YES-Ghana Rubbishes NYA Statement

The Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES-Ghana), has described as unwarranted and damaging, a statement by the National Youth Authority (NYA), cautioning youth groups to desist from engaging with YES-Ghana in its project to compile a Youth Directory.

In a statement issued on Wednesday to react to the NYA's disclaimer , YES-Ghana explained that, the Ghana Youth Directory is an open source, youth-led civil society effort that seeks to create an information hub for youth groups, associations, and organisations towards effective collaboration and exchange of information among actors in the same field, and was in no way in violation of any of the country's laws.

The National Youth Authority (NYA), in reaction to an advertisement in the Daily Graphic by YES Ghana calling on Youth Groups to register online to join ongoing advocacy and youth-inclusive policy in the country, said that YES had no authorization to collect data of youth groups on behalf of the Republic of Ghana.

But the organization believes the NYA's statement is misleading and has the potential of hurting their otherwise objective project.

“For the records, the Ghana Youth Directory was originally launched back in 2013 as part of the Voices of Youth project implemented by YES-Ghana. The NYA was an active member of the Advisory Committee that guided the development and successful launch of the Ghana Youth Directory. Over the last few months, the Directory received a complete makeover, thanks to the financial support of the Commonwealth Foundation. The advertisements that have appeared in the Daily Graphic constitute a renewed effort to get more youth groups to enlist and showcase their work on the Directory.”

Read YES-Ghana's full reaction below:
1. The Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES-Ghana) notes with discontent a press statement attributed to the National Youth Authority (NYA) on the above subject, which was reported by the news media over the last two days. YES-Ghana finds the contents of that press statement, as reported by the media, to be misleading, damaging, and completely unwarranted.

2. For the avoidance of any doubts, neither the Ghana Youth Directory nor other wide-ranging youth development programmes of YES-Ghana amount to a violation of any laws of Ghana as claimed by the NYA.

3. The Ghana Youth Directory, available at www.ghanayouthdirectory.org, is an open source, youth-led, civil society effort that seeks to create an information hub for youth groups, associations and organisations towards effective collaboration and exchange of information among actors in the same field. This is in response to the knowledge gap that existed for many years about youth-led actors, which undermined the importance of networking and collaboration within the youth development space.

4. For the records, the Ghana Youth Directory was originally launched back in 2013 as part of the Voices of Youth project implemented by YES-Ghana. The NYA was an active member of the Advisory Committee that guided the development and successful launch of the Ghana Youth Directory. Over the last few months, the Directory received a complete makeover, thanks to the financial support of the Commonwealth Foundation. The advertisements that have appeared in the Daily Graphic constitute a renewed effort to get more youth groups to enlist and showcase their work on the Directory.

5. Considering the open and fruitful relationship that has existed between YES-Ghana and the NYA, it is difficult to ascertain exactly what motivated the NYA to issue such a disparaging public statement without first contacting YES-Ghana to seek clarifications. For more than fifteen years, YES-Ghana has collaborated with the NYA to successfully implement many projects. The NYA is usually represented at major events organised by YES-Ghana. In fact, the most recent NYA representation at a YES-Ghana event was just two weeks ago, on 26 October 2017, when CEO Emmanuel Asigri delegated one of his deputies to deliver a statement during the Awards Ceremony of YES-Ghana's SDG Youth Essay Competition, held at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel in Accra.

6. YES-Ghana has requested a meeting with the CEO of the NYA to try to understand what went wrong and to clarify any issues and/or concerns that the NYA may have about the Ghana Youth Directory in particular, and the work of YES-Ghana in general. From what we are hearing from people within the NYA, it seems that there was a mix-up. Considering the rush to release the press statement just hours after YES-Ghana's advertisement appeared in the newspaper, it is obvious that the NYA was unable to undertake the required verifications, which would have most likely led it to a different outcome. YES-Ghana is postured to settle this matter quickly in order not to impede the shared effort of empowering the Ghanaian youth for contributing to and benefitting from the nation's development.

7. YES-Ghana remains grateful to the many young people whose participation and active citizenship has consolidated the organisation's position at the forefront of youth development policy, practice and research in Ghana. Accredited by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and recognised widely for its consistency in creating opportunities for youth across various programme areas, the organisation remains committed to working with all stakeholders in the youth development space towards a more youth-inclusive Ghanaian society.