meaningful voice in the spaces they move in.
“We believe strongly that the Youth Sounding Board can help us to include young people even better, making sure that we are properly addressing the actual needs of Ghana’s youth. That is why we fully support and embrace the Youth Sounding Board – an important platform for young people to contribute meaningfully to issues that affect their lives,” he added.
The CEO of National Youth Authority (NYA), Mr. Osman Abdulai Ayariga Esq., said the Authority will integrate Youth Sounding Board Ghana recommendations into its quarterly policy reviews.
“We will provide capacity building on government systems and budget processes. We will facilitate access to existing programmes and help identify funding sources for viable initiatives,” he added.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke