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Ghana-talent advising Danish

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APR 28, 2014 LISTEN
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Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour, 27 from Ghana recently had an unusual opportunity. As member of a corps of dedicated, international, young people called the Youth Goodwill Ambassador Corps he temporarily got the chance to act as an adviser to the government of Denmark on how to attract international talents.

On 26th April a group of dedicated international, young talents met in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark with H.R.H. Prince Joachim of Denmark. One of them was Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour form Ghana.

“It was an honor to meet HRH Prince Joachim in person. And an even greater experience to be part of a group giving advice to the Danish government in an area of great political attention in Denmark: How to attract more well educated, international talents,” says Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour.

Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour is part of a group called the Youth Goodwill Ambassador Corps, a group of all together 350 young international people activating their network to promote Denmark to peers in their home countries. The objective is to create bilateral student mobility opportunities and global careers.

”With the Youth Goodwill Ambassador Corps we are engaging international talents all over the world. In today's global economy, talent mobility is a huge driver for intercultural exchange, innovation and exports. By working closely with our youth ambassadors, we are connecting Denmark with the home countries of our youth ambassadors on a people to people level, which already is showing great results,” HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark said when attending the summit.

Advising the Danish government
When 160 of the Youth Ambassadors – including Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour - met on the 26th of April they at the same time handed over a number of recommendations to the Danish government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.

“Knowledge and competencies are drivers for future growth. Denmark has international competitive strongholds within labour market flexibility, research and higher education, and great conditions for entrepreneurs and start-up companies. I am pleased to see how Youth Goodwill Ambassador Corps engages international talents from all over the world,” says Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation of Denmark, Mogens Jensen. And he continues:

“In today's global economy, attraction of highly qualified and skilled labour is crucial for international competiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship. By working closely with international students, we are connecting Denmark with the home countries of our youth ambassadors on a people to people level, which has already shown positive results.”

Some of the recommendations given by the Youth Goodwill Ambassadors and Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour to the Danish government are:

• Work-life balance, work-life balance and work-life balance. It is the main reason that talent pursues a career in Denmark. Denmark's international communication should be even clearer about the unique opportunity in Denmark of being able to have an exciting career and a family life without compromise.

- 68.9 percent rated work-life balance as the primary reason that they will pursue a career in Denmark after completing their studies.

• International students would like to work in Denmark, but after graduating it takes them longer to find a job than they can afford financially or visa entitles them to stay. Help them find a student job so that they can stay in Denmark and also create value from day 1.

- 80 percent would like to have a student job in Denmark.

• Many international students would like to start our own business, so strengthen the conditions that allow them to become entrepreneurs and make sure that they can obtain a residence permit as self-employed.

- 29.7 percent would like to start their own business in Denmark

“I found it a great privilege to have attended the Youth Ambassador Summit 2014 providing the Danish Government with me and my fellow ambassadors opinions on how Denmark can get even better at attracting talents and well educated people from around the globe,” says Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour.

The Youth Goodwill Ambassador Corps
The Youth Goodwill Ambassador Corps is founded by Copenhagen Capacity, Wonderful Copenhagen, Copenhagen Goodwill Ambassador Corps and the Danish Agency for Universities and Internationalization. Partner institutions include Copenhagen University, Aarhus University, Aalborg University, Copenhagen Business School and the Technical University of Denmark.

Prince Baah-Duodu
@baahduoduprince on Twitter
www.cranchon.com

Editor's Note:

Prince Baah-Duodu
@baahduoduprince on Twitter
www.cranchon.com

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